City planners pivot after lengthy ‘embarrassment,’ recommend massive Fort Garry housing project

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This article was published 27/03/2024 (553 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A long-delayed major housing development that sparked a legal battle with the city may finally move ahead, a decade after it was first proposed, putting an end to a process some deem an “embarrassment” for Winnipeg.

City planners now recommend applications for Gem Equities’ proposal to create 1,918 new dwelling units at the former Parker lands be approved with conditions.

Developer Andrew Marquess expressed hope the substantial new Fulton Grove project will soon be one major step closer to construction.

“It’s an infill site, first and foremost, next to a (more than) half-billion-dollar investment in rapid transit… It allows for the opportunity to build a significant amount of apartment units at a time when vacancy is low and rents are rising,” said Marquess.

Last year, a judge found one former and one current city planner liable for “misfeasance in public office” and deemed the City of Winnipeg to be vicariously liable for delaying the major construction project. The judge ordered the city to pay $5 million in damages to the developer, noting Gem submitted a draft secondary plan back in spring 2014.

The city is appealing that ruling.

In a letter to Winnipeg’s mayor and council that was published with the development applications, Marquess called out the alleged city stalling.

“This project has been historically contentious due to the actions of the (city) administration and has been a local issue but it has now drawn national attention,” he wrote, noting the federal Conservative party recently used the process as an example of bureaucratic obstacles to building more housing.

Marquess is urging council to approve the project now.

“We cannot allow this project to be approved at the council level and then get mired in bureaucracy and personal politics resulting in no housing being built,” he added.

Marquess told the Free Press many of the conditions the city seeks to impose on the project are minor but he is concerned a call for larger setbacks from rail lines could force a “significant reduction” in the number of housing units that can be built.

“We’ve only been at this a decade, so it’s interesting that this has popped up now when it hadn’t been an issue before,” he said.

Coun. Janice Lukes, the city’s deputy mayor, said she was still reviewing the report Wednesday.

“I hope to heck that we can figure this out and get it done because it’s, in my opinion, gone on far too long and decisions need to be made.… We need housing, it’s by a rapid transit corridor. (With) new leadership, surely, we can figure this out,” said Lukes.

The Waverley West councillor said the city has suffered “national embarrassment” over the file and would benefit from the housing units and tax dollars a development this size would produce.

“It’s tax dollars and it is housing. And the fact of the matter is we… put in this $600-million rapid transit corridor (right next to this development site). We need to optimize it,” said Lukes.

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) stressed he’ll keep an open mind on the project itself but noted he’s also troubled by the delay to develop the area.

“We built that dog-leg (bus rapid transit route)… (and) the point was to get development near there. It’s over a decade since we had that vote and we’re still at this point so I would like to get this resolved one way or another,” said Mayes.

The application proposes the transformation of 47 acres of south Winnipeg land bordered by the CN Railway Rivers line and southwest rapid transitway to create a transit-oriented development, along with parks and recreation space.

A high-density multi-family residential area would include 1,575 dwelling units in 23 “apartment-style” buildings, ranging from six to 22 storeys tall, along with a 1.86-acre neighbourhood park. Six of the buildings would have ground-floor commercial units.

Another area would offer 158 dwelling units within 10 three-storey townhomes, while a lower density housing area would include 185 units within a mix of townhomes, triplexes/fourplexes, duplexes, and single-family homes, along with a 0.8-acre park.

The development also proposes a geothermal energy system to heat and cool buildings in the high-density and townhome areas, while limiting greenhouse-gas emissions.

A pedestrian and cycling network would include sidewalks on both sides of all streets and recreation paths.

Marquess said he does not believe the proposal varies much from what he’s submitted to the city since 2018. He noted council approved a plan in 2020 but said that didn’t move forward, blaming administrative changes after the vote.

If council approves the latest subdivision and rezoning applications, a development agreement would still be required after that point, said Marquess.

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A request to speak with a city planner was not granted Wednesday. A spokesman said the city is supportive of the application.

“The (suggested) changes are minor in nature and more related to clarification of details and future development application processing,” wrote Kalen Qually.

The City Centre community committee will cast the first vote on the proposal next Thursday. The applications require full city council approval.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne 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.