Granite members favour development

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This article was published 30/01/2025 (219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A concerned group of Granite Curling Club members are campaigning against a petition created by the club’s executive to stop the city’s plans for an affordable housing development in the parking lot adjacent to the facility.

The newly-formed Granite Members for Affordable Housing sent an email to 22 members Wednesday afternoon asking for their stamp of approval on the proposed Granite Riverside Commons, an 11-storey, 110-unit mixed-income building in the west parking lot, which is used by curling club members.

The group is compiling signatures for a letter that will outline the support for the development that exists within the club and will be sent to the Granite executive on Feb. 5. Group leaders also plan to speak on their stance at the public hearing for the city’s subdivision and rezoning application for 22 Granite Way at City Hall on Feb. 6.

“We believe that a common solution can be found that can both see the construction of mixed-income housing on this City-owned land and also ensure the future viability of the curling club,” the letter reads.

“In addition to the affordable aspect of the housing, a new development to house families in the neighbourhood adds to the vibrancy, density, and safety of the neighbourhood. Imagine it — mixed-income housing to the west of the Granite, and the Beer Can to the right! This is the curling club that we want to be a part of.”

The group would not reveal how many signatures the letter had received as of Thursday, noting it isn’t trying to compete with the Granite board. However, it shared that it had more signatures than the number of emails that were originally sent.

On Tuesday, club president John Read sent an urgently-worded email to more than 1,200 members asking them to sign a petition to “save the Granite,” writing the development would pose an “existential threat” to the future of the club.

Christian Pierce, secretary of the Granite executive, said the board is most concerned with losing about 70 per cent of the parking spots dedicated to those who play at the club — leaving it with about 15 stalls — and that the facility’s maintenance needs will not be properly addressed after the new housing is built.

The club, which has leased the property since 1912, maintains it should be able to negotiate the site’s future. It is seeking at least 500 signatures on its petition, which will circulate until Feb. 5.

“The city, we feel, has sort of bullied the Granite into going along with their process. They’re flexing on terminating our lease and moving it forward with just sub-dividing and taking the west parking lot from us that we’ve been using for 100 years,” Pierce told the Free Press Tuesday.

River Woods, a member of five years, signed the letter shortly after it was sent out on Wednesday. Woods isn’t completely opposed to the Granite executive, but believes a happy medium exists.

“When our neighbours don’t have a safe place to live, that’s a bigger priority to me than having a convenient parking spot once a week,” said Woods, adding their sentiment has been echoed by most of the members they have spoken to since Tuesday.

“I’m a proud Winnipegger, and one of the things that I think defines Winnipeggers is we live in a city that is so cold, and that when the city that we live in is this cold in winter, I believe we are called to look out for each other.”

Chantel Mierau, a member for two years, helped organize the Granite Members for Affordable Housing. Mierau said the small group came together because it was disappointed the Granite executive created a petition on behalf of the entire club without any input from its membership.

“With reading the email and realizing that this was potentially a win-win for both the city and the Granite — and not the threat to the Granite, in my opinion, that the club put forward — I was disappointed. Still, I feel very strongly for the club, and feel strongly that its future and the future of housing are both important and that they can coexist,” Mierau said.

“With visiting the club and you see unhoused people that are trying to make a go of it on the river bank… you can see the desperation that people have. People being outside in the winter, it pulls at my heartstrings and I’m just so glad that the city is trying to find solutions, and I don’t want to be standing in the way of something that could be so positive.”

The city said it has been evaluating options to mitigate the club’s concerns around the loss of parking, including looking into the greater community. It assured the east parking lot would not be affected by the proposed development and that the west parking lot would be reduced to about a third of what it is now.

The city has advised the club that it intends to terminate the club’s lease and replace it with a short-term use agreement for the reduced-leased area until a new long-term lease is settled.

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“As part of this development, we’re looking to create a capital fund to help make investments in the building and the property, and we’re still working on those details,” said Richard Mahé, acting housing accelerator fund manager.

Mierau said she is confident the city will find a suitable fix to the club’s parking concerns.

“We definitely see a lot of surface parking in that area and we just think there are creative options that haven’t been explored. What about car-pooling?” she suggested.

“We’re just excited to welcome new neighbours to the club, as well. I think there could be solutions to that inconvenience.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

Every piece of reporting Josh 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.