Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 3/12/2014 (2119 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg's downtown development agency has issued a call for developers interested in creating new residential apartments with the help of long-term property-tax rebates.

On Tuesday, CentreVenture issued a 24-page request for proposals to build new downtown rental apartments under a program that would see the assessed value of properties in question effectively frozen for 12 to 20 years.

The program, officially known as the Live Downtown Rental Development Grant Program, was approved by city council in June. It aims to stimulate the development of 750 to 900 rental apartments by offering property owners a rebate on any increase in city and provincial property taxes that result from the improvement of those properties.

'I think this is a positive step, but I wouldn't go as far as to state it's going to alleviate our affordable–housing problem'

The program replaces an older city-provincial incentive package known as the Downtown Residential Development Grant Program, which offered $40 million worth of grants and tax incentives to downtown condo developers.

Despite the name of the new program, it will not offer grants. Rather, developers who create new rental units will receive an annual rebate on their property taxes equal to the difference in the tax burden before and after the properties are improved.

There is no dollar value attached to the program because no funds will be spent up front, said Ross McGowan, CentreVenture's outgoing president and CEO.

"We're hearing from the development community that they're prepared to construct rental housing, and this seems to be fitting the bill," he said at his agency's office at Cityplace.

Proposals will be accepted until Feb. 13.

Successful applicants receive property-tax credits for a minimum of 12 years, while developments in strategic locations will be eligible for an additional four-year tax holiday. Another two-year freeze will be offered to developers who build up on surface parking lots, while developers who create covered parking will receive two more years as well.

The target area for new apartments are sections of downtown in the East Exchange and South Portage -- with the exception of the sports, hospitality and entertainment district near the MTS Centre, which is covered by a separate tax-increment financing program.

In order to be eligible for the rebates, developers must set aside a minimum of 10 per cent of the rental units for five years for what city planners call affordable housing -- rents geared to median market rental rates, as determined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

"We think it's really important we don't just build super-high-end, less-affordable condos," said Mayor Brian Bowman, supporting the incentive package created under the Sam Katz administration.

The Selinger government pushed the city to ensure more affordable units are included in the new developments.

Housing policy critics, however, say the province's definition of affordable housing refers to non-luxury rents that remain well beyond the means of people struggling to find housing.

"I think this is a positive step, but I wouldn't go as far as to state it's going to alleviate our affordable-housing problem," said Dan Penner, a University of Manitoba master's student in city planning who researches affordable housing.

Projects eligible for the program must feature a minimum of five rental units and devote 80 per cent of their space to residential housing.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca