‘The greenest building is an existing building’: New report looks at how more heritage buildings could be converted in Winnipeg

A new report set to be discussed next week at a city committee is being called a step in the right direction for heritage buildings by one advocate.

The Promoting Adaptive Reuse and Preservation of Heritage report is exploring the potential of expanding bylaws and rules to convert more heritage buildings in Winnipeg into housing instead of demolishing them and building new.

“I’m elated, because I think that it’s about time. Especially in a world where we’re trying to look at sustainability,” said Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg.

“The greenest building is an existing building, and I think that we have a lot of stock of heritage buildings that could be reused with proper support from the city.”

The report highlights that the public service met with both the Historical Buildings and Resources Committee and the Climate Action and Resilience Committee to see how the city could better expand the adaptive reuse process to current historical buildings.

Adaptive reuse is when a building is retrofitted to allow for a different or expanded use. When talking about heritage buildings, adaptive reuse is focused on rehabilitation.

“Rehabilitation also includes actions to preserve and restore elements of the building that represent its architectural and historical significance,” the report reads.

The report said some of the main benefits to adaptive reuse are that it’s better for the environment as the construction footprint isn’t so large, it improves the heritage value of the city by keeping important structures standing, and it gives multiple housing options.

Tugwell said when an older building is repurposed, it allows for the cost to be much cheaper.

“If you’re looking at a lot of time retrofitting a building for residential use, as opposed to building a new residential building, you’re going to be able to provide affordable housing much easier than a brand-new building,” said Tugwell.

She points to the Exchange District as a perfect example of how adaptive reuse can be a success. There are a number of buildings that could provide housing, all while being in a walkable area that is close to several amenities.

“We’re celebrating not only beautiful architecture but important history. That can resonate with not only making streets safe and reducing crime, but also increase tourism.”

The public service also reviewed what other cities in Canada do with heritage and non-heritage buildings, including Calgary, Halifax and Vancouver.

It found different approaches are taken, from land incentives to regulatory processes that discourage demolition.

“Based on the findings of the research, some of these mechanisms could be considered,” the report states.

The property and development committee is set to discuss the report on May 6. It will be taken as information, which Tugwell said is the first step to improving the process of saving heritage buildings.

“The fact that they’re having this conversation, they’re producing a report that gives justification to the immense value of rehabilitating heritage buildings all over the city, and primarily downtown, is critical,” said Tugwell. “It’s a step in the right direction, and it is just a step. But we’re thrilled that the public service is now recognizing and trying to educate council to hope to make better decisions, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

A comprehensive zoning bylaw review is scheduled to happen at some point in 2027, during which time some of the findings from the report will be discussed further to see if it would be possible in Winnipeg.