Historic Yukon hotel gets new lease on life

The new owners of a famous Yukon landmark, the historic Caribou Hotel, plan to restore the three-storey building to its former glory by the time it turns 100 in 2010.

The hotel, located in the small community of Carcross, has been closed since December, 2004 when its owner, Bob Olson, was murdered on the premises.

Yukoners Ann Morgan and Jamie Toole recently bought the moth-balled building from Olson's family.

Morgan says they know the building needs a lot of work but they're confident they'll be able to reopen it as a full-service hotel in a few years.

"It will take some work but that certainly is our goal," says Morgan. "We want to do a full restoration so it is historically relevant and keep it within the character of the community."

She says it'll take some time because they're going to do much of the work themselves.

"Holidays and weekends and spare moments, that we have, will be spent working on the building ourselves because we don't have the financing to do it in one fell swoop," she says.

The Caribou Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in the territory.