‘A sense of identity’: Future plans unveiled for iconic St. Boniface water tower

An iconic water tower in St. Boniface won’t be moving far when a new housing development starts taking shape. CTV’s Daniel Halmarson explains.

A new housing project in St. Boniface will start taking shape in the next year, and an iconic landmark will remain at the centre of the development.

The Water Tower District is a mixed-use development with plans for up to 2,800 housing units, retail and restaurants, and green space sprinkled throughout 165 acres bordered by Marion Street, Archibald Street, and Dawson Road.

“In the next 12 months, you’ll start to see buildings starting to come out of the ground,” Robert Scaletta, a senior vice-president at Shindico Realty, told CTV News. “They’ve got a few groups ready to start construction at the end of this year, and by next year, you’ll probably have about 700 multi-family units start up.”

The development is being built on the former Union Stockyards, which initially opened in 1913 with enough room for 450 railcars of livestock. The yard closed in 1988, but the site’s 90-foot-tall water tower still stands in its spot as a looming reminder of Union Stockyard’s importance to the area’s history and growth.

“It was the largest meatpacking facility in the British Empire,” Cindy Tugwell, Heritage Winnipeg’s executive director, told CTV News. “That water tower was primarily for fire protection.”

A new report at City Hall indicates the tower will be dismantled and relocated, but Scaletta said the structure won’t be moving far.

“We’re going to put it on one of the parks,” Scaletta explained. “Light it up, restore it as much as we possibly can.”

Tugwell said saving the tower is worth celebrating, especially because it doesn’t have historic designation.

“This is a really positive milestone for the city to show that a private developer is doing this large new development but is respecting the history of the area,” Tugwell said.

She said the tower will continue to serve as a reminder of St. Boniface’s past and as a landmark for the people who will soon call the neighbourhood home.

“It gives you a sense of place, it gives you a sense of identity,” Tugwell said. “And I think, for this new development, it will give it character.”