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CentreVenture hit with derelict-building order for James Avenue Pumping Station

Winnipeg's downtown-development agency is appealing a derelict-building order against the James Avenue Pumping Station, insisting the heritage structure is a construction site and not a vacant building.

Development agency appeals $7,300 charge, claiming heritage building is a construction site

Bartley Kives · CBC News ·
CentreVenture is appealing a derelict-building order against the James Avenue Pumping Station, which is undergoing a $17-million private-sector redevelopment. (Bartley Kives/CBC)

Winnipeg's downtown-development agency is appealing a derelict-building order against the James Avenue Pumping Station, insisting the heritage structure is a construction site and not a vacant building.

On Sept. 7, city property officials ordered CentreVenture to seal up the James Avenue Pumping Station, which has been vacant since 1986 but will soon undergo a $17-million renovation.

Developers Rick Hofer and Bryce Alston are converting the 110-year-old building into a mixed-use complex with offices, new residential apartments, parking and a view of the massive gears that once powered Winnipeg's water-distribution system.

On Sept. 16, CentreVenture president and CEO Angela Mathieson appealed the derelict-building order, along with its $7,300 charge.

"CentreVenture was of the understanding that the city would no longer require the boarded building permit, as the property was to be under construction in 2016," Mathieson wrote.

The appeal is slated for Tuesday. Pre-construction work began at the James Avenue Pumping Station in October and the developers said they expected the building's title to be transferred to them in November.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bartley Kives

Senior reporter, CBC Manitoba

Bartley Kives joined CBC Manitoba in 2016. Prior to that, he spent three years at the Winnipeg Sun and 18 at the Winnipeg Free Press, writing about politics, music, food and outdoor recreation. He's the author of the Canadian bestseller A Daytripper's Guide to Manitoba: Exploring Canada's Undiscovered Province and co-author of both Stuck in the Middle: Dissenting Views of Winnipeg and Stuck In The Middle 2: Defining Views of Manitoba.

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