U of Winnipeg breaks ground on 14-storey mixed-use apartment block

WINNIPEG — Politicians and university officials broke ground on a 14-storey, 102-unit apartment complex that will rise at 320 Colony Street next to the University of Winnipeg’s Buhler Centre.

UWinnipeg Commons, announced in 2013 and originally slated to begin construction in 2014, will contain one- to three-bedroom apartments, with 46 of them affordable housing for post-secondary students. Of those, 32 will have rent geared to income. The other 56 units will be available to the community at market rental rates, with 18 of them premium units.

Premier Greg Selinger and Mayor Brian Bowman were among those at the ground-breaking ceremony. The provincial government has given the project a $30-million loan guarantee, a Manitoba Housing operating subsidy for the affordable units and PST tax credits. The City of Winnipeg and the province are together supporting the project through the tax increment finance program, which provides funding equivalent to the property tax increase from the project – approximately $2.55 million over 15 years.

Construction actually started in February 2015 and is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in fall 2016.

The apartment’s address places it between the Buhler Centre on Portage Avenue and the Winnipeg Art Gallery across Colony Street.

Bowman lauded the project as a step towards reaching his goal to increase Winnipeg’s downtown population to 20,000 people.