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Exchange District gets housing boostStately buildings to be converted into apartmentsBy David O’BrienTWO major housing projects in the Exchange District will begin this year, providing affordable living for people who love the historic quarter and increasing the number of living units in the area by a third.The stately Lindsay Building at 228 Notre Dame Ave. will be converted into a high-rise apartment complex, with 35 new suites, while another heritage building at 87/89 Princess St. will be turned into five condominiums and eight live/work apartments.Both buildings, empty for several years, feature the large windows, high ceilings and hefty columns associated with loft living.The 48 new condos and apartments will be ready for occupancy toward the end of the year, but it won’t take long to fill them, said Hart Mallin, a downtown advocate and partner in the Princess Street project.“My phone has already been ringing,” Mallin said. “There is a pent-up demand for housing in the Exchange and this is going to help meet some of that demand.”There are about 150 residential units in the Exchange District, including 100 at the Ashdown Warehouse on Ban-natyne Avenue, so the addition of 48 new units is a major push forward in the goal to move people downtown.There may be another 50 to 200 peopleliving in the area’s heritage buildings, according to various estimates, but their arrangements aren't official and many of these quarters probably don’t meet building codes.The new housing developments are the result of a competition by Centre Venture Development Corp., which offered a total of $500,000 in civic funds to adapt existing buildings for residential use.The goal was to bridge the gap between market rents and the high cost of adapting the buildings for residentialmm DL9UMCXI / WMNIPEQ ffl£f PflESSiNew apartments in the Lindsay Building will feature large windows, high ceilings and hefty columns.use.Brad and Dale Ostrum, owners of the Lindsay Building, received $300,000 to convert the top seven stories of the 10-storey structure into 35 rental units, ranging in size from 650 to 850 square feet.The Ostrums couldn't be reached yesterday, but their rental rates will be around $500 a month, according to Bill Thiessen, CentreVenture’s development officer.In Mallin’s three-storey building, rents will be pegged at between $700 and $900 a month, while the condos will range in price from $85,000 to $100,000. Underground parking is included.Each unit will have an outdoor balcony cut into the interior space, a rare feature in most loft developments, he said.Both buildings will develop commercial space on their main floors.Mayor Glen Murray said boosting the downtown’s residential population is acritical component in the city’s revitalization effort.Located at the corner of Notre Dame and Ellice Avenue, Lindsay Building has a triangular shape, which will create a unique configuration for some of the apartments, Thiessen said.O dave.o’brien@lrBBpr08s.mb.ca
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