CentreVenture takes step towards affordable housing on former PSB site

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This article was published 17/09/2018 (2046 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CentreVenture Development Corporation is looking for a partner or partners who specialize in affordable housing to develop the site of the old Public Safety Building.

A formal expression of interest (EOI) was issued Tuesday to non-profit housing developers across the country to participate in a joint venture for the development, construction and management of new affordable housing to be built on the southern portion of the property now known as the Market Lands.

“This type of procurement is a more collaborative way of bringing people together who have different pieces of the puzzle,” said Angela Mathieson, chief executive officer of CentreVenture, an arm’s-length agency of the City of Winnipeg.

The PSB property is part of the larger 2.4-acre parcel of land owned by the city between King and Princess streets, and William and James avenues. The PSB had been the headquarters for the Winnipeg Police Service for more than 50 years. The WPS moved into the former Canada Post warehouse at 245 Smith St. in 2016.

The nearby parkade was closed in 2012, because it was considered structurally unsound.

Council decided in April 2016 the PSB would be demolished and the entire site developed, after a plan had been drafted with community consultation.

CentreVenture, the city’s downtown land development agency, which is handling this project, has issued an international design competition for the entire site. The contract is expected to be awarded in December, and the winning firm will work with the partner developers on the detailed design components.

Councillors are being asked this week to approve a demolition schedule that would result in some of the work being carried out by the end of 2018, with the removal of hazardous materials. The bulk of the demolition would be done in 2019, and site preparation for redevelopment in early 2020.

The southern portion, about 0.8 acres, was originally gifted to the city in 1875 on condition it be used for public purposes. The caveat does not apply to the parkade property.

Mathieson said the plan is for the city to lease the southern portion to a group that would build and manage about 100 units of affordable housing, along with 1,100 square metres of ground-floor space as a cultural hub for arts organizations, a one-storey public market building, and a large public plaza.

The norther portion, which includes the parkade and a small park on the King Street side, would be sold to a private developer through a traditional request for proposal, Mathieson said.

Mathieson said the city’s legal department advised civic officials and CentreVenture the affordable-housing development meets the criteria of the original caveat. Leasing the land to a group ensures the property remains affordable housing, she said, and it gives city hall control over the property.

CentreVenture said the southern portion will be developed first, with construction to begin in 2020.

An RFP for a mixed-use development on the northern portion will be issued in 2019, with construction to start after work begins on the southern portion.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca