3 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Housing project built for Vietnamese refugees for sale
Nearly four decades after a social housing project for Vietnamese boat people opened its doors, the downtown apartment building is up for sale and likely to become part of Manitoba Housing.
Carolyn Ryan, CEO of Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corp., said while the building is more than $3 million in arrears on its mortgage, the current tenants of Saigon Centre at 458 Balmoral St., have no need to worry about the building that's been managed for decades by the Vietnamese Non-Profit Housing Corporation.
'Our goal is to retain it as social housing,' Ryan said.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
A multi-unit downtown apartment building created almost four decades ago to house Vietnamese boat people (and owned and managed by them), is up for sale.
'That's first and foremost. The foreclosure process at this point is the only option remaining for us to meet that goal.
'We would be happy to negotiate a voluntary transfer and we are still open to those kinds of negotiations with the board of directors. The sale option is just a required part of the foreclosure process.'
The reserve bid for the building is $3.095 million, which Ryan said is the mortgage arrears.
She said the tenants are protected by a caveat put in place when the 54-unit building officially opened on May 6, 1989.
'When the building was first built in 1987, with government funding, we put a caveat on the title that it had to maintain its social housing forever and ever,' Ryan said.
'Theoretically, another organization, private or non-profit, could step in, but because of the caveat our expectation is it would again have to approach the province for the funding needed to keep it as social housing.
'One way or the other, it has to stay in social housing… our strong expectation is this will be owned by (Manitoba Housing).'
Tenants who spoke to a reporter, but did not want to be identified, said they were concerned about what is happening to the building, a place some of them have lived since it opened.
Vincent Bueti, longtime lawyer for the Vietnamese Non-Profit Housing Corporation, said he had no comment to make at this time.
When the building opened, the $4.4-million capital cost for the housing was borne by the provincial government while the three levels of government, through the Winnipeg Core Area Initiative, contributed $60,000 for the main floor cultural centre. The province gave an additional $80,000.
The project consisted of 20 two-bedroom apartments, 20 three-bedroom units, three four-bedroom units and 11 single bedroom ones for seniors.
The building has since housed both the Free Vietnamese Association of Manitoba and the Vietnamese Cultural Centre.
Asked about the sale of another non-profit housing block sold a few years ago to a private corporation, Ryan said there was one key difference between Lions Place and the Balmoral property.
'The building MainStream Equities bought didn't have that caveat. There was no requirement to keep it as social housing.'
The province is paying $3.3 million over three years to subsidize tenants in that Portage Avenue building.
'Given the caveat, that it operate as social housing, and the extensive repairs needed… our expectation will be that there is unlikely to be any other bids,' Ryan said.
'All tenants (at 458 Balmoral) have right of tenancy, so there should be no impact with the foreclosure on tenants. No impact to their rent — it's all rent geared (to income).'
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Shauna MacKinnon, of the Right to Housing Coalition, said she is pleased the Balmoral block residents don't have to worry.
'That's the lesson — it really is important to have that caveat built into the agreement,' MacKinnon said. 'That's what is leading to what looks like a positive outcome — as long as it gets the necessary repairs.'
Ryan said she believes the process of foreclosure and transfer to the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation will be completed by Oct. 1.
— with files from Malak Abas
Kevin RollasonReporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
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