The extension of St. Matthews Avenue from St. James Street to Route 90 requires the city to expropriate portions of a number of businesses, including Canada Auto.

Winnipeggers have been bringing their cars in to the repair shop for more than eight decades.

"My 83-year-old father is still working in the business,” said Canada Auto’s Dan Iwanchuk. “My grandfather started the business in 1935. We've been in business 80 years and we're just forced out."

The city plan calls for the expropriation of only part of Canada Auto, cutting their parking lot in half.

But Iwanchuk said the auto repair shop won’t be able to continue without enough places to park cars.

"What we proposed to them is if they're going to take that much, they should take the whole building,” he said. “Expropriate the whole building and we'll look for a better location for us."

Having been down this road with businesses before, city hall doesn’t see it the same way.

During construction of the first phase of bus rapid transit, the city expropriated the Midtown Car Wash on Gertrude Avenue at a cost of nearly $3.4 million because the business owner said the operation could not continue without the 20 per cent of the property the city wanted.

However, the city later sold the property, at a $1.8 million loss, and the new owner continues to operate a car wash at the location.

A few blocks from Canada Auto, the St. Matthews extension also requires an expropriation at a commercial building on St. James.

That will see the strip mall’s parking reduced from 32 spaces to just 12.

Most of the building’s tenants have already moved and Oxbow Holdings Limited, the building’s owner, worries it won’t be able to find new ones.

"With the limitations on access, and with a reduction in the number of parking stalls, this property would not be viable as a commercially leasable space,” said Mark Newman, the lawyer for Oxbow Holdings.

Original plans called for the whole building to be expropriated, but the city accidentally sold too much of the land across the street where Target now sits and the plans changed.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he sympathizes with the business owners but adds the city has to look at the big picture.

"We also have to think about the taxpayer dollars that are tied up in these sort of negotiations and expropriation matters,” said Bowman.

The expropriation plan goes to a vote before city council on March 25.