ALSTON PROPERTIES more heritage properties. Their second project, for instance – located at 344 Ross Avenue in the West Exchange – was a redevelopment of a fivestorey heritage building plus an addition of a five-storey wood frame building to the existing building. Later on, Alston also spearheaded the rehabilitation of the Porter/Galpern Building at 165 Dermot Avenue. There, they converted a building initially constructed in 1906 into more than30 luxury apartments and four townhouses with a rooftop deck. That building now not only provides much-needed affordable rental housing to Winnipeg’s downtown, but the conservation also made a significant contribution to the social and cultural vitality of the streetscape. Accordingly, that project was a recipient of Heritage Winnipeg’s 2019 Conservation Excellence Award, as well as the National Trust for Canada’s Cornerstone Award for ‘Transformative Project.’ Following their success with the Porter Building, Alston Properties went on to acquire the historic Pump House at 109 James Avenue in the East Exchange. That’s amulti-phased project involving a combination of heritage redevelopment and new construction. Alston is working on the third phase of that project now – more on that later. Meanwhile, Alston is also currently working at 433 Main Street, where they are converting a 15-storey office building into 94 residential apartments. Currently, they are about three-quarters of the way through construction. According to Bryce, those projects all have their unique points of difference, but what unites them is their “uniqueness.” He says that’s what Alston looks for in all their projects: “We generally like to compete by not competing,” he explains. “We differentiate ourselves by doing projects that are extremely unique, that provide a different offering to the
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