Woah, what's happening to our housing, hey?
Good morning, Winnipeg. Rosie Fontaine here, coming to you from the MiTL Sports Desk, checking in on what’s happening at City Hall and around our beautiful city. Winterpeg. We built a city in the coldest place anyone has any business building a city — and it is genuinely wonderful. Good morning.
### Demolitions are Up, New Homes are... Not
Alright, let's talk about something I've been seeing pop up in the civic intelligence data, and it's something we should all be keeping an eye on. Over the last few days, we've had ten — yeah, *ten* — demolition permits issued across the city. According to the real-time monitor data from May 1st, these permits were issued between April 29th and 30th. We're talking places like 65 Berrydale Avenue in St. Vital, 606 Oak Street in Central River Heights, and 491 Burrows Avenue in William Whyte.
But here's the kicker: while we're seeing all these tear-downs, the development trend data for this week shows only fifteen new housing units permitted across thirty-five projects. So, we're taking down ten houses, but we're only adding a handful of units in total. That's a real head-scratcher, hey? What kind of housing are we actually building here, and for whom? We need to keep watching these numbers closely to see if our housing stock is actually growing, or just shifting around.
### What Else is Happening?
* **Traffic Trouble:** We had four motor vehicle collisions reported between 4:14 AM and 6:10 AM this morning in areas like Burrows Central and Shaughnessy Park. Road conditions are being flagged as a potential factor, so be safe out there, my friends. * **New Gas Kiosk:** A new gas kiosk is slated for 500 Oak Point Highway in Point Douglas ward, with a permit issued to CTM Design Services on April 29th. * **Liquor Licenses:** Five new liquor license applications were posted this week, including for the Benito Hotel and Smitty's. * **311 Calls:** The top complaint to 311 today, with three calls in 24 hours, is "Assessment & Tax Inquiry." Sounds like folks are looking at their property values, hey?
This trend of demolitions outpacing new housing units, that's something we'll be digging into more. What does it mean for our neighbourhoods, and for folks looking for a place to call home here in Winnipeg?
Rosie Fontaine, MiTL Sports Desk, Winnipeg.
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