New developments in Island Lakes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2015 (4091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’re smack dab in the dead of a chilly 2015 Winnipeg winter. Shovelling seems to be the only outdoor pastime for many this season but Winnipeg’s other season — construction season, as the old joke goes — is just around the corner.

The Marquis Condominiums are half-erected on Boulevard De La Seigneurie which reminded me of the other tentative construction set for Precinct K (which is now known as Bonavista, after previously being called Fraipont).

Just to the south of Island Lakes sits 547 acres just waiting to be built upon. So I did a little digging around to find out what’s going on.

The Island Lakes Residents’ Group website, islandlakes.org, confirms that construction of the infrastructure will begin soon, as housing construction is expected to commence sometime this year.

The Precinct K plan— as posted at http://www.mattallard.ca/uploads/2/5/4/8/25485544/precinct_k_open_house_boards.pdf  — calls for Warde Avenue to be extended, connecting Lagimodiere Boulevard to St. Anne’s Road. This will include a bridge crossing over Seine River. A greenway will restrict future development along the Seine River, and that same greenway will establish a linear pathway connecting Bois Des Esprits south of Warde.

The Greater Council of Winnipeg Community Centres has also noted a need for a community centre in southeast Winnipeg, with outside recreational fields. The Precinct K plan includes a policy to accommodate recreational amenities on a 12-15 acre site. This will be many years up the road, granted, but I’m sure this will affect Southdale Community Centre to some degree.

The plan also mentions that another Kindergarten to Grade 8 school will be required in the area but that will also be a while down the road.

Being a resident of the area, construction is nothing new, and a summer free of cement trucks, flatbeds and the like would be a surprise.

While urban sprawl is a concern, such the growth shows how much vitality and opportunity there is within our city.

Jasmine van Gerwen is a community correspondent for Island Lakes. She can be reached at jasvangerwen@shaw.ca