1 year later, Noble House tenants continue to rebuild after fire

Ernestine Ngelah, owner of Mah’s Amazing Choice, has spent the past year rebuilding and hopes to open a new temporary storefront soon. (Photo courtesy of Ernestine Ngelah)

While the owners of Noble House in Iqaluit work on redevelopment plans for the building destroyed by a blaze one year ago, some former tenants are just now getting back on their feet.

“It has been difficult,” said Ernestine Ngelah, who owns Mah’s Amazing Choice, an African and Caribbean grocery store that was located in the building.

“But right now, I am feeling hopeful and grateful because we are actually moving forward and taking steps to reopen.”

Noble House burned to the ground on Jan. 8, 2025. The building, located at 1088 Mivvik St., contained 36 residential units and commercial space. Other than Ngelah’s store, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout’s constituency office was located in the building.

No one was hurt in the fire and homes were located soon after for displaced residents.

Ngelah said she had only been operating her business out of Noble House for a year before the fire. She has spent the past year rebuilding her business and looking for a new location.

She’s been able to do this because of help from the community, she added.

She had a stall at the Christmas Market held at the Aqsarniit hotel and opened a pop-up store at the Catholic Parish Hall on Dec. 20. Both were efforts to let people know she was still in business.

She said she is also closing in on a deal to open a temporary storefront, hopefully in the coming months.

Idlout also suffered loss in the fire.

Records went up in flames and she lost a few items of sentimental value, including a pair of mittens a woman sent her that had been made by Idlout’s grandmother.

This caused some “heartache,” she said, but that wasn’t her primary concern.

The Noble House apartment building in Iqaluit, as it appears in a 2013 Google Street View screenshot, was destroyed by fire Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Google Maps)

“My first thought goes to the people that had homes in that building,” Idlout said.

She said she still hasn’t been able to secure a new constituency office location and is working out of her home.

The site’s owner, Northview REIT, is exploring options for redevelopment of the site, said Ted Walker, the company’s regional director for Nunavut, in an interview.

He offered no further details, citing ongoing discussions.

Iqaluit RCMP have concluded their investigation of the fire and criminality is not suspected, spokesperson Sgt. George Henrie said in an email.

Nunatsiaq News attempted to contact Nunavut’s fire marshal for an update on its investigation into the cause of the blaze but did not receive an update in time for publication.