Bruce Oake Recovery Centre clears final hurdle, construction could begin in late summer
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/01/2019 (2596 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Another hurdle was cleared at city hall Thursday for the proposed St. James-area addictions treatment facility.
Members of council unanimously approved a rezoning and a subdivision plan for the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre project.
“We are delighted with today’s unanimous vote. It means all of the City of Winnipeg’s elected officials share the passion for families and individuals struggling with addiction,” said television sportscaster Scott Oake. “We remain focused on saving lives and today’s decision is another step towards our ultimate goal of offering long-term treatment in our city.”
City council’s controversial $1 sale of the former Vimy arena property to the province a year ago was contingent on council approving both the rezoning and the subdivision plan.
Scott Fielding, now Manitoba’s finance minister but at the time the families minister, had arranged for Manitoba Housing to purchase the property with the intent to lease it to the Bruce Oake Foundation for $1.
The Oake family wants to build a $14-million, 50-bed, long-term addictions facility for men in memory of their son Bruce, who died from a drug overdose at the age of 25 in March 2011. Addicts would be treated at no cost, with all expenses covered by a foundation the family set up in their son’s name.
A formal lease still needs to be finalized between Manitoba Housing and the foundation, but Scott Oake said construction is expected to begin in late summer.
Support for the facility has come from across the city and the country.
But opposition within the Crestview neighbourhood remains strong, where residents are concerned about the presence of drug addicts in their community, the loss of recreational park land, and how the province and city hall secretly arranged the land transfer before the project became public.
At a public hearing in November for the rezoning and subdivision plan, the registered opponents outnumbered the supporters by more than two to one; with 228 residents opposed to 98 in support.
Independent MLA Steven Fletcher called on the province’s auditor general in December to investigate the transaction, alleging it was done improperly and that the province had failed to consider any other property it owns for the addictions facility. But the auditor general has yet to respond to the request.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca