City plans renos, repairs on underused, money-losing office tower next to police HQ

The city is set to repair two floors of a largely unoccupied office tower near the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters, a building that has cost taxpayers significantly more than it earns. Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks, the price for the repair work increases to $19.95 plus GST every four weeks after 52 weeks. The project aims to bring the second and third floors of the 11-storey former Canada Post tower at 266 Graham Ave up to current building codes.

This includes interior demolition, asbestos removal, fire safety upgrades, and replacement of partitions, doors, hardware, and ceilings. However, the renovation will not prepare the space for new tenants as the building's occupancy has not changed and no upgrades are planned for the currently vacant areas. The city expects to spend around $130,000 on the contract, but it will not be used for new tenants.

The building currently has seven empty floors, up from six, after some tenants consolidated into less space. The city bought the Canada Post warehouse and tower in 2009 for $29 million as part of the controversial police headquarters project. The project has been plagued by mismanagement, with an external audit revealing severe mismanagement and an RCMP investigation into fraud and forgery allegations.

More recently, a public inquiry found taxpayers were overcharged by over $40 million. Despite the costs, city officials are still considering the possibility of moving more staff into the building if it makes fiscal sense.