City of Winnipeg and feds fund over $122 million in new housing

WINNIPEG – The Government of Canada and City of Winnipeg have agreed to provide over $122 million through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) for new housing in the city.

The funding will fast-track development of over 3,100 new housing units including over 900 affordable housing units over the next three years, a City of Winnipeg release said.

The funding under HAF will support seven housing initiatives intended to modernize zoning rules, increase density near major transit and transportation routes, and incentivize the construction of more housing, with a focus on affordable housing and projects to help residents experiencing homelessness, the release said.

Initiatives the City of Winnipeg will undertake include:

• Acceleration of amendments to zoning bylaw and local area plans to permit increased housing units;
• incentivizing multi-family housing developments in the downtown and along transit corridors;
• the creation of a land enhancement office to support development of affordable, supportive, and mixed-income housing on city-owned land;
• the creation of a concierge service to co-ordinate affordable housing requests and approvals for non-profit, Indigenous, and downtown developers;
• enhance efforts to digitize and facilitate faster development and permit approvals; and
• establish an infrastructure support program to improve local area servicing and increase residential development.

The City of Winnipeg will set up a program team to design and execute each initiative and will report back to city council with a proposed HAF implementation plan in 2024.