'Really make a dent': Federal funding to support 11 housing projects in Winnipeg
The push to build more housing in Winnipeg took a big step forward Thursday.
Eleven projects will split $25 million in grants through the federal housing accelerator fund, including a vacant long-term care home on Edmonton Street.
"Those projects are focused on affordable housing, deeply affordable housing, rent, rental income and many other exciting aspects that will get more housing built within Winnipeg," said Mayor Scott Gillingham.
$3.5 million will go toward the U of W Community Renewal Corporation and their partners to renovate the former Parkview Place. The project plans to have 180 social, transitional and affordable units, as well as a daycare and space for social services and newcomer supports.
"We know there's the demand and we know that even with these projects built, we're probably not meeting all of it, but we're, I think, starting as a city to really make a dent," said Jeremy Read, the CEO of the Renewal Corporation.
Other projects include the next phase of the Marketlands in the Exchange District, a Shoal Lake 40 First Nation-owned complex on Portage Avenue and a development on a surface lot on Pacific Avenue.
In total, the 11 projects are expected to create 1,135 new units, with 597 considered affordable housing.
"I think this really shows what the city can do, and that the city does have a role to play in supporting the construction and development of new affordable housing," said Yutaka Dirks, the city committee chair for the Right to Housing Coalition.
The coalition said the next step is building more rent geared to income units, as there are only 231 of those units currently in Winnipeg.
"We're encouraged, but also sort of recognize that that's one-tenth of what needs to be produced, according to our calculation over the next three years," said Dirks.
The city said it received 66 applications for funding. The projects that didn't get selected aren't totally out of luck as there's still around $100 million in funds to be dished out.
Gillingham said the city will announce application opportunities in the coming months.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Get away from your inner circle': Liberal MP 'shocked' PM didn't take more time to reflect on calls to resign
Longtime Liberal MP Wayne Long says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should give more weight to the views of his backbenchers in determining his future leading the Party, rather than relying on those in his immediate orbit.
Mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son to death sentenced to over 50 years in prison
A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
An abrupt goodbye to a guerilla goldfish aquarium beneath a leaky Brooklyn fire hydrant
A makeshift aquarium that popped up this summer in a puddle beneath a leaky fire hydrant has been paved over, to the dismay of neighbors who turned the area into a hangout spot and goldfish shrine.
Canadian warship missile test aborted mid-flight after communication failure
A Canadian navy missile test was aborted mid-flight this week after controllers lost communication with the projectile off the coast of southern California.
'The power of nostalgia': N.B. archivist creates highway time machine
The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB) has uploaded dozens of dashboard camera videos from the 1970s to their YouTube channel.
'Violence is not good': UW stabber apologizes at end of sentencing hearing
Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, the man who stabbed three people in a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo, says he ‘acted dumb’.
'I'm still not giving up': Third stage of landfill search begins in Manitoba
It's been a long and emotional journey for Manitoba residential school survivor Susan Caribou. Her niece, Tanya Nepinak, has been missing since September 2011 and has never been found.
B.C. nurse suspended 1 week for stealing narcotics for personal use, working while impaired
A B.C. nurse has been suspended for one week for diverting narcotics from their workplace and using them personally, according to the regulatory body for the profession.
Former Alberta teacher sentenced to 4 years for sexually assaulting student
A former Alberta teacher has been sentenced to four years for sexually abusing a student.