Manitoba Housing hopes to sell vacant Winnipeg housing complex to Indigenous organization for $1

Manitoba Housing, the Crown corporation that provides subsidized housing, is once again looking for proposals to redevelop a downtown Winnipeg housing complex that has been vacant since 2021 and it's encouraging Indigenous organizations to apply.

The request for proposals, which opened on Tuesday, expanded its definition of "Indigenous organizations" to enable more interested applicants to submit plans to turn Centre Village at 575 Balmoral Street into at least 25 affordable housing units. This follows an earlier request for proposals, which closed in May.

The 25-unit housing complex, built in 2010, sits on a 1,200 square metre site and will be sold for $1, preferably to an Indigenous organization, Manitoba Housing said. 

Although all redevelopment proposals are welcome, new construction projects put forth at Centre Village will be prioritized "given the property's size, location, zoning, and existing site issues," Manitoba Housing said.

A demolition, new build or renovation of the existing buildings are all possible at the site, according to the request.

The land, buildings and $2.2 million in capital funding will be made available in order to revamp Centre Village.

"The redeveloped project must include a minimum of 25 social housing units," Manitoba Housing said.

The assessed value of Centre Village is $1.5 million, but a structural building assessment in 2019 found it could cost up to $1.8 million to repair the building.

A request for expressions of interest to redevelop the property for non-profit organizations, Indigenous organizations and other levels of government opened last April and closed a month later.

Manitoba Housing took ownership of Centre Village in 2015. The $3.7 million housing complex was introduced as a co-operative for observant Muslim newcomers who could not obtain a mortgage without infringing a faith-based proscription against paying interest.

The complex's eccentric design initially won three architectural awards, but soon came under fire from tenants, critics and even some of its original proponents.

The floor plan of the existing complex "lacks functionality" and its overall design is loaded with blind spots that create safety and security issues, Manitoba Housing said.

City of Winnipeg data previously obtained by CBC News showed more than 500 calls to 911 were placed to the city about or at Centre Village since it opened in 2010.