Manitoba earmarks cash for derelict housing project

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This article was published 01/08/2023 (814 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government will provide $2.2 million for the redevelopment of Centre Village — a derelict Manitoba Housing project — and hopes to attract Indigenous participation in the project.

The province says it will provide the land and buildings as in-kind contributions and has identified $2.2 million of capital funds for the redevelopment of the site at 575 Balmoral St.

“We are committed to providing Indigenous organizations with opportunities to partner in delivering social and affordable housing to Manitobans in need,” said Families Minister Rochelle Squires, in a press release. “We will be allocating funding and providing in-kind contributions to the Centre Village project to provide proponents with additional resources to redevelop the site for much-needed social housing.”

In May, the province confirmed it received seven proposals after issuing a request for expressions of interest in the 25-unit property.

The government says it will now proceed with a negotiated request for proposals phase that’s designed to allow many different Indigenous organizations to qualify and participate.

“The Manitoba government aims to increase the number of social housing units and create meaningful partnerships for the benefit of Manitobans in need,” the release said.

The property has triggered multiple headlines, after neighbours complained it attracted repeated break-ins and illegal activity. Built in 2010, Centre Village was closed 12 years after it opened, with design and safety concerns cited. It has since been boarded up and fallen into disrepair.

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Manitoba Housing has said it will prioritize new construction projects that would focus on social and affordable housing and increase the size of the units. The existing property may be demolished.

The deadline for the requests for proposals is Oct. 17.

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.