Red River College spies Public Safety Building as potential site for student housing

Red River College likes the idea of expanding its downtown campus on to the site of the Public Safety Building, Winnipeg's old police headquarters.

Red River College president and CEO Paul Vogt said Friday the Public Safety Building — which sits between Red River's Princess Street and Union Bank Tower complexes — is a candidate for more student housing and affordable housing at some point in the future.

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"Obviously we're interested because it's right in the heart of what's becoming our downtown campus," Vogt said Friday following an event to mark the fifth year of the college's culinary school.

"There's a great demand for housing in this area, a demand for housing in this area for students but actually just generally speaking, particularly affordable housing."

Vogt said Red River College can not contemplate a Public Safety Building development until it proceeds with a $95-million innovation centre planned for the western edge of the Exchange District.

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Still, Vogt said he has already indicated the college's interest in the site to Winnipeg downtown ​development agency CentreVenture, which is holding public consultations about the future of the Public Safety Building, which was vacated by the Winnipeg Police Service in 2016, and the adjacent Civic Centre Parkade, which was shuttered due to structural-safety concerns in 2012.

The city plans to demolish both structures and redevelop the entire block bounded by William Avenue to the south, King Street to the east, James Avenue to the north and Princess Avenue to the west.

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The southernmost portion of the land, however, must be reserved for some form of public use, thanks to a caveat placed on the property in 1875, when it was donated to the city by the family of Winnipeg's first postmaster.

​"Red River may be uniquely positioned to redevelop those lands," said Mayor Brian Bowman, referring to the college's status as a public institution.

Vogt said there are challenges ahead for the college when it comes to securing funds for another capital expansion, especially given the tight nature of finances at all three levels of government.

Nonetheless, Vogt said the 100 beds at the college's Union Bank Tower residence are full and the Exchange District is becoming a "a very dynamic community" that combines innovation, education and the arts.

"Whatever happens with the land, we want all those purposes to be kept in play," Vogt said.