Architect George Cibinel remembers arriving in Winnipeg in 1985. “I remember coming back from Europe and Boston, and was just surprised at how many empty parking lots we had,” he says, of Winnipeg’s downtown. “And it hasn’t changed much.”
It’s one of the reasons that Cibinel is excited about a new project to put some life back into what has been quite a notorious parking lot behind the Sherbrook Hotel.
The hotel’s new owner Neil Soorsma bought the property last year and has sold the giant parking lot behind it. It has mostly sat empty for the last 15 years, as the hotel morphed mainly into low cost apartments. Soorsma wants to keep the affordable apartments and maybe revive some of the entertainment capacity of the original hotel building, but saw a new opportunity for the back property.
The parking lot was so big, there’s enough room to put a 5 story building on it while preserving the mature trees on the boulevard in front of the new building site, and adding more trees along the back.
The planned multi-family development is slated to have two story, three bedroom, suites facing Furby Street, with a mix of studio, and 1 and 2 bedroom suites throughout the building, and with a designated commercial space off of Westminster Ave. Aproximately 25% of the suites are planned to be affordable in accordance with CMHC’s MLI Select program, and with up to eight of those units in accordance with Manitoba Housing’s affordability requirements.
As recipients of the tallest net zero (ZCB-Design v3 Certified) building award last year (in western Canada) for their 21 story building design of 308 Colony Street, Cibinel Architecture has ample experince in environmentally-conscious design. Cibinel says that its design will be 25% better than the national energy code, with a well-insulated building envelope, and high efficiency mechanical systems.

Lotus Holdings Winnipeg, (who were also the developers of 308 Colony Street) along with Soorsma, are the developers of the new project.
Newer building codes provide for greater accessibility in general, but Cibinel also stresses that accomodations can be tailored to accomodate persons with disabilities.
Two spots in the designated 28 parking spots at the building will be for shared vehicle use, but the building will also feature secure bike storage for up to 45 bikes, and 14 outdoor bike racks.
“It’s a really nice walkable neighborhood well located, and close to transit and and I think developing a few of the pockets in the area will contribute to the vitality in the area,” says Cibinel.
Cibinel Architecture has provided questionaires for residents to comment on the proposed design which can be accessed on their website, or by contacting Connie Jantz at Cibinel Architecture by email at connie@cibinel.com.