New paths, roads could cross Public Safety Building site

The redevelopment of Winnipeg's old police headquarters and the adjacent parkade may result in new streets or paths crossing the site in an effort to better connect different areas of downtown, according to the agency responsible for planning the redevelopment.

Downtown development agency CentreVenture is in the process of planning the redevelopment of the city block containing the Public Safety Building and the Civic Centre Parkade, neither of which are currently in use. Both are slated for demolition.

The PSB closed in June, after the Winnipeg Police Service moved into its new headquarters on Graham Avenue. The Civic Centre Parkade was shuttered in 2012 due to structural-safety concerns.

CentreVenture was handed the task of redeveloping the site, which occupies the block bounded by William Avenue to the south, King Street to the east, James Avenue to the north and Princess Street to the west.

The southern portion of the block must be reserved for some sort of public use, thanks to a caveat placed on the land when it was donated to the city in 1875. CentreVenture plans to work with private-sector developers on the rest of the block.

• City to begin asking what Winnipeggers want to see on Public Safety Building site
• Public Safety Building to remain intact and closed to public for at least another year​

On Tuesday, CentreVenture president and CEO Angela Mathieson told council's planning, property and development committee that an initial round of public consultations about the redevelopment has wrapped up. A planning framework for the block should come before council in December, she said.

It may include new pedestrian or motor-vehicle arteries running through the block in order to improve the downtown streetscape, provide better connections between the east and west sides of the Exchange District, and remove a barrier between the Exchange and what remains of Winnipeg's Chinatown.

"What those types of things do is end up creating the development parcels that might occur," Mathieson said following her presentation to the committee."Those things we think are independent from what the private sector would want to do, and those things are in the best interest of the community and should happen first."

Mathieson also said an effort will be made to consider parking at the site and possibly reopen the underground tunnel that once connected the Civic Centre Parkade to the Centennial Concert Hall through the basement of City Hall.

She also said concerns were raised about the creation of another empty green space on the southern portion of the block, given that OId Market Square already offers ample public space nearby. A year-round public use would be preferable, she said.

The redevelopment plan calls for the Public Safety Building to be demolished in 2018 and for redevelopment to begin in 2019. The Civic Centre Parkade could be demolished earlier due to safety concerns, Mathieson said.