Simply put, older properties that are demolished and repurposed with new housing is referred to as infill development. Infill housing allows homeowners to enjoy benefits of living in a newly constructed home with the latest technologies without succumbing to a new development, living outside of the city, or a suburb. Instead, these homeowners enjoy the benefits of a new home alongside the benefits of living in our rich spirited, tree lined mature neighbourhoods. The City of Winnipeg itself is expected to grow to 900,000 people by 2030 and without infill housing and added density, our current housing stock would simply not support the population increase. Some neighbours oppose infill for various reasons and to solve for this, Infill development requires both builders and neighbours amicably extending for the desired outcome of improving our city and supporting population increases.
While infill is necessary for a city positioned to grow like Winnipeg, less favourable components for neighbours exist such as noise, debris, and the proximity to the abutting properties. Dwelling heights may also be of concern, as some neighbours fear a new two storey dwelling replacing a bungalow for example, may block sunlight and pose other inconveniences. This is exasperated by rogue builders building as high as they possibly can to avoid spending more money on deeper basements, which results in maximized heights and potential bad rapport for infill. There is also no shortage of community design critics, as many new house designs are cost based which results in less compelling design that doesn’t appeal to neighbours. Many infill builders cater to a limited demographic and build less expensive properties that don’t align with the rich character neighbourhoods Winnipeg is known for. Neighbours with high community spirit tend to frown upon these less expensive dwellings being built, based on lack of care and unthoughtful design. These are legitimate concerns that should be provisioned for by builders. Building responsibly mitigates these concerns and helps gain community support, which effectively enhances our mature communities and is why responsible infill development is necessary.
Practicing responsible infill development by hiring professional and experienced trades is one sure way to mitigate the risk of damages when building in tight spaces. A responsible builder would pay extra for shoring which temporarily supports earth from caving in during excavation, mitigating risk to abutting properties and contractors, where irresponsible builders would forego this step to build less expensively and risk damaging abutting properties. A responsible builder may also stickhandle a messy construction site by hiring a site supervisor or other contact to manage waste properly, where an irresponsible builder wouldn’t be bothered by a messy site much to the dismay of neighbours, resulting in garbage piles left in front yard for months on end. Regarding heights of the new dwelling being built, not maximizing height and opting for a deeper basement may help alleviate potential concerns that will surface from adjacent neighbours as well.
Community engagement is of utmost importance when building in mature communities. This is a powerful response to immediate neighbours that may have concerns that can be addressed before construction. We are huge advocates of community engagement, as it has effectively helped us and our neighbours amicably resolve concerns early, resulting in responsible infill and community driven projects. We recently deployed this principle, reducing a proposed luxury triplex from 3 storeys to 2 based on conversations with our immediate neighbour in Crescentwood, much to their satisfaction. The neighbours supported our project, and we were able to add density to the crescentwood neighbourhood. It is up to the neighbours to support builders that practice responsible infill development, and be on alert for builders who may not deploy some of the above provisions mentioned. The distinction between a responsible builder and an irresponsible builder should never be overlooked as they run incredibly different campaigns, and it is important to not allow irresponsible builders to dictate infills reputation. Infill must go on, and the importance of practicing responsible infill is necessary for mitigating negative impact in our mature communities, and is why responsible infill is of utmost importance.
