17 Wing weighs future needs before sale
Winnipeg Free Press
Tuesday January 18 2005
By Rick Lawler
THE closure of the south site of 17 Wing Winnipeg won't lead to a windfall of affordable housing in Tuxedo anytime soon.
One hundred and ninety-two of the 375 single dwellings and duplexes are empty after the departure of their former occupants from Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) to Shilo this past summer.
But the military housing is not included in the closing and sale of the former Kapyong Barracks site.
"Those houses are still owned by 17 Wing," said Jane Roszell, CEO of the Canadian Forces Housing Agency(CFHA) in Ottawa.
"There is a very active discussion on what the housing needs of 17 Wing Winnipeg will be," Roszell said, adding that any decision made won't happen soon and will very likely "take more than a year."
"If any housing is considered surplus to the needs of 17 Wing in the future, priority for its use (as housing) would be given to other federal departments such as correctional services, the RCMP or other departments before being sold," Roszell said. At 17 Wing, planning for the future is a challenging task. The Wing operates several schools of instruction, an air movements squadron and two active flying squadrons.
With the possible development of a new air warfare centre being located in Winnipeg, it is difficult for military planners to know whether housing needs will rise or fall.
"Until we know for sure, what is the role and the tasks of 17 Wing" any decisions on housing surpluses can't be made, said Lt.-Col. Shirley Neville, Wing Administration Officer for 17 Wing.
"We have to be able to evaluate ourselves at a steady state," Neville said. "Any decisions won't be made for at least another year."
Any redevelopment or construction at the old Kapyong Barracks isn't likely to start for some time either. The abandoned site is still owned and cared for by 17 Wing in anticipation of being declared surplus and sold.
"Canada Lands does not own the Kapyong site yet," said Gord McIvor, vice-president of government and public affairs at Canada Lands Company (CLC) in Toronto. "The transfer of the property (from the government to CLC) is still awaiting Treasury Board approval." CLC, formed in 1996, is an arm's-length Crown corporation that acquires surplus federal property at fair market value and then re-furbishes or develops the properties for resale after extensive consultation with municipal governments.
CLC has developed former DND properties across Canada including Garrison Woods in Calgary and Griesbach Barracks in Edmonton.