Vacant-house fire stalls development plan

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This article was published 27/02/2024 (557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg restaurant owner fears his plans to develop a multi-residence complex — in the works for years — could be further delayed after a fire destroyed a vacant home on the Spence Street property.

“I don’t know what the city is going to do now. Hopefully they will say, ‘Cho, can you please get your demolition guys in there and clean it up, backfill it, whatever it is to make it safe for the neighbourhood,’” said Cho Venevongsa, owner of the Winnipeg-based Wasabi and Chosabi restaurant brands.

“It doesn’t look good for the neighbourhood, just being a burnt building with all the rubble piled up.”

Venevongsa purchased the home, located at 149 Spence St., along with an adjacent building at 145 Spence St., more than three years ago. He intended to demolish both buildings, consolidate the plots and redevelop it into an 18-unit apartment building with a handful of affordable housing suites.

Winnipeg city council agreed to rezone the properties into a large residential family lot in December 2022.

Venevongsa said he has been prepared to move forward with the next steps of development and was waiting for the city to finalize his demolition permit before a building on one of the properties caught fire Sunday night.

Fire broke out inside the vacant home around 11:49 p.m. Crews arrived to find the building fully engulfed in flames, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a release.

“I got a phone call from a neighbour saying, ‘Hey, the building is on fire.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ and they sent me a photo. I just jumped into my car. I didn’t even have a shirt on. I grabbed my jacket and my boots and called 911 on my way out,” Venevongsa said.

“First thing that came into my mind was hopefully it doesn’t spread and hurt somebody. Hopefully there’s no homeless people or somebody in the building. That was in my mind as I was driving,”

No injuries were reported as a result of the blaze, which kept fire crews busy overnight and into Monday. Firefighters were forced to launch a defensive attack from outside the home, using an aerial ladder truck to douse the flames with water, according to the fire paramedic service.

By 5:20 a.m., firefighters remained on scene spreading water on the burning building from above while flames and black smoke continued to spew from the roof and back of the house. Within a few hours, wrecking crews arrived to dismantle what was left of the structure.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Venevongsa could not confirm when he submitted his demolition application, but said the home had been cleared of asbestos and the electricity had been cut in anticipation of the work.

It had been sitting vacant for about two years and had previously been targeted by thieves and squatters, he said, adding he had been concerned it might fall victim to an act of arson or an accidental fire.

“We all know with any vacant building there is potential (for a fire). Especially when it is cold out,” Venevongsa said. “There’s been a number of times with people trying to break in. They are always looking for copper or something. We board it up and they break in again.”

A City of Winnipeg spokesperson also could not confirm when the city received the demolition application, but said staff are looking into the file.

“The city will be limited in how much info we can share. I can confirm the demo permit applicant would have been in communication with the city throughout the application process,” the spokesperson said.

The City Centre community committee reviewed a project proposal as part of Venevongsa’s zoning variance application on April 29, 2022.

The plan included replacing the two-family dwelling and a 12-unit rooming house on the properties with a modern low-rise complex.

The site was to feature a landscaped front yard with shrubs and trees, 15 secure indoor bike parking spaces, four visitor bike parking spots outside and 15 automobile parking spaces at the rear.

As part of the City of Winnipeg’s density bonus pilot program, the project included four affordable housing units, which Manitoba Housing agreed to monitor.

“Not only does this follow policy, it’s an innovative thoughtful pilot that I believe will be beautiful in West Broadway,” committee chairperson Coun. Sherri Rollins said at the time.

Rollins moved in favour of the project, alongside Coun. Cindy Gilroy and Coun. John Orlikow.

The project was conditional on receiving approval from the city’s director of planning, property and development.

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Venevongsa owns six restaurant locations, including Wasabi on Broadway, which is located next to the now-demolished home on Spence Street.

He is hopeful the project will move forward, but could not comment on a potential timeline.

“Everybody has invested their time and their money. This neighbourhood has come a long way and I don’t want it to go backward,” he said.

“We want to improve the West End, we really do.”

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler 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.