Granite campaigns to save parking lot Fabled curling club opposes development on leased land By: Joshua Frey-Sam Posted: 6:13 PM CST Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025

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This article was published 28/01/2025 (615 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Granite Curling Club has started a petition to halt the city’s subdivision and rezoning application to build an affordable housing development in the parking lot adjacent to the club, which is used by its members.

The club’s executive group believes it has no other option but to oppose the development until the city addresses its concerns, the most important of which is losing the majority of its dedicated parking for members. The club, which serves as many as 150 people at a time, estimates it would lose about 70 per cent of its stalls, leaving it with about 15 spots after the project is complete.

It maintains that it should have a say in the future of the property instead of the city holding a public hearing for its rezoning application, which is scheduled for Feb. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall.

An email with the subject line “Save the Granite — HELP NEEDED” was sent to members by club president John Read on Tuesday morning detailing a proposed 11-storey development that would be erected in the West parking lot. The proposal is for a 110-unit mixed-income building in which 51 per cent of suites are priced according to the tenant’s income.

“This may very well be the most pivotal moment in the Granite’s storied history, and we need all the support we can get from you and the curling community,” Read wrote.

The curling club has leased the site since 1912. Its membership has grown to more than 1200 and the club is home to some of the top male and female teams in the province.

Christian Pierce, secretary of the Granite executive, said the club has spoken with the city about purchasing the property for at least three years. Those conversations picked up last spring with the city’s planning, property and development department when the property was appraised and the club’s executive asked for sale terms.

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The city was considering negotiating the sale of 12 civic buildings to the non-profit tenants who use them, at the time.

“We never actually received that appraisal or an actual offer for us to consider to purchase the property, but we still remain interested in doing that,” Pierce said.

At the same time, the club met with the housing accelerator fund department and a developer, the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation (UWCRC) 2.0, to talk about a potential development in the West parking lot.

Conversations about the potential purchase and the proposed development carried on until September, when city council identified the property at 1 Granite Way as suitable for the land enhancement office and lost interest in selling the property.

After meeting with members of the housing accelerator fund again in October, the club reached out again, this time seeking to renegotiate its lease. Pierce said the city did not respond to that inquiry but did answer a follow-up email, saying “they would reach out when they were ready to meet.”

On Jan. 6, the city advised Granite executive that it intends to terminate the club’s lease and replace it with a short-term use agreement for the reduced-leased area.

Ten days later, on Jan. 16, the club found out the city had applied to subdivide the West parking lot from the leased property and rezone it for a new multi-family development. Pierce said the club wasn’t given any notice this application would be submitted.

“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 said.

“The Granite, to be clear, is not against affordable housing at all. We think it’s sorely needed in the city, but the city is not allowing the Granite to be an equal partner at the table.”

Richard Mahé, acting housing accelerator fund manager, said the rezoning application was “not a surprise” to the Granite executive and the city has had ongoing communication with the club since June about using the parking lot for residential development, adding it has been “consistently looking at options to mitigate their concerns.”

“The Granite, to be clear, is not against affordable housing at all. We think it’s sorely needed in the city, but the city is not allowing the Granite to be an equal partner at the table.”–Christian Pierce, secretary of the Granite executive

“I could understand there’s going to be resistance to any loss of parking here, but I think the impact needs to be clarified. The East parking lot will remain untouched, and the available parking, the West parking lot, will be reduced to about a third,” Mahé said.

“It’s a little bit unfortunate that they’re using a fear of loss of parking — on some of their parking lot — as a means to stop a long-term affordable housing development when we’re in the midst of a housing crisis.”

Gord Chappell, acting manager of real estate and land development for the city’s planning, property and development, said the short-term agreement is a stop-gap and that a new long-term lease will be negotiated to ensure the club and the housing development can co-exist.

“There’s no reason that can’t happen at this point,” Chappell said. “The Granite is losing a few parking stalls, which will be partly replaced within the affordable housing development itself, and we can look in the greater community to see what we can mitigate in terms of replacing parking.”

The Granite’s executive is seeking at least 500 signatures on the petition, which will circulate for the next week. It is also asking members to register to attend the public hearing at City Hall.

Pierce said the club’s fear goes beyond the parking lot, and that fewer spots would lead to a loss of membership and the deterioration of the building if the city isn’t going to commit to the maintenance that needs to be done.

“The club is open to all the options and land uses, but unless we’re able to be an equal leading partner in the process, we don’t think our needs will be properly addressed or taken priority,” Pierce said.

“We’re fairly confident, just based on initial reaction from members, that they would certainly consider going elsewhere.”

Bucky Driedger, a member of six years at Granite, refuted that notion. Driedger, who admitted he was taken aback by the urgent tone of the email sent to members, said the players he spoke with are in favour of the proposed development, even if it means fewer parking spots.

“I’ve spoken to a few people about it since the email came out anecdotally this morning and I would say, by and large, the sentiment was supportive to find a way to put affordable housing there,” Driedger said. “If that’s your reason for leaving the club, that seems just like a little bit of an extreme statement to me, but I don’t want to speak to other people’s sentiment and what’s important to them.”

“In my opinion,” he added, “parking spots come and go, and there’s a really big parking lot next door at the Canada Life building, and my first thought was, surely there could be an arrangement made to utilize those to sort of assuage both sides if that truly is the thing that is throwing up the red flags here.”

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.

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