New Waverley West subdivision up for debate
WINNIPEG - Winnipeg city councillors are gearing up for a debate on a proposed development called Waverley West.
The provincially owned area south of Bishop Grandin and west of Waverley has the potential to house 50,000 people – a population the size of Brandon.
Within the next month, the province and a private developer will come to the city asking for approval of the subdivision, but some city councillors are critical of the plan, saying it will strain infrastructure and flies in the face of the city's policy to redeveloping land in established neighborhoods.
Coun. Dan Vandal, head of the city's property and development committee, is keeping an open mind. He believes the city may ask that the area be developed one piece at a time.
"Waverly West will be market-driven. If it does get approved, it doesn't mean the entire tract of land is available for housing immediately," he says. "It's going to be done incrementally, and it's going to be done in a way that's phased-in and sequential, so if there's no market for the lots within after a few years, then … servicing is not going to be extended. If that's what we happen to do."
Charleswood Coun. Bill Clement has said he would rather see the undeveloped land in his ward dealt with before Waverley West goes ahead.
The city must approve any proposals from the province before the subdivision moves forward.