Fisher River Cree Nation to restore century-plus old building on Osborne Street

Posted on July 21, 2024 by Peggy

A long-empty building on Osborne Street could be back up and running as soon as next spring.

The Rubin Block, a building at the corner of Osborne Street and Morley Avenue in Winnipeg that has been vacant and boarded up since a fire in 2014, has been purchased by Fisher River Cree Nation, Chief David Crate told CBC on Saturday.

Crate says work is underway to restore the over century-old building and it could be fully functional by next spring. The goal is to have about a dozen units available in the building, Crate said.

“The project is going to take some time to complete, just because of the age of the building and of course all of the planning that’s required,” Crate said.

The building was constructed in 1914 and designed by acclaimed architect Max Zev Blankstein, but was dropped from the city’s list of historic properties in 2014.

Gordon Goldsborough, head researcher for the Manitoba Historical Society, said it’s “absolutely wonderful” the building is headed down the path of restoration, rather than demolition.

“We had worried in the heritage community that the owner was kind of … unsympathetic and would therefore let the building deteriorate until it was too late, until there was nothing that could be done,” he said.

“Nobody likes to see a building standing vacant, they serve no one’s interest,” said Goldsborough.

“It’s therefore wonderful to hear that there’s going to be someone that’s going to love the building, put the work into making it a useful build and I like to think it’s going to be around another hundred-plus years.”

Goldsborough said turning the building into housing “honours its purpose” — residential space.

“If people are honest and if they look seriously at these buildings, what they will usually find is that they are well-built,” he said. “They were built to last.”

The First Nation is working in collaboration with several partners on the building’s remediation and operation, including Fisher River’s First Nation Healing Centre, the University of Winnipeg Renewal Corporation and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said Crate.

“Working with all the various partners on this initiative has been a really good experience for the First Nation Healing Centre,” he said, adding that the project is being looked at as an extension of the work that’s taking place in the First Nation.