In a sign of private-sector interest in land around dedicated bus corridors, a Winnipeg real-estate firm intends to build an 18-storey residential tower opposite the Harkness rapid-transit station in Osborne Village.

Private Pension Partners Inc. is planning to build a 146-unit residential tower on a former tennis court on Stradbrook Avenue, east of Donald Street.

The Winnipeg firm is slated to come before city council's property and development committee on Tuesday with a proposal to rezone what used to be commercial land into a residential mixed-use area.

The plan for the tower calls for an 18-storey building with a cafe on the ground floor and potential commercial spaces, according to a report by city planner Andrew Ross. The proposal also calls for a three-and-a-half-storey parkade with 175 stalls, a covered seating area along Stradbrook Avenue and possibly a dog run.

Winnipeg's planning division is recommending councillors approve the tower proposal because it "closely aligns" with the city's plan to develop lands along bus rapid-transit corridors.

The project is ideal because it's a "high-density development directly adjacent to a rapid-transit station," Ross writes.

Harkness Station is the most northern of four stops on the first phase of the Southwest Transitway.

Private Pension Partners is still finalizing the design for the tower, chief operating officer Karl Loepp said in a statement, declining to comment further.

Area councillor Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) declined to comment because the project is heading for a public hearing.