Half of apartments in Exchange District development will be rent-geared-to-income after provincial funding | CBC News

· Posted: Apr 18, 2024 7:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 18

Affordable apartments units in a new project in Winnipeg's Exchange District will now cost even less after a funding commitment from the Manitoba government.

Plans for the Market Lands project, being built on an empty lot across from Winnipeg city hall that was previously home to the Winnipeg police headquarters and a parkade, include 95 units of housing, along with space for arts organizations, in a nine-storey building.

Half of the 95 units were previously intended to be designated as "affordable," with rents set at 59 per cent of median market rates.

But on Thursday, Housing Minister Bernadette Smith said the province will give ongoing operating funding to the Market Lands development to reduce rents further.

The funding will ensure that 48 of the 95 units are "deeply affordable rent-geared-to-income units," Smith said at a news conference on Thursday.

Rents will be based on residents' income, at an estimated annual cost of $576,000.

Studio and one-bedroom units could cost as little as $285 a month, said Jeremy Read, the CEO of the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0, which is leading the Market Lands project.

"Housing is so basic to our well-being that when we have it … with certainty, it becomes the assumed canvas in which we paint our lives," Read said at Thursday's news conference.

"When we don't [have it], or we worry that we won't, it can throw our lives and that of our families into chaos."

A portion of the rent-geared-to-income units will be dedicated to newcomers, through a partnership with New Journey Housing.

"The rent geared [to] income, it helps [newcomers] a lot to integrate to pursue their education, and at the end they get high-paid jobs," said Azarias Butariho, a housing adviser with New Journey.

Kirsten Bernas, chair of the provincial working group of the Right to Housing Coalition, praised the funding announcement.

"We need many … more announcements just like this one," she said in an interview.

"We have identified a need for 1,000 units annually of this type of rent-geared-to-income housing."

Rent-geared-to-income units make up a small percentage of overall housing stock — just four per cent across Canada, Bernas said.

There are 16,000 publicly owned units in Manitoba, and another 16,000 non-profit housing units, only a portion of which are rent-geared-to-housing units, she said.

In addition to the rent funding, the province is also providing $1.8 million in a forgivable loan for construction costs for the $55-million Market Lands project.

The land, valued at $3.7 million, will be leased to the U of W community renewal corporation for $1 per year, Mayor Scott Gillingham said at the news conference. 

The city has a 25-year tax increment financing agreement worth $2.5 million, and contributed $2.5 million through its Downtown Recovery Grant. 

"So many partners have come together and are coming together to make the Market Land site and development a reality, and we're looking forward to doing more projects like this throughout the city," Gillingham said.

The project is expected to be completed in January 2026.

Half of apartments in Exchange District development will be rent-geared-to-income after provincial funding

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.