A 48-suite, five-storey building is breaking ground early this year in St. Boniface, but the development isn’t just another modern apartment building.

Nearly half the units of Les Suites Marion are designed to be affordable housing for new immigrants, people living with disabilities and those struggling with mental health and addictions.

Réseau Compassion Network CEO Daniel Lussier says Winnipeg lacks “safe, affordable housing.” The new development is going to be a “mix of private housing with those who need supports.”

Lussier says what sets the complex apart is “wrap-around services [the tenants] need to thrive,” offered by the likes of Sara Riel Inc., St. Amant and Abri Marguerite.

Sara Riel CEO Tara Snider says they offer a community mentorship program “which includes things like skills for daily living, grocery shopping, managing finances, or help scheduling and getting to appointments.”

The Réseau Compassion Network secured the land and the initial funding, then partnered with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to turn the development into reality with possession dates in early 2023.

Snider says a housing crunch is coming and the new development is coming at the perfect time and is “going to change lives.”