OLEXA FORMER WINNIPEG INDUSTRIAL SITE REIMAGINED AS MIXED-USE COMMUNITY
Winnipeg’s eastern St. Boniface neighbourhood is poised for a major transformation as a large-scale mixed-use development moves into its early construction phase, blending commercial, industrial, residential and parkland uses into one area.
The Water Tower District, a 165-acre stretch of former industrial land, aims to convert the long-vacant former Union Stockyards space, a large livestock-handling facility, into a flexible, centrally located district that easily connects to the city’s core.
Led by Alberta-based Olexa Developments, the project is one of many examples of Canadian developers transforming former industrial sites into vibrant, thriving communities.
Similar conversions are underway nationwide, including Montreal’s former Molson Brewery site, which is being redeveloped into a mixed-use district called Quartier Molson, and Toronto’s former Downsview Airport, set to become YZD, a 370-acre site that will connect 66,000 residents across seven neighbourhoods.
Alexandra Petros
Special Reporter to The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday February 3