A new beginning for former Abitibi site: a modular home factory start-up may kickstart more Kenora development.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: DRYDEN / KENORA

Amodular home builder has expanded into buildings on a former Abitibi paper mill site in Kenora.

The arrival and production start-up of Wincrief Homes is the first tenant on what a Winnipeg development consortium and the City of Kenora hopes will spawn some new value-add-ed businesses for the brownfield site.

The new owner of the Abitibi lands is a Manitoba numbered company headed by Marcel Charti-er, a highly successful Winnipeg commercial real estate broker, who is also CEO of CB Richard Ellis Manitoba.

The deal, which closed in March, comprises a 400-acre series of parcels of land consisting of the mostly-demolished mill site and some picturesque waterfront property on the Winnipeg River system where it empties into Lake of the Woods.

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Wincrief has leased an abandoned warehouse and training centre for the assembly plant, which began operations in May, and for a future utility pole business.

Headed by CEO Greg Moncrief, the company expanded into town this spring from a Redditt Road factory location on Kenora's outskirts. Wincrief produced 22 modular homes in its last fiscal year and is hoping to match that output again.

The home construction company is a spinoff of family-owned parent company, Wincrief Forest Products, and is a joint venture partnership between Moncrief Construction and local Wabaseemoong Independent Nation.

Tannis Romaniuk, Wincriefs executive operations and networking manager, said they are working hand-in-hand with Chartier on a number of exciting First Nation-related businesses that are looking to partner with them and set up shop on the mill property.

"We have to sit down (with Marcel) to review them and see how we want to proceed."

Wincrief has plenty of irons in the fire.

The company has secured work with two Manitoba developers to build affordable homes for a waterfront community project on the site of the famed Minaki Lodge, north of Kenora, that burned in 2003.

Conversions have also started with First Nation communities in Manitoba that were impacted by last spring's massive floods.

Moncrief will have a utility pole plant operational by this fall and Chartier expects him to land some major contracts.

Supplying homes for remote First Nations is Wincriefs target market, but one customized model was sold to a local couple.

Romaniuk said one barrier the company must overcome is the public perception in their home market, that First Nations housing is substandard.

She said they're...