The densification of Pembina Highway

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This article was published 08/01/2024 (684 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the main lobby of The Point on Pembina is a black and gold plaque that reads “Former Home of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 90.”

Perhaps it’s odd to have an ode to a watering hole in an apartment complex in most cases, but the Fort Garry Legion was no ordinary tenant of 1125 Pembina Hwy. The Legion occupied the site for more than seven decades before saluting a farewell two years ago and moving down the street, owing to a dated building that needed expensive repairs.

“They were such an anchor to the community for so many years and for so many families and members that anything less would be disrespectful,” said Ryan Ridge, development coordinator for The Point on Pembina and co-owner with Foresight Development, Reimer Agencies Ltd. and 6699368 Manitoba Ltd.

The site has been overhauled in the last 18 months, with the old building demolished and a prominent apartment complex erected in its place. The nearly completed building is substantial and it is hoped it will be a win-win-win situation for the city, the Fort Garry Legion and the owners of the newest apartment complex on one of Winnipeg’s busiest corridors.

The six-storey, 82-unit complex — which offers one and two-bedroom options — welcomed its first tenants to the first and second floors on Dec. 15. The finishing touches are being put on the four remaining floors, with the hope the third and fourth levels will be available for occupancy in a couple of weeks and the top two floors will open by the end of the month.

The complex is tough to miss on the west side of Pembina where Windermere Avenue and Point Road intersect. The high-traffic area was a prime location to add a residential development, Ridge said.

“The location is for sure very key, being on Pembina itself,” he said. “There’s not a lot of immediately surrounding multifamily residential units within this direct location — outside of duplexes and that sort of stuff that are on side streets — but when it comes to on Pembina itself, there’s not a lot of newer product in that area of Pembina Highway.

“That’s a big box to tick.”

Among the richest amenities in the building is six street-side live-work units available to those who work at home. Each unit ranges from 800 to 1,000 square feet and are completely private.

“We also do have a the benefit of having a very high walking score for the building in the area. It’s only growing more actually because there’s more and more developments that are coming in and amenities are going in the area. So the walking score is going to increase even more in the coming years, which is exciting for the community itself and the development,” Ridge said.

Another 12-storey mixed-use development broke ground down the road on Jul. 1 where the old Pembina Hotel (1011 Pembina Hwy.) stood for more than 67 years and is expected to bring another 226 units to the area. Then there are the ongoing talks surrounding the demolition of the Cambridge Hotel across the street (1022 Pembina Hwy.), which would clear the way for another residential build. A new development proposal was tabled in 2021 to replace the hotel with a six-storey, 87-unit complex.

Coun. John Orlikow, who was out of office and unavailable for an interview, previously acknowledged the nostalgia for the Pembina and Cambridge hotels, but told the Free Press redeveloping the sites is “in the best interest of the neighbourhood.”

“We have these regional corridor streets and Pembina is one of them, and in the past, it’s been very difficult to get more than a one-storey, stand-alone building up in there. And that’s not what the city of Winnipeg wants, we want to have densification along those corridors because of all the amenities that are there,” Orlikow said in a previous interview.

“It does continue the progress about densification along our corridor streets and so that will improve transit ridership, it improves even the visualization …It’s the way I personally want to see Winnipeg move forward.”

Members of the Royal Canadian Legion No. 90 will be invited to an official opening ceremony for The Point on Pembina in the spring.

President of the Fort Garry Legion Paul McCluskey said the move to 762 Pembina Hwy. has been a breath of fresh air.

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“One thing you really like about it is, first of all, everything is one level. And the other thing is there’s windows everywhere so it’s pretty bright and it seems fairly open. The one thing you hear with most Legions you go into is they’re all closed in and dark and don’t have a lot of windows to them,” McCluskey said, adding members are still brainstorming ways to draw the interest from a younger crowd.

McCluskey said he’s optimistic business will remain steady with the number of residents being added to the area in the coming years.

“We are getting a lot of people from the local surrounding areas starting to come in, which is good. The problem is our (clientele) are still mostly older men — into their 70s and early 80s. We have young people coming out to the Legion, but they don’t get involved.

“The biggest thing about Legions, we really count on volunteers and the hardest part is getting the people to come out and help.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.