Adanac Apartment owners say criticisms misguided, unfair

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This article was published 13/04/2023 (935 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The owner of a West End apartment block is firing back after a New Democrat MLA deemed the building a safety hazard and called for government intervention.

Karin Harper Penner, who owns several low-barrier apartment buildings, said safety issues at the Adanac Apartments at 743 Sargent Ave. have been overblown.

“To say the building is dangerous, I don’t know how. We don’t get away with anything, we are closely watched and scrutinized. The building inside may be ugly, but there’s nothing unsafe about it,” she said.

NDP municipal relations critic Lisa Naylor asked the provincial government about the building during question period Tuesday.

Naylor described the three-storey block as a “health and safety hazard for residents and neighbours,” saying it was the source of multiple fires, bylaw infractions and crime.

Harper Penner agrees the apartments have been the source of numerous serious incidents, including violence and fires, but she disputed Naylor’s assessment that the building is dangerous and in disrepair.

“I know the buildings are ugly, but they are treated really roughly. We are constantly repairing, it’s just we repair and more damage follows behind us,” Harper Penner said. “I’m in those buildings every day. I know my tenants. I am not a slum landlord.”

Harper Penner disputed other aspects of Naylor’s statement, including the assertion that people live in the stairwells, or don’t have water and heat. There have been instances where pipes have frozen, but any lapse of service was temporary, she said.

Public criticism has been “disheartening” for Harper Penner and her husband, Patrick Penner, who provide housing to people who would otherwise live on the street, she said.

“People seem to think we are making money off these buildings, this is not the truth. We are struggling.”

The Adanac building has 48 suites and houses around 40 permanent residents, although others couch-surf inside, she said.

Most of the tenants receive Employment and Income Assistance and have provided written consent to have their rental funds paid directly to the landlords, which ensures tenants do not lapse on payments and lose shelter.

However, some tenants are placed in suites before they’ve secured funding, a process that can take several months. Others have their payments delayed or cancelled if they fail to respond to correspondence from EIA.

Canada Post will not deliver mail to the building, and many of those living inside do not have consistent access to phones, so disruptions are common, Harper Penner said.

Nearly half of the building’s permanent residents did not pay rent last month, Harper Penner said.

A spokesperson for the provincial public health department said inspectors have gone to the Adanac site twice in the last year. Orders were issued for pest control and the owners were required to clean and disinfect the sub-basement. They complied.

Issues related to repairs fall under City of Winnipeg jurisdiction and the health department will not step in unless the living conditions are in complete disrepair or people are without heat. However, inspectors did deem three suites unlivable on Jan. 19 after they were damaged by fire.

The suites must be inspected before anyone can move in, the spokesperson said.

Two people were killed in the building within the last year.

The Winnipeg Police Service was not able to comment or provide data Wednesday, but the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service said it responded to the building 174 times in 2022. Roughly 40 per cent of calls were related to fires, and the remaining were medical emergencies.

The city has levied several fines for bylaw infractions at the property.

Harper Penner called on the municipal and provincial governments to increase funding for non-profit organizations so they can staff the Adanac and similar buildings with support workers. She has been working with NDP MLA Malaya Marcelino on the file, she said.

Nearly every social agency in the city has sent tenants to the building at one point or another, but social workers seldom visit tenants, she said.

Naylor said it’s because they are afraid.

“I don’t feel the government levels and the agencies are listening to one another. I don’t feel the people who are making policies have a clue what is going on down here,” Harper Penner said. “We are doing the best we can. I am not a social worker.”

Marion Willis, director of St. Boniface Street Links, defended the Penner family, saying they are one of only a few property owners who provide a housing-first approach.

Solving Winnipeg’s housing crisis will require collaboration from all levels of government and community groups, including private owners who are willing to provide low-barrier housing, said Families Minister Rochelle Squires.

“We appreciate anybody who is working with us to ensure those who are unsheltered or precariously housed have a safe place to call home,” she said Wednesday.

The province is willing to answer a city request, proposed by Coun. Cindy Gilroy, that seeks greater collaboration between the municipal and provincial governments, she said.

The mayor’s cabinet will hear the motion on April 18.

“It’s very important that we close gaps in service delivery between our two jurisdictions. There’s room to move into this space in a more fulsome way,” Squires said.

The Tories plan to hold consultations with private owners to determine what kinds of supports will prompt them to provide low-barrier housing.

“We will be making commitments and backing those commitments with dollars in the near future,” she said.

The province has announced plans to develop 700 affordable housing units in Manitoba. Three-hundred are slated to be new builds, while 400 current units will be renovated.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca