Affordable housing set for site near U of W

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This article was published 10/01/2023 (713 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Affordable housing is soon to be “a hop, skip and a jump away” from the University of Winnipeg.

A plot across from the school’s recreation centre on Young Street was bare but for a pile of sand Wednesday.

By summer of 2024, it should hold a seven-storey, 69-unit apartment complex with heated underground parking and Indigenous cultural elements — if all goes according to schedule.

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“You’re right by the bus, you’re right by all the amenities, the shopping, any of the resources a student requires. This made sense,” said Ginger Martin, CEO of Paskwayak Business Development Corporation, at a Wednesday news conference.

The complex being “a hop, skip and a jump away” from university was ideal, she added.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation, whose reserve members reside near The Pas, partnered with Ottawa and the province on the more than $17.4 million project. The First Nation submitted $1.8 million; they’ll own and operate the facility.

Opaskwayak students will take top priority, Martin said. Leaders are still determining how many units will be reserved for the group.

Between 50 and 80 Opaskwayak members attend post-secondaries in Winnipeg, Martin said.

Others in need of affordable housing — including students, seniors and various First Nations members — will be able to rent units too, she added.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation is figuring out its criteria for accepting tenants.

“We want to make sure that we’re not making it strenuous for any families,” Martin said. “It’s hard… with the cost of living today.”

Forty per cent of units will rent in the $680 to $730 per month range. The latter will go for $900 to $1,600 monthly, dependent on the unit’s size, according to Nigel Furgus, Paragon Design Build’s CEO.

“We don’t even make a dent in the need for the market of affordable housing,” Furgus said.

Paragon Design Build is developing 380 Young St.’s complex. Each space will include quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-suite washers and dryers and “a very high-end finish,” Furgus said.

“All of our affordable housing units (to date) — we have zero per cent vacancy,” he said. “There is definitely an affordable housing crisis.”

Paragon is behind more than 300 rented affordable units, Furgus said. The company plans to bring another 600 affordable units — to market in the next five years. Paragon currently has over $600 million of projects under development.

The shortage of affordable housing has been ongoing for years, Furgus noted.

Whelan Sutherland remembers apartment hunting, fresh from Peguis First Nation, in 2001.

It was his second attempt at university in Winnipeg.

“My first time around… was stressing about where I’m going to live, and finding an affordable place that was safe enough,” said Sutherland, who’s now CEO of Treaty 1 Development Corporation.

The housing, and the schooling, did not work out, he said. When he returned in 2001, he got lucky by finding a family who rented rooms in their house.

Having a safe, secure space while studying made a difference, Sutherland said.

“We want to ensure the apartment that we are building envelopes that cultural aspect for (Opaskwayak members), so they do feel like they’re at home,” Martin said.

The First Nation may bring an elder into the facility regularly. There might be a cultural centre, and celebrations like feasts and smudging ceremonies, Martin said.

“You feel displaced, you feel a little out of place (moving to Winnipeg), and that’s a challenge in itself,” Martin said, adding her daughter went through the experience two years ago.

The apartment replaces four vacant single family homes. The federal government is contributing $15.6 million through a national housing fund.

The new complex will receive $105,000 through Efficiency Manitoba for its energy saving measures, including energy-efficient insulation and heat pumps for space heating. Concrete steel will fill the building.

“We know (affordable housing is) one of the greatest challenges facing the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba,” Dan Vandal, the federal minister overseeing Prairies Economic Development Canada, said at a Wednesday news conference.

Approximately 34,625 Winnipeg households are in “core need,” in terms of housing, according to a City of Winnipeg assessment The University of Winnipeg’s Institute of Urban Studies conducted in 2020.

The report called for 17,312 new units for low-income households over 10 years, including a mix of transitional, affordable and rent-to-income housing, and seniors assisted living units.

The City of Winnipeg was involved in developing 180 affordable and transitional housing units in 2022, with many being funded through Ottawa’s programs, according to a December city report.

Ottawa has budgeted a $72 billion spend, over 10 years, on its national housing strategy. It released the strategy in 2017.

“Indigenous housing projects are prioritized,” noted Housing and Diversity and Inclusion Minister Ahmed Hussen.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com