Rehabilitate or demolish? Manitoba Housing seeks proposals for vacant housing complex

Centre Village is shown in an April 28, 2023 photo. The subsidized housing complex has sat empty since 2021. (Source: Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)

Manitoba Housing has put out a call for proposals to redevelop a Central Park-area complex that once won architectural awards and now sits empty.

Centre Village at 575 Balmoral Street was built in 2010 by CentreVenture Development, Knox United Church and the province for $3.7 million.

It was initially operated as cooperative housing for newcomer and low-income families.

The complex’s micro village design, featuring units with ‘rich and playful compositions’ and vibrant orange window cowlings, won a number of architecture awards.

According to Manitoba Housing acting chief executive officer Carolyn Ryan, the crown corporation took over ownership in 2015 when CentreVenture’s mandate migrated away from housing. The co-op model was nixed, and the complex was added to its larger social housing portfolio.

In the years since, vacancies at Centre Village rose.

"That's kind of pushed us to move to the place where we are today," Ryan said.

Codi Guenther is executive director of New Journey Housing, a resource centre for newcomers to Canada.

Guenther said the organization worked with families who lived in Centre Village’s units.

Once moved in, some encountered issues ranging from on-site safety to the layout of the units themselves.

“There were issues with quite a few broken windows. A lot of times their units would be boarded up,” Guenther recalled.

“Residents were often asking for a fence to help them feel more secure, and the fence didn't come up until the place was actually vacant.”

The facility was ultimately shut down in 2021. Ryan said in its dormancy, the complex has become a ‘challenging site’, requiring security to regularly patrol the premises to keep trespassers out of its many nooks and crannies.

MANITOBA HOUSING OPEN TO ALL REDEVELOPMENT OPTIONS

Manitoba Housing has since set out to redevelop, issuing a request for expression of interest on the 13,000-square-foot site earlier this month.

Ryan says they’re open to rehabilitating the existing structure or tearing it down altogether, as long as at least 25 units of social housing are maintained.

“It's not the best practice to demolish and build. The most environmental housing is the housing we already have, but we have to weigh that against the utility of it. If it’s not appropriate for families, then we don't have a lot of choice.”

They also favour an Indigenous proponent, and want the successful proposal to align with Manitoba Housing’s new homeless strategy.

The deadlines for submissions is May 19.

According to the province, there were 6,207 households on Manitoba Housing’s eligibility list as of Jan. 1.

As of that date, Manitoba Housing owned 16,135 social housing units, and there are currently 1,981 vacant units.

Guenther hopes the existing complex will have another chapter. She said demolishing a building that is just over 10 years old is wasteful of public dollars.

Still, she notes there is a dire need for subsidized housing with the cost of living rising.

“The site is central. It's close to a lot of services, so I do think that it can work, but it just needs to be done in a much better way than when it was first created. I think it can be better. It has to be better.”

Despite the many curveballs the site has presented, Ryan too is optimistic for what’s ahead.

“This is ripe for redevelopment. Let's get some people safely and affordably housed there."