Organization withdraws bid for sale of St. Boniface civic square

The former St. Boniface City Hall (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News.)

Increased costs brought on by the pandemic is the reason why Manitoba Possible is backing out of the sale of the civic square of St. Boniface.

Manitoba Possible provides support and services for Manitobans living with disabilities.

It had reached an agreement with the city to acquire the property, which had included St. Boniface City Hall and the fire station, but the organization said plans have now changed.

"When we put in our proposal, we had a financially viable development and things looked really good. But that was just before the pandemic. And of course, we know that pandemic has changed so many different things, especially the economic outlook," Manitoba Possible CEO Dana Erickson said.

He said with construction costs rising, as well as the inflation rate, the project wasn’t manageable anymore.

"We couldn't see a way forward to make it work financially and still deliver on the vision that we had for the development. So we opted to withdraw."

Erickson said the original sale of the property was for $10,000, adding Manitoba Possible had a redevelopment plan that would cost around $40 million.

There were plans for a fundraiser to supplement some of the cost, but Erickson noted a fundraising event had not been held prior to the organization withdrawing from the sale.

Manitoba Possible had also reached an agreement with Société de la francophonie manitobaine (SFM) to sell them St. Boniface City Hall once Manitoba Possible had taken possession.

"We hope the City of Winnipeg will be willing to be a partner in the preservation and development of the site," said Angela Cassie, the president of the SFM, in a news release. “Our goal is to work with Manitoba Possible, the City of Winnipeg and other partners to build a common vision for the site, secure funding for its development and open dialogue with financial and community partners."

Erickson said Manitoba Possible will continue to work with the St. Boniface community and SFM if another opportunity comes up to redevelop the land.

"If there's a developer of the future who comes along and is interested in our participation, we would really like that. So we will continue to maintain open channels with our friends in the francophone community and see where it leads in the future."

A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg said it is disappointed the approval bid to purchase the properties is not going forward.

"We recognize the importance of these properties to the community and we did have very encouraging discussions with the bidder on plans for a campus-development that created a strong model of accessibility and integration with the St. Boniface neighbourhood," the spokesperson said in an email to CTV News.

They noted the Public Service will report back to council with options in the coming months and look for council's direction.