Developer wants council to reconsider altered plan for apartment near beloved St. Vital park

A proposal to replace a planned two-storey housing development with a taller apartment complex near a popular park could soon be rejected for a second time, though the developer is urging city council members to reconsider.

Last Wednesday, the Riel community committee voted to require Progressive Real Estate Group to stick with two-storey townhouses and a two-storey apartment building, with a maximum height of 7.9 metres (26 feet) at a site near Henteleff Park in the 1900 block of St. Mary’s Road.

The developer first proposed a four-storey, 13.7-metre-tall (45 feet) apartment building at the site in 2018, which the city rejected at the time.

Coun. Brian Mayes said the shorter height would honour a compromise reached eight years ago.

“In the original hearing, a lot of people didn’t want any development or they wanted more limited development,” said Mayes (St. Vital).

The townhouses would be the seventh phase of a broader project that is already well underway, he noted.

Developer Geoff Milnes, president of Progressive Real Estate Group, said he’s disappointed and frustrated by the Riel committee decision, since he expected the taller building to provide more homes and prevent the loss of many trees.

“The change would’ve pushed density away from the houses on Mardena Crescent and would have preserved a giant tree buffer between our properties, but, for whatever reason, the (committee) chose to stick with the (previously approved) proposal,” said Milnes.

He said many mature trees would need to be removed to create space for the townhouses, but that wouldn’t be the case for the taller building.

The reduced-height plan would provide 74 housing units overall, if city council casts a final vote in favour of it. The taller apartment complex would provide 100, with affordable rents for 25 per cent of the dwellings, said Milnes.

“The townhouses are quite expensive, from a market rent perspective, and not exactly in reach of everybody in the market…. The rents in our complex, (with) the affordable housing (units) start at $1,100 and that would be all in, all utilities, including internet. And the townhouses have to start at $2,800,” he said.

The developer said he hopes city council will overturn the community committee decision and allow the taller building. If not, the project could be altered, he said.

“I would say, at this point, we’re re-evaluating our options…. The outcome of the hearing still kind of stings,” said Milnes.

One of about 40 residents who signed up to oppose the project at the Riel committee hearing said a larger building would loom over surrounding homes and Henteleff Park.

“The four-storey building would be so much higher than the houses that are right beside it. The four-storey building would cast a shadow on Henteleff Park…. and we don’t know what effect it would have on the trees in the park,” Terri Ashcroft said in an interview Monday.

Ashcroft, board member of the Henteleff Park Foundation, said the 30-acre green space between St. Mary’s Road and the Red River deserves protection.

“It’s very well-loved, well-used.… Local people feel an ownership for the park,” she said.

Ashcroft said she questions the idea that a taller building would spare more trees, once parking and all other construction is factored in.

Coun. Markus Chambers, whose ward includes the development, said the support for reduced building heights reflects a need to ensure the new development complements its neighbourhood.

“I think the priority here was looking at the context of buildings and making sure it would fit with the surrounding homes,” said Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River). “The setback based on the current (previously approved) plan does not impact the trees that are adjacent to Henteleff Park.”

The councillor said his office received many emails, social media comments and phone calls from residents urging the city to stick with the shorter buildings.

City council is expected to cast the final vote on the matter on Jan. 29.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga