GILLINGHAM: BUILDING MORE HOMES OVER COMMERCIAL SITES IS
“LOW-HANGING FRUIT” FOR WINNIPEG HOUSING SUPPLY
Today, mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham stood on Portage Avenue to point to several sites that
could support new mid-rise apartment blocks.
“In June, the CMHC said Manitoba needs a 40% increase in business-as-usual home construction to
keep housing affordable,” he said. “While City Hall’s recent debate over infill housing focused on
residential areas, that debate missed some ‘low-hanging fruit,’ Since some commercial corridors
have an ample supply of surface lots and underbuilt commercial sites that could also support more
housing.“
Gillingham noted that Winnipeg's Complete Communities 2.0 policy has already identified corridors
like Pembina Highway and Portage Avenue as ideal for greater housing density.
"We need to move quickly to turn that policy into action," he said.
As Mayor, Gillingham will push for more housing over commercial sites with these four policy
shifts:
• Allow residential construction as-of-right, with no parking minimums, over existing
commercial sites along Pembina Highway and Portage Avenue. Existing C2 and C3 zoning
rules already allow for up to four stories of commercial construction on these corridors.
Pembina is well served by transit and active transportation routes, while Portage is a major
transit corridor. New mixed-use zoning rules for these corridors would allow for taller
housing construction, as long as these sites maintained a commercial streetfront. If
successful, the strategy would be applied on other major corridors over time.
• Allow residential construction over medium and large retail malls, as-of-right, conditional
on setbacks to minimize impacts on nearby residents. These sites already have services,
ample parking and transit connectivity, and residential projects are already taking off as a
trend in other North American cities.
• Launch a new tender for affordable housing construction over Portage Place. A recent effort
to build more than 500 new homes over Portage Place faltered amid confusion over
affordable housing incentives offered by each government. As Mayor, Gillingham would
work with other governments, the Forks (as the landowner for the site) and Indigenous
partners to tender a common aid package to any qualified bidder.
• Office-to-residential conversions. Gillingham would ask Council’s Committee on Property &
Development, Heritage and Downtown Development to hold urgent public hearings to
review any barriers to these conversions.
“Getting more housing downtown is critical," Gillingham said. "But other cities are broadening their
approach beyond downtown to take advantage of other opportunities for housing density too - and
Winnipeg must do the same.”
For more information: Colin Fast 204-803-6406 / media@voteforscott.ca
