Ribbon cutting marks new roads, buildings start in Water Tower District

Work is underway transforming land previously home to the massive Canada Packers building into St. Boniface’s latest development.

Alberta-based Olexa Developments and Winnipeg’s Shindico Realty Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday to unveil the names of two completed streets running through the new Water Tower District and mark the start of building construction.

Crews broke ground last month on the first multifamily residential building, which is expected to have 500 units. The developers have City of Winnipeg approval for 2,800 units across the 165-acre community, up from the previous 2,000-unit limit.

Dan Cristall, founder and CEO of Olexa, said the project has high potential because it can utilize existing infrastructure by being an inner-city development.

“There are a lot of developments in a lot of cities that push to the outer limits that require additional infrastructure built out,” he said. “But here, we’re talking about the deindustrialization for a family development, with a lot of commercial and retail implications for the area.”

He said it’s satisfying to see the project moving ahead after it was first announced in 2019.

The site — bordered by Archibald Street to the west, Dawson Road to the east and south of Marion Street — is less than four kilometres from downtown Winnipeg.

One of the new roads connecting the community will be named after Paulette Duguay, a former president of francophone Métis advocacy group Union nationale métisse Saint-Joseph du Manitoba. Duguay died last year at 70.

The other road will honour Ibrahima Diallo, a Senegalese-born professor at Université de Saint-Boniface.

Speaking before a crowd at the event on Monday, Diallo said it shows what’s possible for immigrants.

“When I left Senegal and came here, I never thought I would have an avenue bearing my name,” he said. “It was not a dream, but it was a good wake-up call.”

The Free Press previously reported the Water Tower District project could cost $1.5 billion. The development is privately funded.

Robert Scaletta, who’s both Shindico’s senior vice-president of industrial and a development manager at Olexa, called it “a village inside of a city,” with a mix of residential, light industrial and commercial properties. “It’s not just to create a development, we wanted to create a village and that’s where this is now coming to fruition,” he said.

Shindico already has plans to build an apartment complex on 10 acres.

Scaletta said he expects retailers will start coming to the community in less than two years, once they know residential units will be built. Residents could start moving into the new units in 16 months, he noted.

About 14 acres will be set aside for retail businesses, Scaletta said.

A firm already secured land to begin building a recreational facility next year that would have indoor pickleball and badminton courts, he said.

Another 22 acres of the Water Tower District is set aside for green and recreation space.

Light industrial operations will occupy 50 acres.

Scaletta said the area’s water tower could remain in its existing spot or be moved to a different location within the community.

The new development will be a complete community and shows city council’s support for increasing densification, Mayor Scott Gillingham said. “It’s really the whole package.”

St. Boniface Coun. Matt Allard said he’s glad to see work begin on the land after the project had to undergo extensive rezoning to residential from industrial property before breaking ground.

The influx of new residents can benefit local businesses as fresh patrons and grow the area’s tax base to add further improvements to city services, he said.

“For residents of St. Boniface, I think there’s a desire to see St. Boniface become less industrial and more residential,” he said.

matthew.frank@winnipegfreepress.com