A controversial condo development on Wellington Crescent got a green light from the city to proceed with construction.

The proposed building at 514 Wellington Cres. has faced years of community opposition and has been rejected by city councillors twice, including at the city centre committee meeting in January.

Councillors on the committee and community opponents argued the four-storey, eight unit design is too large to fit in with the surrounding community.

On Wednesday, the appeal committee overturned that rejection by a 2-1 vote, clearing the way for the project to move forward.

"This proposal has put effort into respecting area heritage in many different ways. The architectural design seems very high quality and complementary to the neighbourhood, and it's really not much larger in scale than the previous dwelling that was there before," said Coun. Devi Sharma (Old Kildonan).

Sharma and committee chair Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) cast the two votes in favour of the appeal, while Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) voted against it. Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seinne River) was absent.

The property is the site of the former Gordon House, a two-storey mansion built in 1909. After It fell into disrepair, property owner Jeff Thompson bought it in 2016 and applied to have it demolished.

That sparked protests from community members and heritage advocates who wanted to save the building, but in 2020, the house was torn down.

Since then, the property has been empty while the developer has tried to get plans for a new building approved, but many of the same people who fought the demolition have opposed the new plans.

The design has gone through changes in response to concerns from the community. Architects reduced the footprint by increasing the height in order to preserve the deep front yard around the property.

"It's one of those opportunities to use existing infrastructure to introduce context-sensitive multifamily [housing] in an area that would encourage people to age in place. And of course, it's within a walkable community," said planner Michelle Richard, one of the proponents of the project.

Much of the opposition to the plans have focused on the height of the building.

Zoning rules in the area restrict building height to thirty-five feet, but the plans call for the building to be almost fifty feet.

"It's sort of precedent-setting that a developer can come in, take over a beautiful property, somehow get it demolished and then … go to the city planners and arguably get them to approve possibly even a larger development in the future," said Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg.

The plans still have to go through the permit process.

Opponents of the project are considering appealing to the Manitoba Municipal Board, which has the authority to overrule city planning decisions.