When the idea for Langill Farm, a 77-acre mixed-use community, was proposed to Steinbach city council at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was approved almost immediately and without opposition.
The hulking development by Penn-co Construction on the community’s northwestern edge is the first of its kind in the Eastman city and is viewed as a prime opportunity to supplement growth in an area that has yearned to add to its steadily growing population of nearly 20,000.
“Multi-family is one area that the city really needs some more growth in,” said Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk. “We do have good multi-family — and there’s pockets of it in our community — but we need more, because as we are growing … Multi-family in particular is very desirable, especially with some the people that are emigrating to Steinbach.”
Developing with the intention of its residents aging in place, Langill Farm will comprise three multi-family complexes, several rows of townhouses, 127 single-family dwellings and three large commercial buildings, and be home to approximately 2,600 residents upon its completion, expected sometime in 2027.
Breaking ground in 2020, the project has exhausted $20 million on servicing the land and building Phase 1: 85 single-family homes, which are in the process of being occupied. Phase 2, which will add another 47 homes, will begin this summer.
“The age-in-place was the mantra right from the start,” said Dan Bickerton, vice-president of Penn-co Construction. “So, we tried to figure out what’s best for every age category and how they would evolve through the community. That was the thought process with the townhomes, apartments, smaller homes, larger homes and walking paths, tennis courts and everything else that we could incorporate into it.”
The main selling point for someone moving to Langill Farm, Bickerton asserted, is its single-family options being relatively less expensive than similar sites in Winnipeg. A 1,400-square-foot home will go for around $449,000, while a larger home by the water will be in the $700,000 range.
“We can have an apartment building for somebody just starting out, and they can move around the community as they’re getting established and then they can move onto the pond once they have a little bit more and then eventually retire somewhere in the community, as well,” Bickerton said.
Penn-co is weighing the possibility of converting its plans for one multi-family building into a senior residence, available to people 55 years and older.
“We get so many calls about 55-plus, probably more than the need for apartments. So that is something that we’re thinking about for sure,” said Bickerton. “This community more than ever, they don’t have anything like that.
“There’s a lot of retired farmers and they can’t stay on the farm, there’s nowhere really for them to go, so it makes perfect sense to have a 55-plus in that kind of a community. It’s so close to the mall, to the rec centre, to the golf course — everything is walking distance.”
A 55-kilometre pathway will run through a community that also includes a dog park, playground, tennis and pickleball court and multi-purpose field.
One of the three commercial buildings is already occupied by Penn-co, which recently moved in from its office in Blumenort. Future additions may include a walking bridge to the local mall (Clearspring Centre) and creating more trails that would connect Langill Farm to other nearby services.
Langill is helping lead a surge of mixed-use development in Steinbach, along with the Millbrook Market, a 16-building project on 20 acres behind the town’s Real Canadian Superstore. The latter will erect its first two multi-family buildings in the next year.
“It’s really starting to pick up, multi-family. We started in our central business district, wanting to see the population densify and so we’ve had some multifamily come up in the downtown area and there’s more being planned,” said Funk.
“Like I say, we have very aggressive developers that are coming in and they’re building beautiful communities.”
Perhaps the biggest attraction will soon be the Southeast Event Centre, a mega multi-use facility in the heart of Steinbach valued at $69 million.
The event centre will include: two indoor rinks, one of which will convert to a concert and event venue, capable of holding up to 4,000 people; a multi-use hall for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and futsal; an atrium for public gatherings; and a walking track.
It’s scheduled to open in late fall.
“The community is buzzing,” Funk said. “Our Pistons team (in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League) has already announced that their first home game is going to be Dec. 31.
“We are so excited. Twelve years ago, when we started talking about this event centre, I had no idea how big this was going to be and now I have to drive past it … and it’s getting bigger and bigger every week.”
joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca
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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