Main Street Project shows off first phase of renovations at Martha Street facilities By: Scott Billeck Posted: 4:34 PM CDT Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

A sprawling new kitchen, ample communal space, and other upgrades — including a private courtyard — are at the heart of Main Street Project’s federally funded effort to make its Point Douglas detox and transitional housing facility feel more like home.

The outreach organization offered a first look at the renovations Monday, ahead of moving its detox program into the refreshed space at 71 Martha St. by mid-October. That move will mark the completion of Phase 1 of the $18-million project and set the stage for Phase 2 next door at 75 Martha St. When finished, in about two years, the detox expansion will increase capacity from 21 to 37 beds, with nine reserved for LGBTTQ+ residents.

“The whole building will be redone, top to bottom,” MSP executive director Jamil Mahmood said. “The main focus of this was to make the spaces a lot nicer for the people who live here. We often said when we started this was to bring the love we give to the community every day into a physical manifestation, making the building reflect that, as well.”

Phase 2 will redevelop MSP’s withdrawal-management services program and kitchen services, and add case-management offices, cultural and medical spaces, a garage and program space for the mobile outreach team.

Mahmood noted that until now, most renovations have been piecemeal fixes, rather than major overhauls. Federal funding, primarily through energy retrofit grants, has made this large-scale project possible. Post-renovation, the building is expected to be 45 per cent more energy efficient.

“All new electrical, all new plumbing, all new HVAC — all the systems are going to be upgraded,” Mahmood said.

“The renovated Main Street Project’s Martha Street facility will provide a safe and supportive place for people experiencing homelessness,” added Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid. “This project shows what can be achieved through collaboration, paving the way for an accessible and dignified space where people can find stability, rebuild their lives and look toward the future with hope.”

End Homelessness Winnipeg ($2.5 million), the Winnipeg Foundation ($100,000) and United Way Winnipeg ($20,000) are also contributing to the redevelopment.

Opened in 1993, the 71 Martha site was originally home to MSP’s Mainstay program, a low-barrier housing initiative offering transitional housing and wraparound supports. That program relocated to 777 Sargent Ave. last year, where it now primarily houses encampment residents under the province’s Your Way Home strategy to end chronic homelessness.

For now, the nearly complete section at 71 Martha will house 34 people in 28 suites in MSP’s detox program until work at 75 Martha is finished and the program moves back. Its long-term use has not been determined yet.

Mahmood said options being considered include sober housing or medically supported housing for clients leaving hospital care. Ideally, he added, MSP would also continue to use the province-owned site at 777 Sargent.

The renovated building now includes full accessibility, with the addition of an elevator and a new tub room for home-care services.

“We need to keep the flexibility to meet the needs at the time,” Mahmood said. “It’s really going to depend on where we’re at 15 months from now, and then meet the greatest need at that point.”

The renovated 71 Martha facility will officially open Tuesday, when MSP hosts its annual general meeting there.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca