Century-old fire hall, library among city-owned buildings that could get green upgrades

The former St. Boniface City Hall (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News.)

Eight municipal buildings could undergo green renovations, as the city issues a call for pitches on how to give the aging properties an eco-friendly makeover.

The City of Winnipeg has issued a request for proposals for a consultancy firm to tackle green building pathway studies on the eight civic properties, which range in age from decades to over a century old.

The properties are the Old St. Boniface Fire Hall, the Festival Du Voyageur administrative offices, St. Boniface City Hall, NorWest (NOA) Resource Centre, St. James-Assiniboia Library, WFPS Station 23 on Dalhousie Drive, the city’s Public Works Yard and Administrative Offices on Waverley Street and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Academy.

The study would explore how the buildings can be retrofitted to meet a number of criteria, including reducing fossil fuels by 50 per cent and water consumption by 20 per cent.

The study would also outline design, cost, feasibility and project timelines for each property.

Two of those sites – the fire hall and city hall – were declared surplus over a decade ago and subsequently put up for sale. An approved sale to Manitoba Possible was terminated by the organization after community push back. The city similarly flinched, taking back the surplus declaration in 2024 in favour of searching for long-term lease opportunities.

The retrofitting of them and the six other buildings is aimed at helping the city meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050, a goal outlined in a city development plan called OurWinnipeg 2045.

Proposals are being accepted until the end of May.