Portage Avenue has always been bustling with people in downtown Winnipeg but it has been restricted to street level - until now.
Twenty of 75 apartment units in the refurbished Avenue and Hample buildings are now occupied and the developers are optimistic the rest will be leased out shortly. Typical rent for a one-bedroom is $925 per month.
All the apartments have one interesting feature - tiny balconies overlooking Portage Avenue, right across the street from the MTS Centre, the home of the Winnipeg Jets and the centrepiece of a more-than-$600-million revitalization of downtown Winnipeg called the SHED (sports, hospitality and entertainment district).
The latest project designed to attract Winnipeggers to live downtown is the brainchild of brothers Mark and Rick Hofer. They were helped along by $3.8 million in financial assistance from the city, the province and CentreVenture Development Corp., Winnipeg's downtown development agency.
The units range from 400 square feet to more than 1,000 square feet.
The $12.4 million conversion was unveiled just days after demolition began of the nearby Wild Planet and A&B Sound buildings, which will make way for a new 15-storey hotel tower.
– Compiled by Geoff Kirbyson
from Western Investor May 2012
