City to be home to trio of rapid housing initiative projects

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This article was published 05/12/2021 (1019 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Winnipeg is set to have three innovative housing projects for LGBTTQ+ and Métis people, as well as families fleeing violence, thanks to a federal program aimed at retrofitting unused buildings into homes.

The rapid housing initiative made news last week, when social services agency Sscope announced it plans to close its doors next month after failing to qualify through the program.

However, three projects that did qualify for a combined $12.8 million should create 59 new housing units for some of the Winnipeg’s most vulnerable groups, according to a report last week by city staff.

The Westminster Housing Society will open a four-storey complex on West Broadway, with 21 affordable units targeted at LGBTTQ+ people over the age of 55. The building will sit on the current empty space surrounding the Wilson House at Good Street.

It’s part of a partnership with the Rainbow Resource Centre to offer supportive housing to a demographic that doesn’t always feel welcome in mainstream living facilities, including those with disabilities, officials said.

Meanwhile, the West Central Women’s Resource Centre plans to open a 21-unit complex for families escaping violence at the former Acadia Apartments on Victor Street at Sargent Avenue, for tenants to occupy for up to two years.

The Manitoba Metis Federation is planning 22 short-term housing units for people at high risk of homelessness, including those grappling with addictions and mental health issues. That project will occupy the two floors above a Main Street pharmacy at Higgins Avenue.

All three projects are set to be house people by the end of 2022.

The federal Liberals have garnered praise for the rapid housing initiative, a COVID-19 pandemic program that provides shelter for the most vulnerable while putting unused, eyesore buildings to use.

Yet, opposition parties have questioned the scope of the program, which garnered $4.6 billion in viable proposals last year, only $2.5 billion of which were funded.

Last fall, Winnipeg had $12.5 million to allocate through the first round of the program, and found 13 viable programs, but could only pay for five of them.

Those projects are now coming online, with the Siloam Mission opening up 14 units, while the Salvation Army and Shawenim Abinoojii Inc. are expected to have occupancy this month, with the latter focused on young adults exiting the foster care system.

By April, projects by the WHRC and New Directions should be occupied.

Between all those projects, 77 units will be opened, after modifications from the original plans for 93 units. Some of the sites had to undergo stabilization due to concerns about the foundation or a nearby riverbank.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca