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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Somia-Sadiq.jpg\")
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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
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Somia Sadiq has lived at 300 Main for 2 1\/2 years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She is among 18,000 downtown residents who will soon be joined by thousands of others attracted to the city\u2019s core by the new wave of major construction projects.<\/p>\n
CentreVenture Development Corp. anticipates 4,000 units opening downtown over the next three to four years, bringing an expected influx of 6,000 residents.<\/p>\n
Despite the optimism, long-standing challenges remain in the core. The Free Press spoke to residents, planners and community advocates about housing and downtown revitalization ahead of the Oct. 28 election.<\/p>\n
\u201cLove the place, spectacular views of our beautiful city,\u201d Sadiq said of her apartment. \u201cYou realize how many trees our city has when you\u2019re living that high up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tower was completed in 2022, as the city reckoned with the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Businesses had shuttered and downtown office staff who had been working from home were slow to return, yet Sadiq and her husband chose to move from East Kildonan. She\u2019d lived in the city\u2019s core years earlier and missed being \u201cin the middle of all the action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ever want to feel the experience of just how much happens in the city\u2026 living downtown is a great way to have that experience,\u201d the 43-year-old said.<\/p>\n
A seven-minute walk takes her to work. Baseball games, festivals and the Legislative Building are a short jaunt away.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery new investment downtown has an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadiq, who founded planning and design firm Narratives Inc., described the nearby housing developments as \u201cexcellent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery new investment downtown has an impact,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dave Hall, a retiree who treks downtown Winnipeg several times a week, echoes her sentiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love downtown,\u201d Hall said, pausing on his way to a hearing aid appointment. \u201cWe live in a 15-minute city.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave his old car to his grandson last year. He walks from his Langside Street home to regular downtown haunts such as the Prairie Theatre Exchange, West End Cultural Centre and Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club.<\/p>\n
He acknowledges his enthusiasm for downtown is not shared by everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sad. People think it\u2019s dangerous, but it\u2019s by and large not dangerous if you use common sense,\u201d the 76-year-old said, adding new developments such as Railside at The Forks and Market Lands should improve density.<\/p>\n
Railside at The Forks encompasses nine apartment buildings and one condominium project. About 400 units should be finished in 2028; a total 1,200 could open by 2040.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Retiree Dave Hall, with his partner Barb Remnant, says he loves downtown Winnipeg. After giving away his car, Hall regularly walks from his Langside Street home to his favourite downtown haunts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Market Lands, a mixed-use residential development on the former Public Safety Building site in the Exchange District, has three buildings in the works, with a total 369 apartment suites. The first structure, opening next month, has 95 units.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we desperately need that to be combined with public housing, low-cost housing,\u201d Hall said, because private-sector housing isn\u2019t \u201ceven within dreaming territory\u201d of people living in tents in his West Broadway neighbourhood, which borders downtown.<\/p>\n As a frequent pedestrian, Hall said he\u2019s become \u201ca little bit desensitized\u201d to witnessing poverty, mental-health and addiction issues play out on the street. He doesn\u2019t feel unsafe, he said, but he understands it keeps others away.<\/p>\n \u201cYou see a lot of pain. You\u2019ll see young people overdosing with a needle in their arm, people huffing in a corner with their crack\u2026 this is heartbreaking to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Affordable grocery stores remain a top priority for downtown residents, said Corrine Clyne, 34.<\/p>\n Options are slim. Clyne visits Downtown Family Foods at Broadway and Donald Street, but it\u2019s a smaller shop, she said. Another small core-area grocer, the Giant Tiger at Donald and Ellice Avenue, is closing in a few days.<\/p>\n A more promising option is coming, though not for another three years. Red River Co-op plans to open a full-scale grocery store and pharmacy in 2029, inside the $650-million transformation of Portage Place into a mixed-use residential, commercial, health-care and community hub.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I order more online food than anything,\u201d Clyne said, stopping during a walk near her Smith Street apartment. \u201cBut if I were somebody who didn\u2019t have the luxury of doing that, then it would be a lot harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from buying groceries, living in the city\u2019s core is convenient, she said, which is why she\u2019s been there for 17 years. Before that she lived near the Perimeter Highway, but found \u201ceverything was so far away.\u201d<\/p>\n Her commute to work was cut in half when she moved downtown. She often walks to coffee shops and Bonnycastle Dog Park.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t SUPPLIED<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Artist’s rendering of Railside at The Forks, a development with nine apartment buildings and one condominium project that will see about 400 units finished by 2028 and up to 1,200 planned by 2040.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n She watched as many retailers shuttered during the pandemic, but she\u2019s sensing a change happening.<\/p>\n \u201cBusinesses are starting to open up,\u201d said Clyne, who has become a frequent visitor to Mondays Cafe, which opened on Broadway last year.<\/p>\n The number of business openings has matched closures in the first two quarters of 2026. It marks a \u201csustained pause\u201d in net losses over the past five years, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ\u2019s latest public report says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been said that retail follows rooftop,\u201d said Rochelle Squires, chief executive of CentreVenture Development Corp.<\/p>\n \u201cA good amount of housing (is) coming online in the next three to four years, which will create vibrancy unlike anything\u2026 seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a complex community.\u201d<\/p>\n CentreVenture and other planners expect to see 25,000 residents downtown in the coming years. Canada\u2019s 2021 census recorded 17,190, a 17 per cent increase from five years earlier.<\/p>\n There was a significant spike in downtown building permits last year, with 1,040 issued. By comparison, 2,420 permits in total were issued between 2021 and the end of last month. So far this year, 295 permits had been issued.<\/p>\n None of those permits are for single-detached homes, city spokesman Adam Campbell confirmed. However, the city doesn\u2019t track rental-unit versus owned permit numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re at the right moment in time to really be focusing on that density,\u201d Squires said. \u201cThe support has been there from all levels of government, and it\u2019s really good to see that, because that\u2019s what it\u2019s going to take.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a complex community.\u201d<\/p>\n The city has committed more than $112.8 million in grants and tax increment financing \u2014 $71.1 million and $41.6 million, respectively \u2014 for downtown housing since 2022.<\/p>\n Of that, $56.3 million has come from Ottawa\u2019s housing accelerator fund.<\/p>\n Manitoba Housing has tabbed at least $81 million for downtown housing projects over the past five years, including through loans and land contributions. Projects include the Portage Place and Hudson\u2019s Bay redevelopments, a government spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press Files<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Market Lands is a mixed-use residential development on the site of the former Public Safety Building with three buildings in the works, the first opening next month providing 95 units.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The housing will mesh with amenities such as health centres, green spaces and restaurants.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a brand-new vision for downtown,\u201d Squires said of the emphasis on mixed use development.<\/p>\n However, Coun. Sherri Rollins, whose Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry ward includes a portion of the core area, argues that downtown vision doesn\u2019t have full municipal support.<\/p>\n Rollins has criticized the mayor\u2019s executive policy committee for postponing CentrePlan 2050, a 25-year roadmap covering downtown investment and livability. It\u2019s been pushed until at least 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that\u2026 we get back into a cycle where a lot of good things are happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Downtown planning requires attention from all of council, instead of independent politicians\u2019 offices providing money to specific initiatives, Rollins said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lose something when downtown issues become the responsibility of an office like mine rather than a citywide priority,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cSuccessful cities usually have that important key \u2014 a mayor and council that understands that downtown belongs to the whole city.\u201d<\/p>\n Garbage collection, daycare and school access and green space must be prioritized for residents, added Rollins, who isn\u2019t running for re-election after serving eight years as a city councillor.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t build a downtown with the types of families we have and then manage it so it\u2019s just a commercial district,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Safety concerns remain a hurdle to drawing residential developers downtown, said Nolan Ploegman, president of Winnipeg construction management and general contracting firm Concord Projects.<\/p>\n A 2026 Winnipeg Police Service survey found less than half of 600 respondents \u2014 44 per cent \u2014 felt safe walking alone during the day. Just eight per cent felt safe at night.<\/p>\n Ploegman, however, has invested in downtown. He moved his company\u2019s headquarters to 127 Bannatyne last year. Approximately 35 office staff members work out of the new 10-storey mixed-use Exchange District building that Concord co-developed with Alston Properties.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Nolan Ploegman, president and CEO of Concord Projects, outside his company\u2019s headquarters at 127 Bannatyne Avenue.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about wanting the downtown to be safer. We talk about\u2026 \u2018More people should live downtown,\u2019\u201d Ploegman said. \u201cThis is my\u2026 small part of actually doing something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Concord Projects is the contractor for housing at Railside at The Forks and Market Lands. Ploegman said he\u2019s working with developers who share the \u201csame optimism\u201d for revitalization.<\/p>\n Downtown projects are generally more expensive and come with greater challenges than new developments, such as dealing with older infrastructure, Ploegman said.<\/p>\n About 80 major projects have been undertaken in downtown Winnipeg since 2005, said Jino Distasio, interim president of the University of Winnipeg and an urban geography professor, calling it a \u201cgenerational high\u201d for housing starts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big missing piece to all this is the struggle to regain a retail foothold in the downtown and to address the question of languishing negative perceptions,\u201d Distasio said.<\/p>\n Squires pointed to \u201cfeet on the street\u201d as a solution to the real and perceived safety concerns. CentreVenture counts roughly 80,000 people working downtown.<\/p>\n Winnipeg police tracked 19,369 crime calls between July 2025 and June 2026, up 3.2 per cent from the year prior. Violent crime had dropped 10 per cent year over year; non-violent crime rose eight per cent.<\/p>\n Downtown Winnipeg saw investment hit $2.4 billion between 2005 and 2015, with another $1 billion planned, but momentum halted during the pandemic, Distasio said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that\u2026 we get back into a cycle where a lot of good things are happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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