New 3D model brings former Kapyong Barracks site to life

The seven Treaty One First Nations developing the former Kapyong Barracks site have unveiled a three-dimensional model of what the $1.2 billion dollar project will look like. 

When the development, named Naawi-Oodena, is completed, it could have as many as 3,000 new residences and over a million square feet of commercial space.

The 168 acres of land is split between Treaty One Nation, a group of seven Treaty 1 First Nations who own and are developing two-thirds of the site as an urban reserve, and the federal Canada Lands corporation. 

A master plan of the development was revealed earlier this year, but the 3D model gives some perspective on just how large Naawi-Oodena will be, said David Thomas, design and planning manager for the project. 

"It's a very complex project. It's basically like building a small city," he said. 

Construction could begin next year, starting at the southern end of the development near Taylor Avenue and Kenaston Boulevard.

Before anything can be built on the site, Thomas says the land needs extensive infrastructure upgrades for everything from sewage to water retention ponds. 

Thomas said the 3D model helps the project managers show it to potential commercial partners who may lease space in the development.

The model will also be shown to the seven First Nations to help further explain what the massive urban reserve will look like and get feedback, he said. 

Thomas says this project will bring opportunities to First Nations people he'd never had growing up in Winnipeg.

"My personal way of thinking about it is it's reconciliation, but it goes beyond that. It is something forward looking to perhaps a time where reconciliation has gone further along," he said. 

The final master plan for the site was released to the public in March 2021.

It includes residential and commercial space, sports and recreation facilities, community spaces and an administration centre for Treaty One Nation.

It also includes plans to create a pedestrian-friendly mixed use village along Grant Avenue that has retail, restaurants, cultural institutions and personnel services alongside residences.

The community space will use plant species, land forms and public art to strongly embed First Nations culture, identity and design into the development, the plan says.