City considers selling Winnipeg Square parkade

The City of Winnipeg wants to know if anyone is interested in buying a 1,000-stall parkade under the city's most famous intersection.

The city's infrastructure renewal and public works committee voted Tuesday to ask the private sector for expressions of interest on the Winnipeg Square parkade, located beneath Portage Avenue and Main Street.

Last year, the three-storey parkade earned $1.7 million, after expenses. But the real "gold mine," as one councillor referred to it, is the land above the structure: an empty lot that could be developed.

"It's a prime piece of downtown real estate, and you can go up pretty high there," he said.

"My sense is that we've got substantial growth going on in downtown we're talking about an expansion of the convention centre. It might be an ideal location for a new downtown hotel."

Swandel estimated the site is worth $20 million to $50 million.

The committee's decision does not mean the land is for sale; that move will only be made once the private sector has been surveyed and more research is done on the value of the parkade and land above it, Swandel said.

Fine hikes approved

The committee also approved new rates for parking at the Winnipeg Square, Millennium Library and Civic parkades, all located downtown. Daily fees will rise to $12, up from $10. Monthly fees will also increase.

The committee also approved higher fines for parking violations. Initial fines those paid within 15 days increase to $50, from $35, for several offences, including:

• Parking on a sidewalk, in an intersection or crosswalk.
• Parking that obstructs traffic.
• Parking within three metres of a curb edge or fire hydrant.

Initial fines for parking in an emergency snow route or fire lane will increase to $100 from $50, while the fine for parking in a designated disabled parking space will increase to $150 from $100.

Tuesday's decisions both on the parkade and the fines must be approved by city council next week before they go ahead.

If approved, the new parkade rates would go into effect in September, while the higher fines would begin in August.