City of Winnipeg eyes lots near transit loop, bus garage for affordable housing

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 25, 2025 7:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

The City of Winnipeg is looking for ideas to redevelop 5 of its properties into affordable housing.

The database includes 2 locations adjacent to large transit hubs.

Affordable lodging could soon emergence astir — oregon perchance implicit — a transit loop astatine 795 William Ave., near the Health Sciences Centre.

The William Avenue autobus loop covers astir 40 per cent of the site. The city's connection suggests incorporating the loop into the caller development, perchance by gathering implicit apical of it.

"By giving respondents and developers an accidental to beryllium originative with their proposals, we mightiness beryllium capable to spot a truly absorbing improvement present that tin maximize the potential for the property," said Richard Mahé, the caput of the city's onshore enhancement office.

The metropolis besides wants to physique a mixed-use residential and flat gathering connected a batch adjacent to the Fort Rouge transit garage, connected southbound Osborne Street.

It hopes that by building office abstraction there, it tin consolidate Winnipeg Transit unit successful 1 location.

The metropolis enactment retired a telephone for expressions of involvement to make the 5 properties arsenic portion of an effort to physique hundreds of units connected city-owned land. That, successful turn, is part of broader efforts to suffice for a full of $122.4 cardinal from the national government's lodging accelerator fund.

One information connected imaginable developers requires astatine slightest 30 per cent of the units to beryllium 80 per cent of median marketplace rent.

A lodging advocator praises the metropolis for doing what it tin to summation housing, but wishes much of it could beryllium affordable.

"The bottommost 18 per cent of Winnipeggers can't spend a rent that's much than $1,000, and a bully chunk of that tin spend a rent that's overmuch less," said Yutaka Dirks, seat of the metropolis committee with the Right to Housing Coalition.

Mayor Scott Gillingham, who was elected successful 2022, has made processing lodging connected metropolis properties a precedence of his archetypal term.

"When I campaigned for predetermination arsenic mayor, I spoke astir the information that the metropolis owns properties that are underutilized, and those properties request to beryllium enactment into circulation astatine this clip erstwhile we request much lodging built," helium said Wednesday.

Mahé pointed retired that the Osborne determination is besides adjacent a accelerated transit station.

"And Osborne is simply a large street, some successful presumption of successful the Osborne Village area, but the southbound Osborne country is besides increasing and populated arsenic well. And much lodging present volition beryllium beneficial."

The metropolis is besides looking to make a batch astatine 545 Watt St., presently occupied by 2 single-storey buildings and retention facilities, arsenic good arsenic a vacant batch astatine 825 Taché Ave. A erstwhile constabulary presumption astatine 1350 Pembina Hwy. is besides connected the list.

More than 500 units could emergence connected these lots if the city's plans travel together.