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Condos raise ire of residentsProject will require demolition of historic home, mature trees


A new condominium project for Roslyn Road has drawn the opposition of some area residents who object to the demolition of a historic home and the removal of several mature trees.

Sunstone Resort Communities is proposing a 74-unit, 12-storey condominium complex directly behind the Osborne Village Safeway.

The project requires the demolition of the four remaining homes on that stretch of Roslyn Road, including 166 Roslyn, a 100-year-old heritage home designed by local architect John D. Atchison and built for a one-time member of the Manitoba Court of Appeal.

Judy Lehn, who lives in the nearby condo building at 188 Roslyn, said the Sunstone project will bring increased traffic into an already congested neighbourhood and will spell the end of the historic residential image of that portion of Roslyn Road.

"I chose to live in Osborne Village because it's old and I love the trees," Lehn said. "I moved from a 100-year-old house on Gertrude Avenue eight years ago. I didn't want to leave the area."

Sunstone is a Winnipeg-based development company. It has four condominium and rental projects in Winnipeg, including the Sky condos on Waterfront Drive, and two projects in Kelowna, B.C.

Sunstone representatives did not return calls from the Free Press.

Sunstone circulated working drawings on the condo project in the fall, stating they are likely subject to change as the project develops. Copies of those plans were recently obtained by the Free Press and show an elliptical-shaped tower and a row of townhouse units along Roslyn Road.

City of Winnipeg senior planner Michael Robinson said the Roslyn Road project involves the demolition of the four homes on the south side of Roslyn Road between Evergreen Place and Roslyn Crescent. They would be replaced with a row of eight, two-storey townhouse units, and a 12-storey, 66-unit condominium tower built behind the townhouses.

Robinson said Sunstone has made an application to the City of Winnipeg's historic buildings committee to demolish the home at 166 Roslyn. That application is now being reviewed.

The Roslyn Road project conforms to existing zoning requirements, Robinson said, adding the proposed 74 units is fewer than the maximum of 80 units allowed for the size of the property.

Lehn said Sunstone wants to use a rear laneway as an exit route, but noted that residents believe the laneway can't accommodate existing traffic flows, let alone the additional vehicles from the Sunstone project.

Lehn said the Osborne Village area is a popular entertainment destination that already attracts a large number of vehicles.

"When I look out my window, I see Osborne Village," Lehn said. "Why do people want to come here? They could go to a restaurant anywhere else, but they love the charm of the old buildings and old churches.

"If they take them away, as a society we lose our soul."

A letter to area residents from Sunstone states the company has altered its plan to reduce traffic flows in the laneway, but adds the designs still require that the four buildings and six mature trees be chopped down.