A contentious proposal to redevelop the site of a now-demolished historic mansion in Winnipeg's Crescentwood neighbourhood hit a major roadblock at city hall Tuesday.

Council's city centre committee rejected a recommendation to rezone the lot at 514 Wellington Cres.

The rezoning would pave the way to build a four-storey, eight-unit condo building where the century-old Gordon House was demolished in 2020, despite the efforts of some community residents to save it.

Some of those residents were among nearly a dozen people who spoke in opposition to the condo proposal at the committee's Tuesday meeting.

They argued that the multi-family development, which would have provided housing for people 55 and older, wouldn't fit the character of one of the city's oldest and wealthiest neighbourhoods.

Opponents also accused the developer of trying to get the project approved before the city approves a proposed heritage conservation district for the area — a status that aims to preserve "the character and look of a neighbourhood," according to the City of Winnipeg, by placing controls on development in an area.

"This is premature — this is a slap in the face of the neighbourhood," said River Heights-Fort Garry Coun. John Orlikow, who brought forward the motion to reject the rezoning proposal.

Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) joined Orlikow in rejecting the proposal, while Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) voted to allow it to proceed.

The proposal must still go before city council for a final decision.

Developer Jeff Thompson told the committee he had consulted with members of the community, including through two open houses, and had modified the design to address community concerns. That included adding a private driveway to avoid using an existing back lane as an entrance, he said.

Orlikow asked Thompson why he was bringing his proposal forward now, instead of waiting until the city completes its study of the heritage district proposal, which is expected to happen this summer.

Thompson replied that the project has already faced significant delays and he didn't know when the city would make a final decision.

"It's been five years that we've been working on this project," he said. "We've been stalled, we've had all kinds of, as you know, ups and downs here and a pretty rocky road, and we're at a point where we're ready to present."

Thompson said the people who spoke in opposition to the project at the committee meeting represented a small fraction of those who attended the public meetings. However, only one person other than those hired by the developer registered to speak in support of the project Tuesday.

The community member who appeared in support declined to speak when given the chance. The committee then heard from nearly a dozen people who opposed the development.

"The open house consultation meetings were a joke," Christine Skene told the committee.

"The advantage of being virtual saw the hosts interpret the questions posed in terms more favourable to their point of view and the answers twisted to appear to support the proposal."

Skene was part of a group of community members who lobbied to save the home that previously stood on the property, which was originally slated for demolition in 2016.

Thompson had planned to build three single-family homes on the site, but later decided on the condo building proposal.

A city spokesperson said the developer worked collaboratively with the administration to make changes to the plans in response to concerns from the community.

The city determined the proposed development "adds to the mix of housing types in the neighbourhood in a context-sensitive manner," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

It is also "compatible with contextual historic built form," including setbacks, trees, and historic fencing, and "shows a high-quality architectural design" that uses materials similar to those used in the mansion that previously stood on the site and in the immediate neighbourhood, the spokesperson said.