‘Just the beginning’: First business to open at redeveloped Kapyong Barracks site

Oodena Gas & Convenience, the first business at site of former Kapyong Barracks, is now open.

The first business to open on a sprawling piece of property owned by a group of Manitoba First Nations is revving up to open.

Oodena Gas and Convenience on Taylor Avenue held its soft opening Monday, as it readies to fully open to the public later this week.

When it’s up and running, it will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, employing 25 people - 24 of whom are First Nations members.

The business and the massive piece of land it sits on are owned by Treaty One Nations – a group of seven Manitoba First Nations who were signatories of the first numbered treaties.

“It’s an amazing day,” said Treaty One Development Corporation President Chief E.J. Fontaine.

“It’s a symbol of hope for our people and a symbol of progress, and it’s a positive development for our people that we can be proud about.”

The business is the first to open at Naawi-Oodena, a long-awaited development coming to the 65-hectare lot that used to house the Kapyong Barracks military base.

After being mired in a legal impasse for years, Treaty One Nations acquired the land in 2019 through a settlement agreement with the federal government.

A 2021 master plan for the site pitches a mixture of housing options, more commercial lots, a sports and recreation centre, a cultural campus, and community spaces.

The first section of the Kenaston and Taylor development is expected to be finished by 2028, while the entire 109-acre property will take up to 20 years to complete.

Fontaine said the corporation was recently granted a $74 million loan to develop a nine-storey, 260-apartment block, as well as a 14,000-square-foot strip mall for a clinic, restaurant and retail.

He said the development will create much-needed revenue and job opportunities for First Nations, plus many spin-off benefits for the city as a whole.

“It really is just the beginning and it’s a good beginning.”

- With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele, Taylor Brock and Jamie Dowsett