Curling club-adjacent housing plan crashes on the guard

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This article was published 07/02/2025 (210 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A hotly debated proposal to build dozens of affordable housing units on a parking lot next to the Granite Curling Club has divided a city council committee.

Council’s property and development committee cast a split two-two vote on the subdivision and rezoning application for a 111-unit residential structure proposed for 22 Granite Way. The development would ensure 51 per cent of its housing units have affordable rents for 99 years.

The tied vote equates to a loss under City Hall rules, so the application will move forward without a recommendation, though city council will still have the final vote.

Several executives of the Granite Curling Club urged folks to oppose the project, which they estimate would cost the club about 70 per cent of its parking stalls, leaving just 15 available. They argued that would jeopardize the club’s future. Meanwhile, some curling club members spoke out to support the housing plan, as did multiple housing advocates.

Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of property and development, said he remains hopeful that a successful compromise can support the housing project and address parking concerns before council casts a final vote on the matter.

“I don’t want to jeopardize the future of Granite Curling Club, full stop … We just have to ensure that council supports (a solution),” said Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood) just after the Thursday night vote.

The development would create 55 housing units for rent at market rate and 56 affordable suites. Of the affordable units, 26 would have rents of less than 80 per cent of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. median market rent. The remaining 30 would have rents geared to income, averaging about $400 to $500 per month, said Jeremy Read, chief executive officer of the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corp. 2.0.

The renewal corporation would develop and manage the project.

The committee considered a motion to require city staff, the project proponents and the curling club to develop a parking plan that ensures the viability of the club before a development permit was issued. However, the four members couldn’t agree on the exact terms.

Hours before the vote, the curling club’s general manager said his organization needs its current parking spaces to survive.

“Losing adequate parking for our operation, the club will fail,” said Jamie Hay.

He predicted losing the spaces would cost the club hundreds of members within a year and remove its ability to host large events, while others said it would also cut off daytime revenue from parking spaces rented to Canada Life employees.

The curling club owned its property until 1975 before selling it to the city. It has leased the site for the past 50 years.

The development would subdivide the property to build upon the western surface parking lot, while leaving the club itself in place.

City officials suggest the curling club could seek an agreement to access additional parking in Canada Life’s lot.

Other critics said the final housing proposal is being rushed with little notice of its key details.

“The reduced lease area was unilaterally removing the west parking lot … We were blindsided by this,” said Christian Pierce, secretary of the curling club’s board.

Pierce said more than 1,000 people have signed a petition against the current proposal.

Meanwhile, many other delegates spoke in favour of the project, including some who curl at the Granite and support the affordable housing plan.

River Woods, a Granite member, told the committee she saw a clear need for more low-rent units in Winnipeg as a former housing support worker.

“Sometimes the only housing that a family could afford was basically in a drug den that was totally infested in bed bugs … It’s more than reprehensible. I think that we, as a city, can do better. And that we can say rent-geared-to-income housing can be a part of our city,” said Woods.

More than 10 hours after the meeting began, Duncan and Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) voted in favour of the development, while councillors Russ Wyatt (Transcona) and Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) opposed it.

Wyatt said he was not willing to support the project without addressing the parking concerns.

“Nobody wants to see an affordable housing project go sideways but at the same time nobody wants to take away an organization’s ability to be sustainable,” he said.

Richard Mahé, the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund acting manager, said the development would deliver long-term affordable homes within walking distance of shopping, the riverbank, parks and frequent transit.

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“Our vision for the property has been consistent … providing much needed housing downtown (and) long-term affordability, including deeply affordable units,” said Mahé.

If approved, the building would include a rooftop terrace for all tenants, while solar panels would generate some of its electricity, said Brent Bellamy, the project’s architect.

City council is slated to cast the final vote on the application on Feb. 27.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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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.