Residents concerned by new apartment building

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/10/2019 (2346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The North Main area is certainly becoming more and more developed, and some residents living in Old Kildonan are definitely not happy with a proposed apartment building slated for the corner of Main Street and Benn Avenue in Riverbend.

According to an article in The Times on Sept. 25, “a subdivision, rezoning and variance application for properties located at the corner of Benn Avenue and Main Street in Riverbend, which is now a part of the North Kildonan ward, was approved, despite some vocal opposition from neighbours.”

Mary Hill who has lived on Benn Avenue for many years said the issues are many. 

“Traffic is a major issue,” she said. 

Parking, privacy, safety and lifestyle issues are just some of their major concerns.

The Times reported that “the applicant, Ironclad Developments, intends to build a 5.5 storey apartment building…with 157 units and 238 parking spaces, 89 beneath the ground floor and the remainder in a surface parking area.”

Hill said she is concerned about increased traffic. 

“Chances are there could be some people with two cars (for each unit) so upwards of 200 cars extra would be on the road,” she said. “Safety is a big issue because of the increased traffic volume.”

Another concern is parking. 

“The cost of parking is not included in the monthly rent so they would have to pay extra for parking and could end up parking on Benn and surrounding streets,” she pointed out.

Hill said another worry is where the entrance and exit will be. Neighbours want the entrance and exit located on Main Street and not on Benn.

Residents are also concerned about privacy, especially on Benn and Peter Herner Bay. The balconies in the development will overlook properties on Peter Herner, reducing privacy on some properties, Hill said.

“Also because the building is so tall, they will lose hours of daylight,” she said.

Residents would prefer the building be no more than two or three storeys.Concerned neighbours have been circulating a petition regarding a variance that will be filed with the city clerk’s office. 

“It just doesn’t fit in the neighbourhood. It’s too tall and too long and it sets a precedent for the area. It will change our lifestyle forever,” Hill said.

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) was reported in The Times as saying the rezoning “is consistent with our council-adopted master plan, Our Winnipeg.” 

Neither Browaty nor Ironclad Developments could be reached at the time of this writing.

Cheryl Girard is a community correspondent for West Kildonan. You can contact her at girard.cheryl@gmail.com