What will eventually be a housing complex with 72 units is now officially under construction in downtown Brandon, in the 1200 block of Pacific Avenue.
Representatives from the City of Brandon, local organizations like Brandon Downtown Biz, and Westman Premier Homes were on hand to put the first shovels in the ground of the new housing project. Full construction time is estimated at 18 months, but some units will have people living in them sooner than that, before the end of 2027.
“Any time a project actually gets into motion in downtown Brandon, it’s a positive thing,” said Evan Keller, president of Keller Group and of Westman Premier Homes. “We’ve seen the benefits of some of the investment downtown and this is just another step in the right direction on that front.”
According to Keller, the first families moving into the new dwellings could do so within about 15 months. The vision is for people who work downtown to be able to live there as well, and to have easy access to downtown’s amenities.
“This is huge, and it’s been a bit of a missing link for downtown having housing developments,” said Emmy Sanderson, executive director of Brandon Downtown Biz. “Big kudos to the city for bringing forward the market housing initiative for downtown, and here we are a couple of years later seeing the results of it. Having local developers who are willing to come downtown and do projects like this is huge.”
The Government of Canada and the City of Brandon announced an agreement in 2024 under the Housing Accelerator Fund to fast track the construction of 168 homes over a three-year period. The funds will also help Brandon meet a rising demand for housing, as the city still plans to expand its population to 80,000 people by the year 2040.
“I am excited about this,” said Mayor Jeff Fawcett. “It’s a long time coming. The federal grant funding came through a long time ago but there’s a process and it’s a long process and so kudos to the developers for working alongside it, seeing the opportunity that the federal government was presenting, and capitalizing on it. We have this land that this was the best use for.”
