Four historic, vacant buildings in downtown Winnipeg are slated for redevelopment into housing, including the long-empty St. Charles Hotel. The projects will create a combined 297 new housing units, with 106 designated as affordable homes, supported by $4.65 million in public funding.
St. Charles Hotel Redevelopment
The St. Charles Hotel, located at 235 Notre Dame Ave., has been vacant since 2008 and was previously listed on the National Trust for Canada’s endangered buildings list in 2024. The redevelopment is expected to offer 140 housing units, including 80 affordable ones, with construction ideally starting by the end of this year and taking approximately 2.5 years to complete.
Penfor Construction, working with building owner Ken Zaifman, plans to carefully preserve the hotel’s facade by scanning, dismantling, storing, and then replacing it onto a new 11-story structure. “When you looked at the Hotel St. Charles, it has some deep structural issues. So, our strategy is to scan, very carefully, the existing facade, dismantle it, store it, build a new building, and then come back and replace the facade,” said Danny Serhal, chief executive officer of Penfor Construction.
Public Investment and Additional Projects
Mayor Scott Gillingham highlighted the return on investment, stating, “A $4.6-million public investment is unlocking $88 million in (total) private capital. That is a massive return on investment, and it puts tradespeople to work and brings new life to heritage buildings that have been dark for too long.” The funding includes $2 million from the city, through its share of the federal housing accelerator fund, and $2.65 million from CentreVenture Development Corporation’s Gail Parvin Hammerquist fund.
Other projects included in the initiative are the Maws Garage/ Sanford Development (291 Bannatyne Ave.) which will create 114 homes (18 affordable), 290 Garry St. offering 29 units (five affordable), and Alloway Lofts (179 McDermot Ave.) creating 14 units (three affordable).
Challenges and Benefits of Heritage Building Reuse
Developers Mark and Shelley Buleziuk, who are developing the Alloway Lofts site, noted that multi-family residential development is often the most financially viable option for reusing heritage buildings. “It allows these spaces to remain vibrant, relevant, and lived in, not simply remembered through old photographs in an archive,” said Shelley Buleziuk.
However, such projects present unique challenges due to the need for significant structural, life safety, accessibility, and mechanical upgrades. Mark Buleziuk explained, “As a result, costs are volatile, timelines are fluid, and feasibility can shift as new information emerges… These projects often sit in the gap between what is economically feasible and what is socially valuable. Government participation through gap-bridging tools like the (grant) program we’re celebrating today helps close this gap and allows housing to move from concept to completion.”
The Alloway Lofts redevelopment will convert a former commercial building, vacant since last summer, into rental units ranging from 37 to 41 square metres (400 to 450 square feet).
CentreVenture Development Corporation announced the proposals Tuesday, as a first step toward its goal of attracting 750 new housing units downtown each year. Manitoba Housing Minister Bernadette Smith expects the new homes to attract further investment, stating, “By bringing people down here to live, we’re going to see businesses come back, we’re going to see community come back together.” Winnipeg’s mayor added, “The presence of people is critical to safety. It’s critical to supporting economic growth and development. We are seeing that momentum, really take shape here in downtown.”
Developers are required to secure permits by Nov. 1 to meet a deadline for federal funding.
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