Bringing fresh energy to Osborne Village

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This article was published 11/03/2024 (570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Welcome to Osborne Village.”

The subtle greeting casts over Confusion Corner from the black exterior of the nearly-constructed Osborne Terraces.

It’s the new southern gateway to the rapidly changing Osborne Village and a sunny sign, certainly, that one of the area’s most anticipated mixed-use developments will be ready for occupancy this summer.

“It’s a gift for the whole neighbourhood, it’s not just for the building,” said Zohreh Gervais, executive director for the Osborne Village BIZ.

“There’s a lot of really good energy, not just from the developers but (business) owners, the residents — everybody around is feeling this sense of ‘something is about to happen now, we’re moving into a new era and this is really exciting for Osborne Village.’”

The six-storey mixed-use development on the west side of Osborne Street, at the corner of Gertrude Avenue, expects to wrap up construction in July and open in August, injecting 90 residential suites and more than 7,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space into the Osborne strip.

The Osborne Terraces will have studio suites — coming in at $1,100 per month — to two-bedroom options ($2,095 per month) and up to seven commercial spaces available.

“Things are moving along really well,” said Adam Sharfe, president of developer Sharfe Developments. “We have a lot of interest from different commercial tenants. I don’t want to say anything prematurely, but we have had a lot of interest in those and I’m working through some letters of intent right now with a number of companies.

“What I’m really hoping for there — and it’s been the same as Day 1 — is just commercial tenants that can help serve the community and the residents that are both existing and moving here in the next few months so people can create more of a walkable neighbourhood where they don’t have to get a car to go get their basic needs.”

Sharfe grew up exploring the Osborne Village — a time in which the area was more lively before hitting a lull that’s still seen today, he said. Those memories, in part, are what led him to purchase the half-acre of land in September 2020 shortly after several long-standing businesses on the lot were demolished.

“With my personal ties there, it was a bit of an emotional decision to buy it and through that and hearing all the encouragement from everybody that’s excited about the development, that’s really given me the confidence that I’ve needed to continue with this project,” he said.

Sharfe isn’t ushering in a new era alone, however. The Zu, formerly the Osborne Village Inn, is another mixed-use development that has begun accepting applicants for occupancy in the spring, according to its website.

The massive three-building project includes a six-storey mixed-use, multi-family complex at 160 Osborne and two four-storey, mixed-use, multi-family builds at 424 and 425 Wardlaw Ave., adding more than 200 residential units and 14,000 square feet of combined commercial space to the area.

Karl Loepp, chief operating officer of developer Private Pension Partners, was unavailable to comment on the progress of the Zu.

“It’s a really exciting feeling because right now it feels like Osborne is about to step into the next phase of its evolution as a neighbourhood and as a community,” Gervais said. “This (will be) the first time there’s been residential right on Osborne in a while so that’s going to change the vibe on the street, I think, and it’s going to bring a lot of new energy and just a lot more people on the sidewalk.

“It will really help enhance everything that’s happening in that neighbourhood already.”

An updated census of area residents and businesses in Osborne will be released later this month, Gervais said. The latest information reveals 25 new businesses have set up shop in the area since March 2020 and that Osborne currently hovers around 13,000 residents.

“We want to be nurturing that, we want to make Osborne Village back into the pedestrian, mixed-use and residential hub that it was and intended to be — and not so much just a traffic corridor,” Gervais said.

The exterior of the Osborne Terraces could still see some design changes before the building opens. Options for a mural on the southwest-facing (back lane) wall are being explored to add some more flare to the new gateway of the Osborne Village.

“It came out perfect. I couldn’t be happier with it,” Sharfe said of his Welcome to Osborne Village design.

“I can’t wait to see what Osborne Village is going to be like next summer.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca