Winnipeg to give Shelter a shot at redeveloping 'albatross' police-HQ tower

The City of Winnipeg has taken a step toward getting rid of a downtown property one councillor has called an albatross the mostly vacant former Canada Post tower on Graham Avenue.

City council's property committee is poised to award Shelter Canadian Properties the exclusive right to redevelop the 10-storey tower, which the city acquired in 2010 as part of the $214-million conversion of the former Canada Post complex into its new police headquarters. The complex alone cost $29.25 million.

The police service occupies the entire warehouse component of the old Canada Post complex but only utilizes a portionof the tower.

The city initially planned to sell the tower for $18 million, but soon found the building in need of $20million worth of renovations, on top of $2.1 million worth of annual carrying costs due to maintenance needs and empty office space.

Council property chair John Orlikow (River Heights) called the tower "this albatross we have to deal with" in 2015.

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In March, the city issued an expression-of-interest document to developers interested in taking a stab at the project. Six proposals came forward and three met the criteria laid out by the city, municipal accommodations manager Brad Erickson writes in a report to property committee.

Winnipeg-based Shelter Canadian Properties submitted the best plan, writesErickson, who does not specify what that the proposal entails.

"In the opinion of the department, Shelter Canadian Properties Limited has the skills and resources to satisfactorily complete the work," he writes.

Pending committee approval on Tuesday and council approval on Nov. 16, Shelter will have six months to study the Canada Post tower, cost out its potential redevelopment and submit a proposal to the city. It must also maintain the building during this time.

Shindico, another Winnipeg firm, conducted the due diligence work on the Canada Post complex prior to the city's purchase of the property.