Community groups keep up St. B city hall sale fight

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This article was published 16/03/2021 (1985 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fight to keep the old St. Boniface city hall building in public hands appears far from over.

On Monday, members of the francophone community urged the City of Winnipeg to “keep the keys” to the heritage building at 219 Provencher Blvd. and ensure public access to the site is maintained.

To do so, the city would need to reverse a previously approved sale of the property.

Council’s property and development committee couldn’t agree on how to address the issue in a late Monday vote, leaving the deal in place.

By Tuesday morning, Société de la francophonie manitobaine vowed to explore all options for public ownership of the building, including potential legal action.

“We told our community we would leave no stone unturned,” said Daniel Boucher, SFM executive director.

Several members of the francophone community voiced opposition to the sale outside Winnipeg city hall on Monday, arguing the 219 Provencher building and sculpture garden offer important amenities that must remain open to the public.

“It’s an important, historical landmark… Our heritage is not for sale,” said Ariane Freynet-Gagné, president of youth group Conseil jeunesse provincial.

The group brought a wreath filled with hundreds of keys to illustrate its “keep the keys” message.

Boucher said many St. Boniface residents believe the City of Winnipeg committed to keep 219 Provencher a public building in perpetuity during the Unicity civic amalgamation process of the 1970s.

“We feel betrayed,” he said.

In February, the property and development committee approved the sale of the former St. Boniface city hall and 212 Dumoulin St. (former St. Boniface fire hall) to Manitoba Possible for $10,000.

Manitoba Possible, formerly known as the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities, wants to create an “abilities village” at the site, which would offer employment, training, social enterprises, and housing.

A city report says 212 Dumoulin has an appraised value of $250,000, while 219 Provencher was appraised for $2.1 million.

The report says bid evaluations favoured projects that protect the heritage buildings, both of which are protected against demolition, while all bids came in “significantly below” the appraised values.

Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) raised what he deemed a “compromise” motion Monday, which called for the property and development committee to remove 219 Provencher from the sale, while still ensuring Manitoba Possible still has the space it needs.

Manitoba Possible opposed Allard’s motion over concerns changing the deal’s footprint would nullify the entire agreement.

Dana Erickson, chief executive officer, stressed he is willing to work with the francophone community to ensure public access continues at 219 Provencher.

“I’m very open to entering into some kind of a long-term contractual arrangement for the (old city hall) to be essentially in public hands,” Erickson told the committee, noting it could include selling or leasing the building.

Late Monday, the committee cast a tied vote on referring Allard’s motion for a full council vote. Couns. Kevin Klein (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) and Janice Lukes (Waverley West) supported that call, while Couns. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) and Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) rejected it.

A tie amounts to a loss under council rules, and leaves the original sale terms in place.

Gilroy, committee chairwoman, said she felt a need to honour the February vote that approved the proposal.

“I think we have a legal obligation to deal with Manitoba Possible, and I think it would be not right of the city to neglect its obligation,” she said.

On Tuesday, Allard said he doesn’t plan to raise his motion again, as he hopes the community can work out a solution directly with Manitoba Possible.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga