City wants to sell former Pembina Highway police station to someone willing to build multi-family affordable housing development

A PRIME city-owned property once occupied by Winnipeg police has been tapped for urgently needed housing units after sitting largely vacant for more than a decade.

The city is seeking expressions of interest to sell 1350 Pembina Hwy. and replace its boarded-up former police station with a multi-family housing development.

The Winnipeg Police Service moved out of the property into a new West District station in November 2013, and the building has only been rented out a handful of times since, usually to film-production companies, said Gord Chappell, the city’s acting manager of real estate and land development.

“We had multiple groups come forward with some interest, all of which took a bit of time to sort out and, ultimately, never came to fruition. We couldn’t bring anything over the finish line. In some cases, for some of the groups, (the obstacle was) finances. The subdivision of property (also) proved challenging,” said Chappell.

Vincent Massey Collegiate is located behind the property and a city library branch sits next to the former station, both of which must remain accessible following any new development, he noted.

Chappell said delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic also affected efforts to attract a new occupant.

“We definitely have some city properties that we have held on to for a bit longer than we would have liked. We’ve sort of had a challenging time to sort out how to do the correct subdivisions to allow all parties to be able to use the property,” he said.

A school division, Indigenous groups and others expressed interest in the property over the years, said Chappell.

On Monday, the building’s windows were boarded up, with a sign stating “Danger, mould present, do not enter” posted at its door.

The station is in “poor condition,” according to the city’s expression of interest document, which seeks someone to develop a multi-family residential project that includes affordable housing with reduced rents for the lifetime of the agreement.

The deadline for development proposals was set for Monday and attracted multiple offers, said Richard Mahé, the city’s land enhancement office administrator.

“Really, what we’re seeing is people love the location. It’s close to amenities, like a grocery store across the street. There’s a library, a pool, easy access to transit, all really within a hundred feet of the property itself. It’s a great location,” said Mahé.

Recent changes to allow denser housing developments along Winnipeg malls and transportation corridors have also made the site more attractive for development, he said.

Prior to those changes, the property would have allowed only about 78 housing units, though the city now hopes to attract about 130.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, whose Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry ward includes the former police station, said she’s long awaited a better use for the site and thinks housing would be a great fit.

“I would like to be there the day that they tear it down. It will feel like work completed to me. It’s ugly,” said Rollins.

Initially, Pembina Trails School Division expressed interest in potentially using the site to support Vincent Massey, which was worth exploring, she said.

“In terms of urban planning, it is important to kind of go to that school division and say, ‘What do you need?’…. It is very contiguous property with all these public services,” said Rollins.

Provincial staffing and school funding changes complicated that option, she said.

The Pembina property is one of five city-owned lots that was earmarked for sale or lease to create affordable housing in March, through the city’s Housing Accelerator Fund land enhancement office. The other properties include 825 Taché Ave., 795 William Ave., 425 Osborne St., and 569 Watt St.

The plans are connected to the city’s agreement under the federal Housing Accelerator Fund, which aims to help trigger more home construction, including affordable units.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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