Osborne Village BIZ touts community ambassador program success

The Osborne Village Business Improvement Zone reviewed what it accomplished in the last year, including the formation of a safety team, at its annual general meeting on Wednesday.

Board chairperson Tom Toni called the spring launch of the Community Safety Ambassador team one of the BIZ’s proudest achievements of 2025.

“This dedicated group has been working tirelessly to keep our village clean, safe and welcoming, day and night,” Toni told a crowd of about 20 at the evening AGM, held at the Gas Station Arts Centre.

The team is active six days a week from 2 p.m. to midnight, providing safe walks and engaging with businesses, residents and visitors. The 12 community ambassadors have received training in areas such as first aid, drug overdose response and de-escalation, said Zohreh Gervais, BIZ executive director.

The team is part of a multifaceted approach the BIZ is taking to improve safety in the area, Gervais said. Another part of that approach is ongoing collaboration with the Winnipeg Police Service, which has cracked down on crime in the area in recent months.

In July, the police launched an operation focusing on violent crime in Osborne Village. In 2023, there were 392 violent crimes reported in the neighbourhood, which police say was a 59 per cent increase over the previous year and a historic high.

Violent crime in the area decreased by 12 per cent in 2024, but remained 47 per cent higher than the five-year average.

In September, the police reported they intervened in 777 incidents and placed 146 people under arrest from July 24 to Sept. 1.

Residents moving into the Zü and Osborne Terraces apartment buildings, plus restaurants such as Baby Baby and Shirley’s opening up, have meant there are more people out and about, Gervais told a reporter after the AGM.

“(That) really improves the sense of safety in the community,” she said. “So we’re really benefitting from that, and I think that’s just going to continue as (other) vacancies fill up and open up.”

Encore Lounge and Patio, indoor golf simulator site Joy House Golf and a Mexican restaurant dubbed the Blue Donkey Cantina are among the businesses slated to open in Osborne Village in the coming months, Gervais added.

During the AGM, she praised the efforts of BIZ staff and volunteers to keep the neighbourhood clean. They collected 1,522 buckets (7,610 gallons) of garbage, disposed of 1,510 needles and removed 498 square metres of graffiti.

New banners, murals and an art installation were part of the BIZ’s efforts to beautify the neighbourhood, and it organized the inaugural Village Music Festival to celebrate Canadian Multiculturalism Day. Held June 27-28, the festival featured 30 artists across six venues.

“We are super-excited to build on that and expand it to more venues in the village,” Gervais said during the AGM. “The dream for this summer is to have every venue that wants to have programming, have programming, and really bring the village to life.”

Osborne Village BIZ accountant Barry Hoeppner noted the non-profit ended 2024 with a loss of $11,000, but had budgeted for a loss of $20,000.

“I think based on that we can make a fair assessment that management has done a good job of managing the levy money and the grants as intended,” Hoeppner said.

The BIZ is increasing its levy in 2026 and will collect $260,000 in member contributions — up from $200,000 this year.

“We really feel very strongly that we have got momentum now as a community and eyes are kind of on us and watching what we do,” Gervais told a reporter. “We feel that the community needed a little bit of extra love this year financially to be able to really see those initiatives through.”

Aileen Lopez, owner of Pinky’s Bakeshop, said on Thursday afternoon she appreciates what the BIZ is doing.

“I think they’re really trying their best to get Osborne Village back on the map again,” she said.

The efforts of BIZ staff and volunteers make the area a good community, Lopez said, adding she generally feels safe in the neighbourhood.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca