From eyesore to eye-catching

An ambitious, decades-long plan to revitalize Point Douglas proposes a balanced mix of new homes, businesses and light industrial sites with the aim of creating a safe, inclusive and complete neighbourhood.

Some residents, business owners and local councillors expressed hope and optimism Wednesday after the city published details of the proposed secondary plan for one of Winnipeg’s oldest areas.

“Unfortunately, Point Douglas has been known as an area that just gets dumped on, and it’s really disheartening to hear that from the community in that they’re so desperate for some revitalization and some TLC,” said Point Douglas Coun. Vivian Santos, whose ward includes South Point Douglas, which borders downtown Winnipeg.

“I really hope that in the next decade or so we’re going to see some really good plans and revitalization, and people really wanting to invest and work, live and play here.”

Affordability will be a key component of new housing, she said.

A city staff report recommends council adopt a bylaw and move forward with the plan to guide development over an estimated 25-year period. The Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan community committee will hold a public hearing Feb. 24 to hear public feedback.

“I really hope that in the next decade or so we’re going to see some really good plans and revitalization, and people really wanting to invest and work, live and play here.”

The proposal is the product of two years of planning, with input from residents, business owners and community groups. It outlines a vision for a neighbourhood for people of all incomes, ages, backgrounds and physical abilities.

Proponents hope the plan will add thousands of new housing units, with an eye toward replacing existing stock, filling empty lots or converting industrial sites that are vacant or underused.

“(The neighbourhood) is already changing — not fast enough for the residents — but when you have a secondary plan, that tells developers, ‘We can do this, we can do that,’” said committee chair Coun. Ross Eadie, whose Mynarski ward includes North Point Douglas. “We’re expecting to see more investment in housing renewal.”

In North Point Douglas, the plan calls for infill homes and mid-rise mixed-use buildings (up to six storeys) in existing residential areas, and higher-rise mixed-use buildings in a zone bordered by Sutherland Avenue, a Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. rail line and the Red River.

Euclid and Sutherland avenues could become pedestrian-focused main streets, with homes and businesses to increase employment opportunities.

A large section of South Point Douglas, which is mostly industrial or commercial, is earmarked for higher-rise mixed-use developments, which could be seven to 16 storeys if specific criteria are met.

About 20 per cent of the land in South Point Douglas is undeveloped or vacant, the report said.

The vision for the area is a continuation of Waterfront Drive, Santos said.

Point Douglas resident Katherine Bitney said the redeveloped neighbourhood should be affordable, comfortable and walkable, with more green space, trees and amenities, including a “proper” grocery store.

Bitney isn’t in favour of tall apartment or condominium buildings, and welcomes efforts to make it less industrial. She fears the area will lose the character of Victorian-style buildings.

“This is a neighbourhood that wants to revitalize itself as a neighbourhood,” she said. “We’re not looking to gentrify. We don’t want shiny condo buildings all over the place.”

Santos said the area is underserved and underrepresented. It has higher rates of poverty and crime, and is blighted by derelict buildings or empty lots. Homeless encampments are common along the riverbank.

Eadie said “social ills,” including drug addiction, have to be taken care of, while the future of Point Douglas is shaped.

“This is a neighbourhood that wants to revitalize itself as a neighbourhood… We’re not looking to gentrify. We don’t want shiny condo buildings all over the place.”

There are future plans for a rapid transit corridor on Sutherland and a station near the Louise Bridge, active transportation paths or connections, and a pedestrian underpass beneath the rail line.

A handful of riverside locations were identified as possible parks or open spaces. Santos said the city is waiting to hear from Ottawa regarding a proposal to create a new national park in the area of Point Douglas where the Red and Seine rivers meet.

The proposal encourages new recreation centres and more arts and cultural spaces, with a focus on Indigenous art, culture and history.

Existing industrial sites would be “grandfathered” into the plan, Santos said.

New light industrial sites that are not deemed a nuisance would be permitted in some locations. New heavy industrial sites or expansions of existing ones would not be permitted.

Faith Kaplan, vice-president of Western Scrap Metals, at 18 Sutherland Ave., said she supports efforts to create a safe and welcoming neighbourhood. The family-owned business has been in North Point Douglas for 70 years.

“It was once a bustling neighbourhood, and I believe it can be again,” Kaplan said. “I want the sense of hopefulness restored throughout the neighbourhood.”

The city budgeted $400,000 for the planning project, using funds from the Canada Community Building Fund, formerly known as the Gas Tax Fund. The consultant contract for the project was $350,000, city spokesman Kalen Qually said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Point Douglas plan

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.