The City of Winnipeg is hoping to find a new buyer for a lot in the heart of Osborne Village that has long sat vacant. The city has listed its property at 145 Osborne St. for $1.655 million. According to the listing, the city is accepting offers to purchase the 8,300-sq.-ft. lot as is until March 6. Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) told CTV News the neighbourhood has waited patiently for the lot to be put to use. “There’s a lot of interest again, which is no surprise to anyone,” she said. “It’s a lot in an amazing neighborhood, and so it garners a lot of interest when it goes up, and that’s where we’re at now.” The city acquired the lot in 1965, turning it into a 20-space surface parking lot. In 2021, the city’s property committee agreed to sell it for $1.6 million to a private business for redevelopment. However, that sale was stymied after soil contamination was discovered on the site that was once home to a service station. The lot remained closed as a result. The current sale listing includes a March 2025 letter from the province noting the property is no longer listed as an impacted site under the Contaminated Sites Remediation Act. The city paid to have the soil remediated in November 2024, the letter confirms. The listing notes the highest bid will not necessarily be accepted, as council must consider the best interest of the city. Rollins said the right offer will help complete the community. “For instance, I’m always wanting to see as part of local neighborhoods is health care, including primary health care,” she said. “You’re always trying to create a complete community so that first and foremost, you’re looking at the mix that creates that complete community.” New builds, upped safety helping revitalize Osborne Osborne Village BIZ executive director Zohreh Gervais told CTV News she’s curious to see what will be developed on the coveted lot. “I hope that it will be something that has a mixed-use situation, similar to the Zoo building across the street, where there’s main floor commercial and then upper or residential or offices. That would be ideal,” she said. Gervais hopes the lot’s sale will be the latest in a string of investments in the area, from high-rise apartment buildings to more restaurants and retail taking over empty spaces – all of which have added foot traffic. Enhanced presence from Winnipeg police and the BIZ’s safety ambassador team has gone a long way towards revitalization, but that’s just part of the puzzle, she said. “What really makes a community feel safer is having a lot of people around, and we are really seeing that a lot more in Osborne now.” - With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele
