Seventy-five new modern rental units are now available in the heart of downtown Winnipeg.
The province, city and the project's developer cut the ribbon for the newly renovated Avenue Building on Portage Avenue Tuesday.
The $12.5 million project features one and two bedroom units with balconies and a commercial space on the street level.
Six units will be made available for low-income tenants.
The rest of the rents will range from around $800 to $1,500.
Premier Greg Selinger and Mayor Sam Katz both say they hope the new apartment building brings more foot traffic to the area to improve safety downtown.
"I think that this project's just going to be another beacon of hope for the downtown," said Selinger.
"With the type of tenant you have here you're going to see a lot more foot traffic which is what our downtown needs," said Katz.
Developer Mark Hofer says he believes rental properties like this will attract more people, versus another condo project.
"You can try it for a year, see how you like it. It's not this huge commitment. I think in order to fill our downtown with people walking the streets and activity rental is the key," said Hofer
He says the building is already one-third full and expects to rent out the rest of the units very shortly.
Jamie Hall is one of the building's first tenants.
"As downtown continues to get more people, more places like this, you build more community and it won't just be the suburbs where you know your neighbour. It will be downtown as well," said Hall.
- with a report from CTV's Jeff Keele
