Centre Village potential repair tab could push $1.8M: report

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This article was published 03/05/2023 (904 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A shuttered Manitoba Housing apartment complex could cost any new owner up to $1.8 million in repairs — $300,000 more than its current assessed value.

Centre Village (at 575 Balmoral St.) has had a history of design and safety issues that resulted in the 25-unit complex being boarded up in 2022, just 12 years after it was opened.

Last week, the province sent out a request for expressions of interest for non-profits, Indigenous organizations and other levels of government that may want to take on the space.

However, doing so might come with a hefty set of repairs, according to a 2019 field condition assessment, published as an addendum to the REOI this week. A foundational uplift in one corner has damaged exterior sheathing and stucco finish on the building, jamming a window in the process.

“The cause of the uplift of the foundation cannot be attributed to one specific cause unless significant excavation work is completed, but is suspected to be caused either due to improper construction techniques or water infiltration with frost heaving,” the review reads.

Cracked stucco, surface corrosion and peeling paint are noted throughout the complex.

Drainage issues have resulted in uneven, sloped sidewalks, which the report notes do not meet code requirements for height and could pose safety and accessibility issues.

Discrepancies between the architectural drawings and the as-built condition of the complex are also noted, particularly in the design of a window unit, which the review says may leave part of the floor and wall above it unsupported, and in the sidewalk construction.

The report also considers some of the key issues noted by former building tenants and residents in the surrounding Central Park community. Namely, the design of the units made the space less safe to inhabit and more attractive to squatters, and requests to have permanent fencing around the property.

“A last and important item of note is the perceived compromised safety and security on site, due to the layout and shape of the buildings. There are numerous hidden spots, blind spots, and areas beyond clear line of sight from the roadways and unit entrance doors,” the report reads.

“Also of concern is the ability of first responders to have clear and easy access to units. With very tall and very narrow spaces, there is limited firefighting access. limited mobility and clear ‘spray lines’ exist throughout.”

The report includes the cost of six security cameras, 20 mirrors and 12 lights in its repair budget, at an estimated $90,000-$120,000.

Implementing security fencing at the site could not be “easily accomplished” without restricting movement for firefighters, police and residents, the report posits.

The cost estimate for heaving repairs, replacing windows, replacing plumbing in one unit, sidewalk replacement, stucco repairs, refinishing stairs and guards, window trims, cantilever repairs and new security is $1.6-$1.8 million.

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The City of Winnipeg’s assessed value for the property is $1.5 million.

In the REOI, Manitoba Housing made clear it would prioritize new construction projects that would increase the size of the units, putting demolition on the table as an option.

Tearing down a building that’s just over a decade old is uncommon in Winnipeg, University of Winnipeg urban geography Prof. Jino Distasio said last week, when the province went public with its move. “That’s the sad part. It takes a lot of negative momentum for a housing project to go from brand new, award-winning to problematic to nearly vacant to boarded-up.”

The deadline for proposals is May 19.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak 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.