Good news for the Winnipeg heritage community: a development company is awaiting approval to convert the historic former St. Boniface Normal School at 210 Masson St. into a residential space!

The 1902 neo-classical building was purchased by Towers Realty in 2016, and since then the development company has worked on various proposals to find the perfect way to adaptively reuse the building. The former Normal School received Municipal Heritage Designation in 1989. Since then it has been in the hands of various development companies and organizations and has accumulated a long list of proposals that never came to fruition.

The St. Boniface Normal School was designed by Architect Henry S. Griffith, and has played a very important role in Franco-Manitoban history. In the early days of the Normal School, young teachers would be taught to educate public school students in both French and English. In 1916, a Provincial Law that made English the sole language of instruction in Manitoba changed the school’s dynamic. Instructors began sneaking French lessons into the curriculum and hiding French texts. These efforts were monumental in the protection of the French language within Manitoba communities. After closing in 1922, the school served a series of different uses, becoming Langevin School and later a dormitory space for St. Boniface College students.

For almost two decades, Heritage Winnipeg has been working closely with Héritage St. Boniface and other community members to support a sympathetic redevelopment path for this historic building. This new development plan put forward by Towers Realty will convert the space into 31 residential units: seven studio spaces, 23 one-bedroom units, and one two-bedroom unit. The developer is intent on respecting and embracing the protected heritage elements of the building throughout the process.

The proposal has received recommendation from City of Winnipeg staff, and will be considered by the Riel Community Committee tomorrow, October 30th 2024. We are excited to see how this project comes together and we are grateful to all those who put in the work in to make this happen.

Read more:

Joyanne Pursaga, “Former St. B Normal School could graduate to housing” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 October 2024.

“Flexibility for Sustainability: The St. Boniface Normal School” Heritage Winnipeg Blog, 4 September 2019.