Downtown’s future bright — what about today?

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2023 (628 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I think about downtown Winnipeg a lot.

It’s hard not to when our downtown Y is a literal island of activity – connected only to empty or sparsely populated buildings in every direction. Portage Place, Investors Group, Hudson’s Bay and then across the street the Salvation Army building, which was recently sold to Booth University College.

I was one of many of the downtown hopefuls who attended Tuesday’s media event organized by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization and True North Real Estate Development on the redevelopment of Portage Place.

Like everyone else in attendance I left excited and energized by their vision for the future.

But unlike most, even in the face of great hope, our organization is faced with a real and burning question: What about today?

We hear from the various levels of governments that the downtown matters and we need to invest. However, the influx of announcements have been centred on investments that won’t be realized for many, many years or related to increased funding solely focused on safety. But this isn’t necessarily the only downtown I see.

The downtown is already here and it is an incredibly diverse and vibrant community. We have a population that is 35 per cent newcomers, 27 per cent single parents, 24 per cent older adults, 17 per cent Indigenous, and most notably 43 per cent are with children in low-income families.

Right behind the Downtown Y at 301 Vaughan, there is a whole host of apartments and housing for those that live in this very area and who need access to community spaces, to local businesses, to health services and to a vibrant economic centre. And need these things already today.

Luckily, some of these services and amenities already exist within the downtown. In fact, they have for quite some time. But many have also left, and without support many more will leave in the days to come.

This leads me back to our own decision at the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg to stay downtown even though, as a charity and not-for-profit organization, we are running a deficit.

We have been here at the downtown Y for 110 years and have weathered world wars, the Great Depression, multiple recessions and now it is our turn to weather a pandemic recovery. And the reason we have chosen this path is because we still see over 1,000 people through our doors at the downtown Y each day, from every age and background, and we know that what we do matters to them. That’s why we made the decision to stay… for now.

We like so many downtown businesses and community service organizations continue to serve the downtown community, but the truth is we can’t do this alone.

While we wait for the incredible investments for Portage Place and Hudson’s Bay to be realized, there are things the various levels of government could already be doing to help support the local community today.

1. Diversify the investments into downtown. One of the things we tout as Manitobans is that of the strength of our economic diversification. I think this is the same for any development and investments into the downtown.

We need everyone to thrive: small and big businesses, arts and culture, community organizations and non-profits.

2. Consider a recalibrated version of the Core Area Initiative. The Core Area Initiative was a significant policy intervention that involved the three levels of government in the 1980s. The intent of the initiative was providing funding to initiatives that would improve the economic, social and physical condition of Winnipeg’s downtown. The benefits of the program was that it addressed economic and social development for multiple purposes and organizations.

3. Find ways to support the work already underway in downtown. Community organizations like the Skateboard Coalition who established the Pitikwé Skatepark at the former Staples for example. This place is vibrant and alive and has demonstrated the incredible impact of community coming together.

It feels almost like blasphemy to say ‘what about today’ when I have so much hope for the future of the downtown and saw that hope demonstrated through incredible partnerships this past week.

It’s a vision for the future we share – we just hope everyone who is working so hard to make downtown work for people today are still around to see it.

Cordella Friesen is the president and CEO of the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg.