|
Betting on the promise of Pembina
Betting on the promise of Pembina
Pemby site designed so it ‘takes advantage of the area’s surroundings’
Winnipeg Free Press |Joshua Frey-Sam
A new day is upon the site of a former neighbourhood-favourite watering hole.
A 12-storey mixed-use development broke ground at 1011 Pembina Hwy. on July 1, nearly one year after the long-standing Pembina Hotel — referred to as ‘The Pemby’ — was demolished.
The hotel, which stood for more than 67 years, was synonymous with the neighbourhood while its beverage room was a popular hangout spot for university students, area residents and sports teams after games.
The new development will house 226 apartments (one- and two-bedroom options), 7,050 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and amenities such as a pet spa and bike room. The bike room is expected to link to a “pathway connection” to the Southwest Transitway active transportation route.
Suites will range from one- to two-bedroom units, with most one-bedrooms options coming in around 660 square feet and two-bedrooms up to more than 1,000 square feet.
The building, which has yet to be given a name, will open for occupancy in two phases, beginning in the summer of 2025. Jason van Rooy, director of marketing and customer service with Towers Realty Group, who will manage the building, said there’s a lot to be excited about as the neighbourhood welcomes more infill development.
“Just the size of the building — the number of suites over 220 — being added in such close proximity to the rapid transit station. I know there’s a lot of other buildings that have gone up along the rapid Transitway lately, but proximity to rapid transit is certainly good, particularly for people who are renting and particularly in the south end with direct access to the University (of Manitoba) and all of the amenities that south Pembina has to offer,” he said.
“There will be common spaces and a game room and a fitness facility within the building, so it’ll be a complete package. People will be able to live there, have friends over and do family gatherings in the common room … and they don’t have to leave the building to go to the gym in the winter, which people certainly enjoy.”
Van Rooy, who did not comment on how much the project will cost, said the developer, Sustainable Equities, has yet to determine pricing for units, as the housing market could change drastically in the next two years. He did, however, note that 10 per cent of suites will be priced at an “affordable” rate, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights/Fort Garry) has been a supporter of the project since it was proposed in 2021.
“(The Pembina Hotel) was very tired,” Orlikow said. “It had a lot of emotional attachment to many people in the neighbourhood who used to go there after baseball games and go to the basement. But that time is done. The building was very tired — quite decrepit, I’d even call it — and it just wasn’t providing a lot of value to Winnipeg at all.
“From a bar-slash-(hotel) to this, it’s 1,000 per cent better.”
Orlikow was quick to note the development is “a very good infill project” that “takes advantage of the area’s surroundings.”
And developers aren’t done taking advantage of the area. A proposed redevelopment of the Cambridge Hotel across the street (1022 Pembina Hwy.) to turn it into a six-storey multi-family residential building, was approved in 2021. It’s in the best interest of the neighbourhood, according to Orllikow.
“We have these regional corridor streets and Pembina is one of them, and in the past, it’s been very difficult to get more than a one-storey, stand-alone building up in there. And that’s not what the City of Winnipeg wants, we want to have densification along those corridors because of all the amenities that are there,” he said.
“So yeah, it does continue the progress about densification along our corridor streets and so that will improve transit ridership, it improves even the visualization because even Pre-Con (Builders) has made sure the building looks nice for when you drive by it. A lot of greenage — trees and shrubs and stuff like that — so it doesn’t look like a barren open parking lot.
“It’s the way I personally want to see Winnipeg move forward.”
|
Prev
Linear Mode
