Traffic was rerouted on Balmoral Street in inner-city Winnipeg Wednesday evening as firefighters battled a blaze in the Centre Village complex.
Black smoke poured from the south roof of the building and blanketed downtown as multiple fire trucks staged around the building shortly before 8 p.m.
The 25-unit complex was considered revolutionary when it opened in 2010 to house newcomers, but residents found it ill-suited to family life. It was boarded up 12 years later and had become a magnet for squatters and drug use while politicians grappled with what to do with the structure.
Wendy Sawatzky / Free Press
Multiple fire units raced to Centre Village at 575 Balmoral St. Wednesday evening.
In May, it was announced Manitoba Housing had donated the site to the non-profit Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corp, which would receive $2.2 million to demolish it and build 30 new units for two key groups: Indigenous youth and young adults who are leaving the child welfare system and expectant parents at risk of being involved with the system.
The complex had fencing around it but there were breaches in several places Wednesday. As firefighters set up to battle the blaze, a young women exited the complex through a gap in the fence; she was questioned by police.
Police blocked Balmoral Street between Sargent and Cumberland avenues while firefighting efforts were underway.
Wendy Sawatzky
Associate Editor Digital News
Wendy Sawatzky is associate editor of digital news for the Free Press. A born-and-bred Manitoban, she has degrees from the University of Winnipeg and the University of King’s College. She joined the Free Press in 2008. Read more about Wendy.
Wendy oversees the team that publishes news on the Free Press’s website and apps. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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