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The City of Winnipeg says it’s ending its lease with the Granite Curling Club and offering to replace it with one that would make room for an apartment complex next door.
The reduced lease area would allow construction of an 111-unit affordable development while allowing the club to remain one of the stewards of the historic site, city spokesperson Kalen Qually said in an email Friday.
The proposed development on the surface parking lot west of the curling club has been at the centre of a long dispute between the city and the club. The Granite has argued the parking space is critical for its long-term survival.
“There’s been active discussion about how … it could be a win-win there,” Mayor Scott Gillingham told reporters in an unrelated event Friday.
“Our staff, I know, has been in conversation with the Granite about their parking needs, what can be done there to accommodate both housing [and] the Granite Curling Club.”
The city said Friday the reduced area proposal builds upon a recent offer to replace 50 out of 60 parking stalls removed by the project, which is set to begin construction this fall.
Lease negotiations with the club have not been finalized, the city said. An interim agreement will be put in place if a lease is not complete before the existing lease ends in July.