The demand to live beyond city limits is as high as it’s ever been.
Just ask the residents of West St. Paul, the ascending municipality that’s home to about 9,000 just north of Winnipeg.
Its population has increased by approximately 3,000 since 2019, making it one of the 10 fastest-growing communities with a population over 5,000 people in Canada, according to a 2021 census.
Finished homes and houses under construction line a street within the Meadowlands development in West St Paul. Its ultimate goal is to complete some 2,000 dwellings. (Mike Sudoma / Free Press)
The benefits of living on the outskirts of a big city are aplenty, says West St. Paul Mayor Peter Truijen, an area resident of more than 20 years.
“I think it’s the opportunity to have more land,” Truijen told the Free Press recently. “They have more room to play with their kids in the backyard. They can store some of their leisure products that they have, like boats and snowmobiles.
“If you want to go out to some of the country areas like Winnipeg Beach or to the Whiteshell, you’re already out in the country, (so) you just drive. You don’t have to drive through the city, so you have easier access to all of those amenities.”
Travelling into the Manitoba capital is also becoming less of a necessity, as more local restaurants and convenience stores have popped up in recent years.
“That is all stuff that has come up within West St. Paul because of the (residential) development,” Truijen said. “Prior to these developments, we had to go to Winnipeg to get all this stuff, but we see that coming more so here in West St. Paul.”
About 250 housing units have been built in the municipality each year since 2019.
Part of this year’s crop is Phase 2 of the Creeks of West St. Paul, a 180-acre development, between McPhillips Street and Highway 9, that will resume after 10 years of inactivity.
The first phase of the project, about 25 homes, was completed in 2014, but the previous owner never saw the remaining three phases through.
Shaminder Sandhu, president of Roo Construction, purchased the plot in early 2023, with designs to finish what had been started. He received approval to develop Phases 2-4 in early May, which will add another 75 detached homes to the community by 2028.
The first step is to finish servicing Jackman Road — the avenue for Phase 1 and 2 — though, even that has proved to be a challenge.
“Weather, it’s pushing us back,” Sandhu said. “We can’t even start the roads because it’s raining. We need a full two weeks of dry … so we can’t even start it.”
Sandhu remained optimistic Phase 2 will be mostly complete by the end of this summer, and he will be able to begin Phases 3 and 4 in 2025.
Two parks, a communal green space and five kilometres of pathways will be added sometime in the next couple of years.
Each single, detached dwelling will come on a sizable plot of land — 1.15 to 1.35 acres — and be at least 2,000 square feet. Sandhu estimates many homes will hit the market for at least $1 million, and he’s confident they will sell.
“If you develop nice — roads are nice, sidewalks are nice — people love to live outside (of the city),” he said. “I love to live outside (of the city).
“Even when I build outside, it’s way way better than inside of the city. It’s easy construction. If you do it inside of the city, you have to get road permits, you have to get service, which is super-expensive in the city.
A work truck drives by a sign for the 380-acre, $100-million Meadowlands project. (Mike Sudoma / Free Press)
“I don’t know,” he continued, “maybe because I’m a construction guy I want to live outside of the city, but I think it’s not far … and there’s a lot of development coming on.”
Park View Pointe, River Springs Grove and Meadowlands are all sizable residential developments also under construction in the area.
Meadowlands, a $100-million project on 380 acres of land, will add up to 2,000 dwellings — single-family, side-by-sides, townhomes and multi-family apartments — by its completion.
Currently in Phase 2 of 8 (and up to 10), developers broke ground in 2020, and have built more than 175 single-family homes and 50 duplexes to date.
Jas Kalar, president of Exemplar Developments, estimates Phase 2 will be completed in early 2026.
Kalar said there are challenges that come with building outside of Winnipeg, such as an established water system and “building broad support for a vision that will permanently change the landscape of an area.”
However, the availability of a large plot in an up-and-coming region made the investment opportunity simply too good to pass up, he said.
He doesn’t see construction on the city’s outskirts slowing down anytime soon.
“I think there are several factors that go into a homebuyer wishing to live outside of Winnipeg, such as having a newly constructed home, a quiet neighbourhood and more affordable housing per square foot and lower property taxes,” Kalar said. “I believe there is a greater interest in people wanting to live outside Winnipeg.
“However, it may be a byproduct of supply and demand. The population of Winnipeg continues to grow at a pace that exceeds new home creation,” he added. “With the scarcity of readily developable land in the city, coupled with a steadily growing population in Winnipeg’s capital region, we believe growth at the fringes will continue for the foreseeable future.”
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Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter
Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He’s reported primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports and writes a weekly real estate feature for the business section. Read more about Josh.
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