Winnipeg | Osborne Village & Fort Rouge | Developments & Discussions - Page 248

Mr Tall Forehead · #**4941** Posted **Jan 27, 2026, 4:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheswick

c

There's an opportunity cost to sitting on vacant property. Yeah it'll increase in value but so would a broad market ETF. Holding a vacant lot in Winnipeg over the past 10 or 30 years would have less than half the return of holding the TSX Composite index.

Probably not if you’re running a dingy surface parking lot on it. Which is why some of these lots are generational.

ColdRain&Snow · #**4942** Posted **Jan 27, 2026, 5:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheswick

c

There's an opportunity cost to sitting on vacant property. Yeah it'll increase in value but so would a broad market ETF. Holding a vacant lot in Winnipeg over the past 10 or 30 years would have less than half the return of holding the TSX Composite index.

Sure, but if you're investing in a business (by buying stocks) you're helping to grow that business and therefore grow the economy. Businesses produce goods and employ people meaning that investing in businesses is productive for the economy. Vacant lots do not produce goods or employ people, they are a blight on neighbourhoods and hinder economic growth. This is the main argument why vacant land should be taxed aggressively.

cheswick · #**4943** Posted **Jan 27, 2026, 8:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Tall Forehead

Probably not if you’re running a dingy surface parking lot on it. Which is why some of these lots are generational.

Right. Assuming no passive income on it, it hasn't made much financial sense. No idea what the income stream is for parking in Winnipeg. But to the point above, proper taxation would make such propositions less financially viable.

borkborkbork · #**4944** Posted **Jan 29, 2026, 10:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheswick

Right. Assuming no passive income on it, it hasn't made much financial sense. No idea what the income stream is for parking in Winnipeg. But to the point above, proper taxation would make such propositions less financially viable.

I once talked to someone whose family owned a bunch of very low-rent kind of land in town. Underused industrial lots, parking, etc.

The reason for that choice was basically that these assets generated just enough cash to support family lifestyles, are hard to mismanage even if they're run by idiot children, and are illiquid, so nobody can sell off their part of the family inheritance a few dollars at a time.

Basically, it's not a good investment, but it's a good investment vehicle for families with more money than financial acumen who value capital preservation over everything else.

Mr. Big Nip · #**4945** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 12:14 AM**

The house at the corner of McMillan and Wentworth was demolished today. I believe there was some multi-family development proposed for the site awhile back. Looks like that's going forward.

ColdRain&Snow · #**4946** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 12:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Big Nip

The house at the corner of McMillan and Wentworth was demolished today. I believe there was some multi-family development proposed for the site awhile back. Looks like that's going forward.

Welcome to the forum!

Wpg_Guy · #**4947** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 2:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Big Nip

The house at the corner of McMillan and Wentworth was demolished today. I believe there was some multi-family development proposed for the site awhile back. Looks like that's going forward.

Page 1 of Winnipeg Construction XI is regularly updated with most developments.

850 McMillan Avenue
Location: 850 McMillan Avenue
Developer: 10212488 Manitoba Ltd. (Mackenzie Jefferson)
Architect: Articulated Design Union
Status: In development
Documents: VARIANCE: 25-116548/C | Appeal Committee May 21, 2025
Media:-
Description: 3-storey building with 9 residential units
Permits: 25-266714 DP-2025-12-10, Permit. This child permit is created for the purpose of concurrent review of Variance application of the parent Development permit for the development of 3 storey, 9 unit multi-family dwelling

Mr. Big Nip · #**4948** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 2:42 AM**

Thanks! I discovered SSP last year and have been lurking on it pretty regularly. It's a cool little community. I love seeing everything that's happening around town, so I decided to jump in and contribute a bit haha

Wpg_Guy · #**4949** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 3:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Big Nip

Thanks! I discovered SSP last year and have been lurking on it pretty regularly. It's a cool little community. I love seeing everything that's happening around town, so I decided to jump in and contribute a bit haha

Thanks for posting, looking forward to more.

bomberjet · #**4950** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 3:22 PM**

Welcome Mr. Nip!

Wpg_Guy · #**4951** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 8:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Winnipeg Free Press

City, developer compromise on size of Osborne Village housing development
By: Joyanne Pursaga
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

A compromise has paved the way for an Osborne Village housing development to proceed at a reduced height.

This week, a final appeal committee decision removed parking and affordable-rent requirements that a developer feared could kill the project.

“We’ll lower the building, reduce the height and that was the compromise…. We’ve been looking to advance something on here. It’s been a vacant lot for quite some time,” said planner John Wintrup.

Wintrup said the final plan is something property owner Jerry Cianflone, who owns the Pizza Hotline chain, can accept.

The development proposal initially called for a seven-storey, 72-unit building to be constructed at 36 Roslyn Rd., where the former John C. Falls heritage building once stood.

In 2022, the city removed a heritage protection from that building after learning it had fallen into such disrepair that it would cost millions to renovate. That allowed the structure, which was built in 1907, to be demolished.

The developer successfully appealed a city centre community committee decision, which had voted to cap the project to 44 housing units and require half to have affordable rents. That decision also required 43 parking spots, instead of the proposed 21, as well as larger yards around the property.

On Wednesday, city council’s appeal committee cast a final vote to approve 44 total units with smaller yards, no requirement for affordable housing and 21 parking stalls.

The change will result in a five- or six-storey building that will produce less income than the initial plan but should still work, said Wintrup.

The city’s previous parking and affordable-housing requirements would have prevented the project from being viable, he said.

“They wanted half our units to be affordable and we’ve had no dialogue with the Province of Manitoba on (subsidies to support that). And they wanted… part of the parking to go underground, so you would have had an affordable dwelling unit subsidized by the province with an underground parking stall. I can’t see why a government would be funding… that,” he said.

Since the final vote allows smaller yards, the building can cover more land while still providing enough parking space, said Wintrup.

Coun. Janice Lukes, who served as chairwoman of the appeal hearing, said the compromise allows more housing to be constructed where the city hopes to attract it.

“They are in a zoned high-density area with stellar transit… (and) it optimizes the space,” said Lukes (Waverley West).

While the city has worked to attract construction of more affordable homes, other types of housing are also needed, she said.

“We can’t force people to (build) affordable housing. Affordable housing only occurs when it’s subsidized. These (projects have) small profit margins,” said Lukes.

Winnipeg Free Press

drew · #**4952** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 8:10 PM**

^ is that the same John Wintrup of the Granite Curling Club parking lot fame?

bomberjet · #**4953** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 8:10 PM**

pfft.

bon_vivant · #**4954** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 8:16 PM**

Cianflone is a snake. My Pizza Hotline flyers go straight into the recycling bin.

WinCitySparky · #**4955** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 8:59 PM**

I repeat my earlier statement

bomberjet · #**4956** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 9:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

^ is that the same John Wintrup of the Granite Curling Club parking lot fame?

And of Lemay forest fame. And. And.

He does do a lot of stuff that is normal and non-controversial also.

drew · #**4957** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 9:30 PM**

Seems like he will bend to the will of his client. Which is understandable - but the least respectable trait in a professional consultant.

Mr Tall Forehead · #**4958** Posted **Jan 30, 2026, 9:38 PM**

He's got an axe to grind with the City's planning department too. Thinks he's smarter than anyone there and can find loopholes in the bylaws and approval system.

ColdRain&Snow · #**4959** Posted **Jan 31, 2026, 5:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

^ is that the same John Wintrup of the Granite Curling Club parking lot fame?

The development on the Granite Curling Club parking lot is being done by UWCRC, John Wintrup it not involved.

ColdRain&Snow · #**4960** Posted **Jan 31, 2026, 5:51 AM**

John Wintrup represents housing developers. Housing developers want to building as much housing as they can. I don't see an issue here. Yeah the guy has some questionable articles in the Winnipeg Sun but in terms of his job he's doing what he's supposed to, which is representing the interests of his clients.