Troubled, shuttered apartment block slated for sale

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This article was published 24/03/2024 (572 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A troubled, low-income apartment block in the West End neighbourhood is up for sale, months after the building was shuttered due to failed safety inspections and dozens of residents were forced into the streets.

The tumultuous saga of the Adanac Apartments highlights the dangers of providing low-income housing without incorporating social supports, said Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links.

“This is a population plagued by a multitude of challenges, addictions and mental health primarily,” Willis said of the building’s former tenants.

The Adanac, a 46-suite apartment block at 737 and 743 Sargent Avenue, was seized in a receivership granted by the Winnipeg Court of King’s Bench last December. The building is currently listed for sale at $2.6 million, according to a recent property summary.

The apartments had long been a source of fires and crime, generating hundreds of calls for service from emergency responders since 2018, city officials said previously.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service ordered the building to close last August, following a failed fire-safety inspection that revealed a dysfunctional fire alarm system, insufficient smoke alarms and limited access to electricity, extinguishers and fire escapes.

Days after the order came down, dozens of residents fled with their possessions in hand, many of them destined for homeless shelters or encampments.

“For me, when I look at the Adanac now and I look at the various responses of the Adanac being up for sale, does that leave me feeling hopeful? Not really,” said Willis, whose organization formerly housed several tenants inside the building.

The Adanac is one of many dilapidated properties that could be revitalized to address Winnipeg’s ongoing “social crises.” Its closure exemplifies what happens when property owners provide housing to high-risk tenants “without any supports whatsoever” from senior levels of government, she said.

For such buildings to be successful, they must include in-house addictions, mental health, justice and education services that are available to tenants 24-7. While housing is the integral, first step of addressing social challenges, it cannot be successful without consistent, immediate and low-barrier supports, she said.

“Bricks and mortar on its own will not change a thing,” she said. “It’s about coming up with a plan that considers all of that, and how you keep the gangs and the drug dealers out to keep the building a safe place for people to live and begin to rebuild their lives. They are not going to be able to do that on their own.”

Additional funding for low-income property owners is another important aspect of addressing Winnipeg’s critically low affordable housing stock because damage caused by tenants is often financially unsustainable, Willis added.

The Adanac property assessment notes it has “extensive fire damage” in at least five units, and most units suffered significant damage due to the “abrupt abandonment by the previous tenants and their attempts to retrieve personal items from the building.”

Additionally, the property’s common areas — such as hallways, stairwells and lobbies — need to be refinished and the roof has not been inspected. The sale of the building will be contingent on court approval, it says.

The Free Press connected with the Adanac’s former owners, who declined to comment.

The provincial and municipal governments have each said they are committed to increasing Winnipeg’s housing stock and addressing chronic homelessness during their political tenure.

While the future of the Adanac building remains unclear, Willis hopes it can one day be restored and serve as a model of sustainable, supportive low-income housing, she said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca