Planned Elmwood Hub project combines 115 mixed-income housing units, social supports, programs

A long-awaited project will aim to add 115 new homes in Elmwood, with on-site social programs to support some of its more vulnerable residents.

The $60-million Elmwood Hub is envisioned as a seven-floor, mixed income multi-family building at 545 Watt St., which was initially set aside for housing through Winnipeg’s housing accelerator fund program.

New details of the work that will replace the Elmwood Community Resource Centre and expand upon the centre’s programs are now being shared.

“It’s a transformational change for our community, and Winnipeg in general. It’s exciting,” said Nina Condo, executive director of the resource centre.

If all proceeds as planned, the space will include a parkade and first-floor service centre, with housing on the remaining floors. One floor will be dedicated to providing homes and services for youth transitioning out of provincial care, and another will offer the same to people who have experienced gender-based violence.

“Those two groups will be the priority for the (homes) but we will provide support to everyone who applies. Forty per cent of the housing is affordable rent-geared-to-income housing and the rest of the (units) are market rent,” said Condo.

The “deeply affordable” rents would match a portion of the tenant’s income, though exact amounts have not yet been confirmed, she said.

The groups prioritized for housing units are at risk of unique challenges. For example, 90 per cent of participants in the centre’s existing youth employment program are aging out of provincial care, said Condo.

“We’ve heard directly from them that it’s difficult. They’re more at risk of becoming homeless when services aren’t put together for them,” she said.

While some of units are designed to provide transitional homes for just a few years, residents allotted those spots could move into other longer-term apartments in the same building as their lives become more stable.

Tenants who need help would have access to gender-based violence intervention, counselling and programs addressing substance use, youth employment, adult literacy, academic support and recreation.

The facility will include a dedicated family room for Child and Family Services visits, classrooms, community kitchens, a half-court gymnasium, recreation space, community gardens, a cultural room to support traditional practices and children’s play areas.

A partnership with the University of Manitoba’s Rady College of Medicine WISH Clinic will allow med students to provide some health services at the site.

The plans reflect needs in the community, said Anne Oserin-Pinnock, co-director of programs for the Elmwood Community Resource Centre.

“We’re seeing more people coming through our doors with increasingly complex concerns — housing instability, family violence, substance use. So, our hub is about creating a place where there’s housing, support and community that are coming together in one space,” she said. “It’s not just a place to live, but a place where people can really feel safe and supported and that they belong.”

The project will aim to attract a diverse group of renters, with various income levels and backgrounds, she said.

The city donated land for the project, as part of its federal housing accelerator fund initiatives. The resource centre was originally a tenant at the site, which was city owned.

The area’s city councillor said the project would meet a significant need for housing and social services.

“They really know these communities, they know what sorts of supports they need. And we’re starting to have a better understanding… of the importance of wrap-around supports,” said Elmwood-East Kildonan Coun. Emma Durand-Wood.

”It’s not just a roof over your ahead. It’s what… you need to come out of a transitional or a challenging stage in your life and to move forward and thrive. They’re going to really tailor the supports that are offered to these residents. These folks are really going to be able to build community.”

The centre is now seeking government funding and private donations to help pay for the construction.

The hope is to obtain a building permit by September and begin demolishing the existing resource centre in October. If those targets are met, the project’s leaders hope to begin construction on the new building in spring and complete it in 2028.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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