Demolition of Kapyong Barracks site delayed, now expected to finish in fall 2021

Development of the Kapyong Barracks site in Winnipeg has been pushed back, as part of the property's demolition was delayed and is now not expected to be complete until fall 2021.

The first phase of site's demolition began in June 2018, and was completed in May 2019, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence told CBC News by email on Monday.

It saw the removal of hazardous building materials and the demolition of 13 buildings on the property.

Phase 2 was originally planned to start earlier, but the department said the negotiation of the Comprehensive Settlement Agreement took priority, as it believed the terms could impact the scope of work for the project.

Long Plains First Nation Chief Dennis Meeches said he is hopeful the delay will not interfere with plans for the site's development.

"Time is of the essence, but at the same time we're just trying to move things along," Meeches told CBC News.

"We'd sure like to expedite things, but Kapyong is such a challenge for Treaty 1 and Canada DND [Department of National Defence]. So we had hoped that there would be some priority given to this file, but we're not in control of the demolition process."

The contract for the second phase of demolition was awarded in August and work was underway in September, said the spokesperson from DND.

That phase includes demolishing the site's remaining buildings and removing all internal roadways, parking lots and curbs. All utilities on the property will also be removed, except for the City of Winnipeg's sewer main that runs through the centre of the site, the department said. 

"I'm always the eternal optimist when it comes to Kapyong," Meeches said, adding that, ideally, some of the parcels would have reserve status by August 2021, to align with the 150th anniversary of Treaty 1.

"We've tried our darndest to move things along all these years and many times we hit a brick wall... this is another example of that."

Kapyong was mostly abandoned in 2004, when the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry moved from the military barracks to the Canadian Forces Base in Shilo, Man., located about 180 kilometres west of Winnipeg.

Seven Treaty 1 First Nations officially took over the Kapyong Barracks in August, which sit along the west side of Kenaston Boulevard, near Taylor Avenue, following a decade-long legal battle between the First Nations and the federal government.

Development renderings for the site released earlier this year showed plans for commercial and residential buildings, a sports complex, hotel, convention centre and gas station. 

Around two-thirds of the abandoned military base is being developed by the Treaty 1 Development Corporation, and the rest of the property will be developed by Canada Lands Co., a Crown corporation.

Chiefs from Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation, Long Plain First Nation, Peguis First Nation, Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, Sagkeeng First Nation, Sandy Bay First Nation and Swan Lake First Nation sit as directors of the Treaty 1 Development Corporation.

Meeches told CBC News in August that it may take ten or even 15 years before the site is fully developed, but added it represents the potential for nearly $2 billion in economic development.