A new grant program has been launched to spark development of between 750-900 multi-family rental housing units in downtown Winnipeg.
The city, province and CentreVentre Development Corporation announced the $40 million Live Downtown rental development grant program on Tuesday, meant to turn vacant land, such as surface parking lots, into mixed income housing downtown.
“By increasing the mix of residential and commercial buildings we can add to the vibrancy of downtown life, accelerate the energy and vigor of activities downtown at the end of the work day, decrease infrastructure servicing costs and reduce vehicle reliance,” said Premier Greg Selinger.
The agreement is a self-funded multi-year initiative using tax increment financing grants. A competitive process will deliver grants equivalent to the applicable incremental municipal and education taxes over 12 to 20 years to successful proponents.
About 10 percent of the units will be for low-income families, while others will attract a broader range of income levels.
“This is a rare opportunity for rental residential property developers to access a grant that capitalizes on the demand and to build where people clearly want to be: in downtown Winnipeg,” said Ross McGowan, president and CEO of CentreVenture.
