City selling building used as warming shelter, leaves St. B outreach group out in cold

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This article was published 27/07/2023 (827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pop-up shelter that helped vulnerable Winnipeggers escape the extreme cold last winter will need a new location, because the city has deemed its building too damaged to keep.

The city is now trying to sell the structure at 604 St. Mary’s Rd., which once served as the St. Vital municipal office and hall, but was vacant before being used as a warming space.

The proposed sale comes as a disappointment for St. Boniface Street Links, the outreach organization that partnered with municipal officials to use the city-owned building as an emergency shelter on several of last winter’s coldest nights. Its leaders had hoped the arrangement would become permanent.

“It’s a devastating blow that we’re not going to get 604 St. Mary’s, that that’s off the table because… (that’s) perfect to house our outreach teams, it’s perfect to build that 24-7 safe space,” said Marion Willis, executive director of Street Links. “I don’t know how we can go through another winter of having no services east of the Red (River) except for what we offer out of a garage at the back of Morberg House.”

Morberg House is a long-term recovery residence for men experiencing addiction, homelessness and mental-health challenges that is also run by Street Links.

Willis said moving into the 604 St. Mary’s site permanently was “a dream” for the group, since its current tight space places outreach workers at makeshift desks amid boxes of food, mattresses and harm-reduction supplies.

Meanwhile, Street Links’ need for more space is increasing, as the group now houses about 30 people each month and has counted more than 40 encampments in its area this year, said Willis.

The key obstacle to the city keeping 604 St. Mary’s appears to be the cost to repair it. Constructed in 1959, city staff noted the building required at least $1 million of foundation repairs years ago, said Mayor Scott Gillingham.

“The reality is the building itself, the structure, needs significant capital investment for it to be used long term. That is also something we’re taking into consideration in making the decision to (put it) up for sale,” said Gillingham.

The mayor said he did not have a more recent cost estimate for the repairs.

While he said last winter’s partnership with Street Links was a success, Gillingham said no plan was in place to permanently offer the service at that exact site.

“It was always intended to be just very temporary and to meet an immediate need last winter, to get people out of the cold…. But the longer-term plan in working with St. Boniface Street Links (and) providing a 24-7 safe space is really to identify a better, more permanent location,” he said.

The mayor stressed the city is committed to finding that alternative space. Council recently approved a call to offer $250,000 for St. Boniface Street Links to provide 24-hour safe spaces east of the Red River, and negotiate a conditional, no-cost lease of city property for the spaces.

Willis said it may not be realistic for Street Links to attempt to use that funding to buy the St. Mary’s building, even if the city accepted a price that low, due to the need for extensive repairs.

While stressing she believes the city and mayor are committed to trying to ending homelessness, Willis said she remains worried another building may not be available to fill the gap.

“It really comes down to you can’t give what you don’t got. Once 604 St. Mary’s disappears as an option, I don’t know what the city’s got,” she said.

The building doesn’t have a heritage designation, despite the fact it once served as St. Vital’s municipal office and hall (though not the original location.)

St. Vital Coun. Brian Mayes said multiple daycares and faith-based groups have also expressed interest in the site and he’d like to see the winning bid provide some form of social benefit.

He said the warming centre may be an option, if a financial solution can be worked out.

“I got very few complaints about that warming centre… I’ve also had people from the neighbourhood say, ‘I didn’t know that was operating this winter.’ It fit in pretty well with the neighbourhood,” said Mayes.

The city will accept offers to buy the building until Dec. 1.

Meanwhile, city officials stressed work will continue to address emergency shelter needs. A report tasked with identifying one city building as a temporary overnight shelter, in cases of shelter-system overflow, shelter shutdown, extreme weather or other emergencies, is expected this fall, wrote city spokesman David Driedger in an emailed statement.

“It’s anticipated that the public service will report back in September on existing or recommended procedures on the designated space, and what, if any, additional partnerships or resources are needed to stage this site for contingencies,” wrote Driedger.

The city declined to reveal the St. Mary’s Road property’s appraised value.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga