Stinky Portage and Main stairwell step closer to wrecking ball

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This article was published 27/06/2023 (845 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A demolition date for a stairwell into the concourse under Portage Avenue and Main Street is one step closer, after city councillors were reassured the change won’t impede public access.

Council’s property and development committee has approved a call to devote $1.65 million to remove the stairwell at the northeast corner of the intersection, a dimly lit bunker that some say is more often used as a bathroom than a pedestrian access point.

The funding would also renew a public sidewalk that abuts Richardson Plaza.

On Tuesday, representatives for the Richardson Centre told the committee the public would still be welcome to the concourse underneath its private building.

“It’s allowing us to provide a safer, cleaner environment for the public to come in and start frequenting the concourse, to get from corner to corner to corner in a safer way,” Craig Dunsire told reporters.

Dunsire is a general manager for BentallGreenOak, the property manager for the Richardson Building.

“Security that is present on site takes care of our property. We have on-site janitorial that is always there to take care of our property, whereas the city doesn’t have the ability to supply those services to the (stairwell),” he said.

Dunsire noted many Winnipeggers get to the concourse via the Richardson Building, which would continue through an updated access agreement.

“Richardson is very open and willing to continue their operation with the city in that regard and to keep providing the public of Winnipeg access through the building,” he said.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of the property committee, said the stairwell is “urine-soaked and scented” and feels “tremendously unsafe.”

“The status quo in the public realm is a stinky bunker… It is not universally accessible… So, the status quo right now is if you have accessibility needs, you’re going through the Richardson Building,” said Rollins.

Pending council approval, the Richardson Centre would be expected to pay around $101,000 toward the $1.75-million project, plus additional costs needed to ensure building codes are still met after the stairwell is removed.

The property committee also approved a call to boost the planning, property and development department’s budget by $6.5 million next year to add 77 full-time staff positions (including 34 spots already temporarily filled), which is expected to help it meet provincially set deadlines for its services.

If council approves, $1 million will be added to the department’s permit reserve fund in 2024, which would continue to grow thereafter.

The combined changes would cost the city $7.8 million in 2025, $9.2 million in 2026 and $10.5 million in 2027.

An industry member urged the committee to fund the changes, which include a plan to ensure all permitting revenue is spent on the service itself by 2027, which would stop portions from being transferred to general city revenues.

“We have frequently heard that the department service levels are constrained by a lack of resources, yet millions of dollars from permits and inspection fees flow into the city’s general revenue… We fully support the recommendations outlined in this report,” said Lanny McInnes, president of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association.

Rollins said the permitting department is a major economic driver that requires the budget boost, though she called for a separate report on how permitting delays affect residents.

“It can be just installation of a basic fence and folks hearing back and it’s taking 20 days. That does impede the work plan for any given summer,” she said.

That report is expected in the fall.

The committee also backed a call from Coun. Russ Wyatt to study the idea of transforming the decommissioned Roland Michener Arena into a year-round, indoor farmers market.

Wyatt plans to devote up to $80,000 of land dedication reserve funds to get the study done, if council casts the final vote of approval.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga