[Only The Lonely..]

Green light given to downtown high-rise apartment tower

By: Bartley Kives - Winnipeg Free Press

10/06/2010 10:14 AM | Comments: 0

WINNIPEG -- City hall has given a green light to downtown Winnipeg's first high-rise apartment tower since the late 1980s.

City council's downtown development committee voted this morning to approve a 25-storey residential tower at 300 Assiniboine Avenue, a parcel of riverfront land the city sold to Crystal Developers in 2008.

Crystal, which previously wanted to build an apartment tower next to the Upper Fort Garry historic site, plans to build 209 units in a complex called Heritage Landing on Assiniboine.

The design calls for 19 townhouses to be built along Assiniboine Avenue along with a 25-storey tower with three floors of commercial space and 22 floors of residential units.

Most of the units will be high-end apartments, but some may be sold as condos. The developer is still working out the ratio, a spokeswoman for Crystal said.

The plan approved this morning follows previous attempts that were withdrawn due to concerns about the pedestrian streetscape and access to the riverfront.

The downtown development committee councillors said they are now satisfied that public access to both the riverfront and Bonnycastle Park has been assured.

Every member of the downtown development committee praised the project for bringing more residential units downtown.

Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, the area councillor, said she's thrilled to see living space for 300 more people added to downtown.

Committee chairman Justin Swandel also encouraged the developer to explore city tax credits that may allow some of the units to be more affordable.

The last residential high-rises built in downtown Winnipeg were Fort Garry Place and the towers north of Portage Place, both built in the 1980s.