St. Boniface Street Links appears set to serve vulnerable people at its city-owned building for another year but is still waiting to learn if the site will become its permanent home.
The city will provide a $1-per-year lease of 604 St. Mary’s Rd. from next month to Nov. 29, 2025, if council’s property and development committee approves the deal.
Marion Willis, executive director of Street Links, said she’s cautiously optimistic her organization will eventually settle into the site for good.
Marion Willis, executive director of Street Links, is cautiously optimistic the organization will eventually settle into the site for good.
“I think that it’s highly likely that the city intends to turn the building over to us eventually…. I do believe the city is going to come good on its promise of a city-owned building with a no-cost lease,” said Willis.
Street Links has steadily occupied the site since January, after previously using it to provide an emergency warming space. The organization has now placed its headquarters, a safe space and a transitional-bed pilot program in the building.
The transitional program gives homeless hospital patients a place to go after they’re discharged.
Willis said the building has served the organization’s needs well so far, but Street Links would have to consider maintenance and upgrade costs to stay long term.
“We want to continue to operate our bed programs, which is freeing up beds in city hospitals. We also want to be able to serve people that are out there struggling and have a nice warm place for them to come to in the winter time. We can use that building for both purposes,” said Willis.
Since 2023, the city has provided a $250,000 annual grant to Street Links to support a 24-7 safe space east of the Red River, which led to the no-cost lease of the city building, a city staff report notes.
City departments didn’t object to the new short-term agreement, though the Housing Accelerator Fund Office (which helps administer federal housing dollars earmarked for Winnipeg) would prefer the property be redeveloped to provide affordable housing, the report notes.
Coun. Sherri Rollins, chairwoman of the property and development committee, said Street Links provides needed outreach services, so the short-term agreement makes sense.
“Making sure that we can provide this no-cost lease is really important in order to create a safe space, a transitional space for those that are displaced,” said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).
However, she said the property also holds promise to provide more housing units in the future.
“We really want to also move towards a future where homelessness is addressed effectively with housing first. This property is on the list of (what we’re) looking at for housing,” she said.
The city previously declared 604 St. Mary’s Rd. surplus in order to sell it. However, with few other suitable buildings to offer, the lease will provide more time to determine the best location for Street Links, the report notes.
While the city marketed the building for sale late last year, a request for proposals did not produce a final deal.
“The city received multiple bids on the property but was unable to conclude on the terms of the sale with the preferred proponent. Once a permanent home is found for (St. Boniface Street Links), the city will look to market 604 St. Mary’s once again,” city spokesman Kalen Qually said in an emailed statement.
A request to interview city staff about the agreement was not granted Monday and Qually declined to offer more details about the RFP.
The report says the site was appraised at $1.6 million but bidders offered “much less” than that when the city tried to sell it.
The property and development committee will vote on the agreement Friday.
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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