Winnipeg news: Market Lands South officially opened its doors Tuesday, and downtown Winnipeg just gained 95 rental homes on a site that sat empty for a decade, with nearly half of them priced for people who could never afford market rent.
Market Lands South is a new 95 unit rental building in downtown Winnipeg that opened November 10, 2026. Forty eight of its homes are rent geared to income, and with a full provincial rent supplement a one bedroom home costs about 285 dollars a month instead of 1,500 dollars. The first tenants move in this month.
By Maplestime News Desk | Winnipeg, Manitoba | November 11, 2026
Sources: CBC Manitoba, UWCRC 2.0 | Last updated: November 11, 2026
Key Takeaways
- 95 rental homes, from studios to two bedroom suites, on the former Public Safety Building site downtown
- 48 homes are rent geared to income, mixed through the building, not set apart on separate floors
- With a full provincial rent supplement, a one bedroom home costs about 285 dollars a month, against 1,500 dollars at market rent
- 29 applications already in for the rent geared to income homes
- The 58.5 million dollar build is Canada’s first CAGBC certified net carbon zero residential mid rise
What is Market Lands South?
Market Lands South is the first building on the Market Lands site, the downtown block where Winnipeg’s old police headquarters once stood. The Public Safety Building closed in 2016 and was demolished in 2020, and the land sat waiting for a plan. The new building sits between City Hall and the Red River College Polytechnic downtown campus, on one of the most visible corners in the city.
The non profit UWCRC 2.0 built the project. Its 95 homes cover studios, one bedroom and two bedroom suites, and the rent geared to income homes are mixed throughout the building, so neighbours on different incomes live side by side on the same floors.
The ground floors belong to the arts. A Creative Hub on floors one and two will give working space to Urban Shaman, MAWA, Creative Manitoba and Manitoba Music, putting artists and musicians at the street level of a housing project. The building’s atrium is named Ross Family Hall.
What does a rent geared to income home cost?
The numbers explain why the opening drew a crowd. A one bedroom home at market rent in the building runs about 1,500 dollars a month. With a full provincial rent supplement, a tenant in a rent geared to income home pays about 285 dollars a month for the same kind of suite.
Demand is already showing. Twenty nine applications have come in so far for the 48 rent geared to income homes, and the first tenants move in this month. Housing Minister Bernadette Smith called the mix a model worth copying. “This is a really unique model,” Smith said at the opening.
The Princess Street entrance of the former Public Safety Building, 151 Princess Street, Winnipeg. The building was demolished in 2020 and the site is now Market Lands South. Photo: Ccyyrree, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Why does this building matter for downtown Winnipeg?
Downtown Winnipeg needs people living in it, not just working in it, and a 95 home building on a long empty block does exactly that. Mayor Scott Gillingham framed the opening as a template for what should follow. “This is exactly the kind of development we want to see more of in downtown Winnipeg,” Gillingham said.
The building also sets a green standard. At 58.5 million dollars, it is Canada’s first CAGBC certified net carbon zero residential mid rise, which means the project was designed to produce no net carbon emissions across its operations. That matters in a city where new towers usually arrive with a large energy bill attached.
What comes next at Market Lands?
This is only the south half of the story. A second building is planned for the north side of the Market Lands site, and the full project is meant to turn a fenced off former police site into a lived in downtown neighbourhood, with homes, arts space and street life on a block that spent years behind a fence.
For now, the test is simple. The homes are built, the applications are in, and the first tenants move in this month. If the mix of market rent and rent geared to income homes works here, it gives every other downtown developer a working example to point at.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the first tenants move in?
This month, November 2026, following the official opening on Tuesday, November 10.
How much does a rent geared to income home cost at the new building?
With a full provincial rent supplement, a one bedroom home costs about 285 dollars a month, compared with about 1,500 dollars at market rent.
What was on the Market Lands site before?
The Public Safety Building, Winnipeg’s old police headquarters, which closed in 2016 and was demolished in 2020.
Downtown Winnipeg skyline. Photo: Wpg guy, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Maplestime will provide updates from downtown Winnipeg housing as announcements are made.
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Is 48 rent geared to income homes enough when the wait for affordable housing in Winnipeg keeps growing, or should every new downtown build carry the same rule? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Winnipegger watching rent climb.
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