A satellite image shows the area along the Assiniboine River that the apartment block would occupy in Winnipeg's downtown. (City of Winnipeg)Preliminary approval has been granted for a $45-million riverfront development that will include the first residential highrise in downtown Winnipeg in about 20 years.

The proposed 25-storey building is eyed for Assiniboine Avenue, in front of Bonnycastle Park and a stone's throw from the site of the Upper Fort Garry Heritage Park and Interpretive Centre currently under construction.

Plans call for the first three floors of the highrise to be commercial space while the rest will be residential.

Another part of the development will include several townhouses.

All told, there will be more than 200 residential units — some rentals and some condos, according to a proposal submitted to City Hall's Downtown Development Committee, which approved the development after a Thursday meeting.

The vote on Wednesday gives the company, Crystal Developers, the zoning approvals it needed, but the project is still contingent on final approval from city officials who are still working on a riverbank stability plan.

The Mayor's Executive Policy Committee must also vote to approve the deal which with then be forwarded to city council as a whole for a final vote.

"It's an exciting trend in the residential capacity downtown," said Gareth Simons, one of the architects of the project, known as Heritage Landing on Assiniboine.

Jenny Gerbasi, the city councillor for the area, is thrilled about it.

"It would be a really great place to live. We've got a bike path going in right in front of it … and [it's] right beside a new provincial park," she said.