It's already a nice hotel, it just isn't really flashy. The owners have repeatedly said they don't want to sell.

Oh really? I heard it's a narly dive. I should check it out next time I'm there.

You really have no clue what I do when I go on trips. First you say I hide in the attic, then you say I have not been anywhere in 10 years, then when I trump you, you come up with another excuse. Like seriously little boy. Maybe get out of the hole you seem to live in, and venture across Canada and the US and learn something. Because living off GOOGLE STREET view Maps, is not going to get you far.


And btw, you should really get your city council, to buy out the Prince Arther Hotel and return it to it former railway glory, especially with the location. The way it sits now reminds me of our Mclaran Hotel, another waste of a once high end hotel.

Interesting -- I guess I need to stop listening to these dubious sources:

- Steven Malanga, "Have We Got a Convention Center to Sell You!" Wall Street Journal (Dec. 31, 2011).

- Heywood T. Sanders, "Convention Myths and Markets: A Critical Review of Convention Center Feasibility Studies,"
Economic Development Quarterly (2002).

- Robert A Baadea, Robert Baumannb and Victor A Mathesonc, "Rejecting 'Conventional' Wisdom: Estimating the Economic Impact of National Political Conventions," Eastern Economic Journal (2009)

- Don Bauder, "The Convention Center Liars," San Diego Reader (Dec. 14, 2011).

Bear in mind, Steven Malanga is just another bearded, fixie-riding creative class hipster dreamer who thinks every building should be from 1906 and have haberdasheries and artisanal coffee shops on the groundfloor. So don't listen to him.

Oh don't put that idea in their head, because they would do it and then raise our taxes again to support the damn thing. :no:

Their latest project if financially propping up Canada's only tissue bank to the tune of one million a year.

Any time I see Richard Florida's name in an article I think "oh oh, here comes 'the gays'" :)

But seriously, I understand that people are happy with the change to the downtown -- I think it's great too! But I think the idea of opportunity costs needs to be drilled into Civic and Provincal staff.

Thought I'd bump this up a little...Huge project, maybe 3 cranes to the skyline at some point?, Hotel in the works..Anybody drive by past the site lately?

2013-03-26
Winnipeg Convention Centre expansion starts soon

Construction is due to start later this spring on an expansion to the Winnipeg Convention Centre. The $180-million expansion to the 1975 building will almost double the size of the downtown facility, with a 340,000-sq. ft. addition being built on land that is now a parking lot. The existing building of 492,000 square feet will also receive structural and electrical upgrades.


http://www.canadianconsultingenginee...on/1002168682/

Drove by it this week... Nothing has begun as of yet.

Thx for the update, I guess it's just still the fence around the site I seen several months ago.

But at least the exterior renos on the WCB look like they're wrapping up/or have, another topic.

Now only need to get rid of that stubborn parking lot!

So true..:tup:

Actually reg: parking lots, I think it would be a blast to have an official Winnipeg parking lot thread, Maybe a map involved, where we can knock of parking lots as they are developed/ and or removed...thiers so many..

Go far enough, and you will find that I made one a few years back for that reason.

I will have a look ..but with the internet these days, It's like fast food, in/out.. current forum 1st page/out...oh well maybe we can ressurect it and keep it up to date, I wanted to start a crane thread for wpg. but I'd just be laughed at. oh well..

RBC Convention Centre is the new name!

Digging for the expansion appears to have started:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus...214109451.html

Yes, they have begun stripping off the old parking lot and will begin excavation shortly.

Bad ass! So they will be doing the Convention Centre expansion before announcing the hotel design/tenant?

Thanks Roccerfeller, I edited the first post to show the renders and building plans you posted!

Yes. The Hotel development is adjacent to the WCC and not part of the construction of the WCC.

Ohhh alright. I thought the plan was to build it on top. But that would be a further expansion, right? They put up this part, then build the hotel tower along with a much small section of convention space to adjoin to what is already going up?

With equipment/offices and work taking place could this thread be edited to "Under Construction?

Excavators are in the process of removing the parking lot as we post.

Not that the title matters at all, but construction as per SSP regulations isn't official until the building starts rising above grade. So once the foundation is poured, piles go in, and then the first floor is made, then you can request "Construction" status.

Dare I propose champagne as this represents the actual, physical removal of a MAJOR surface parking lot from downtown? :cheers:

Is that really SSP regulations? The only forum that actually follows that guideline is the BC/Vancouver section. Hell, Toronto lists their buildings as UC before the shovel is even in the ground. I'd say once heavy work starts it is construction, but at least once piles are driven, that should certainly be construction. I think even Vancouver says once excavation is complete and concrete pour starts, that is construction. I've never heard a single person (until now) say that UC is only after a building is above grade.

Yes Miniari, I coudn't agree more ,one lot to be eradicated! :cheers:

Sorry that SSP regulations forbid me to say it was under construction as an expert has pointed it out to me.

Thx for clarifying that for me Chad.

Hey, only re-iterating what I was informed of by a moderator when I asked the same question. I agree with you, but those are the "Rules". I personally don't care either way.

I know. I wasn't being rude or judgey, just saying my feelings and observations on the matter. Sorry if I coneyed rudeness!

It was a simple question. Maybe a MOD on "Our" boards will clarify the reg.? Not that it means anything? It appears "some" posters want to moderate, I've been told many times that's a no, no by Many posters.? Hey what do I know ..I'm not a "MOD".

I thought this rule came about surrounding the debacle on fourth in Calgary which was a pit for so many years and having a few starts and stops that the mods became gun shy with the title "Under Construction" but either way we know this is going ahead and it is very exciting.

exactly.

Pretty sure I've seen some other threads with "SITE PREP" as the status of the project. Seems fitting here. Denotes that there's action happening but not full on construction of the building.

The rules for the diagram system state the building must have a completed foundation and be rising above grade for the status of "Under Construction".

Within the forums, I think it is up to local moderators.

As much as I would like to see surface lots put to better use I am not cheering for developments that are reducing available parking after completion while also increasing demand. This is not a sustainable practice and will catch up to us sooner than later if Winnipeg keeps allowing it. Cheering on the removal of surface parking lots it sort of similar to saying we should get rid of all the substations downtown as they are ugly and lead to dead blocks. Both parking and substations are important infrastructure pieces that are needed to make a successful community.

So are proper Bike Lanes, Rapid Transit, Car Pool Specific Locations, and Shuttle Locations. But there don't seem to be any of these locations downtown. (Except Assiniboine Avenue).

I would say that we have bigger problems than lack of parking at the moment or any time in the future. The single person car is a phenomenon that will soon switch to more efficient means of space.

Maybe that is the rules, but obviously not what is followed. Vancouver's Turn (Trump Vancouver) has been listed as UC since they re-started excavation last year. It only reached grade a few weeks ago. I can cite dozens of other precedents, including Heritage Landing, Centre Pointe, and Glass House.

There will be approx 150 parking stalls included in the new addition replacing the lost stalls of the old parking lot.

Yes, the convention centre expansion included parking, unlike Project W, the issue though is 150 spaces is less than what was there before and that parking lot was often full, even on weekends. The additional convention centre space is hoping to attract more people, which in turn means more cars yet the amount of space available has decreased.

Also just because other things are currently lacking downtown as chrisallard5454 points out that does not mean we should turn a blind eye to what is going to make downtown a vibrant community long term.

And yet our most vibrant community, with possibly the largest constant population is Osbourne Village. It manages to be so without an abundance of parking. How many parkades exist in the Village? How many parking lots exist, outside of private resident lots and Safeway? There may be a few, but nowhere near the amount that is downtown.

Winnipeg still seems to have a lot more parking lots than any other Canadian city I have been to, so you really have nothing to worry about.

If worst came to worst and every lot was developed (which would be a godsend for me personally) then the city would just be forced to come up with better transit services to people who currently drive.

Oh, and Glasshouse is building a five story parkade, so there is the offset that you are looking for.

Thunder Bay did a parking study a couple years ago and found that, at best, 40% of the parking spots in the downtown areas were actually used. And Thunder Bay's downtowns have a lot less parking as a percentage of space than downtown Winnipeg. It's starting to change as downtown gets more developed, but we're still probably not more than 60%. Major events fill spaces up quickly, but they mostly happen outside of office hours, so almost all of the parking spaces are available.

The main issue is that people expect to be able to park within sight of their destination. This is why people will park far away from the front door at Walmart, but are often hesitant to park around the corner or a block over from the store they're going to, even if it's a shorter walk.

It isn't very well enforced, I agree.

Honestly, there is a definite parking crunch during the weekday, daytime already within three blocks of Portage and Main. On street parking is difficult and even bordering on impossible to obtain while most private lots have some slack but a slight tweak will push them to capacity, ie a lot closing part of a floor for maintenance.

There are similar issues already in the Convention Center area and things have only gotten worse with the arrival of Hydro two blocks north. Losing the SoPo spaces during construction will put on an even further crunch.

As for saying alternatives like rapid transit or even normal transit are viable, that is just not true. Sadly, small changes to our transit system, like extended a route into a new residential area, can take five or more years. For more proof look at the issue with getting a single rapid transit run completed from downtown to the U of M.

Downtown is already losing offices to the suburbs due to the lack of available and cheap parking and unless the city puts stops in place to encourage offices to be downtown this will start to be a new trend.

I don't buy your argument sir. These all just seem like excuses and laziness to me. First off for the majority of people, they can do what many have to do and walk for 5-10 minutes to get to their destination. I have never seen every parkade and lot within the SoPo area full, unless there is some sort of special event. And even then it is restricted to certain areas.

Don't buy it.

The parkade on Lombard that they tore down a heritage building for looks downright deserted whenever I look on workdays.

If on street parking is difficult that tells me that on street parking should cost more.

Within three blocks, it might be difficult, but go a bit further. I live on a street just outside down here, maybe a 10 minute walk from most of the places workers are going, and out of our street's over 1,000 parking spaces, almost none are ever used.

People simply won't park more than a block or two away from where they're going; three blocks would be extreme. Parking spaces that aren't near anything won't be used, even if parking lots nearby are at capacity. Parking downtown overflows onto sidestreets and lawns long before it overflows onto my street, which has actual parking.

Photos by Esquire

Just wanted to add these great shots of the size and scope of the
new proposed convention centre and the massive parking lot that will soon
be a thing of the past, to the Convention Centre thread.
Thx for adding them Esquire..:)

$180 million Winnipeg Convention Centre expansion and renovation underway
Construction has started.
The new facility will include multi-purpose divisible space, additional underground parking and main floor public assembly space.

The third floor will feature new exhibit space that will connect to the existing building and create over 135,000 sq. ft. of contiguous, pillarless trade and consumer show space.

http://www.joconl.com/article/id5604...peg%20manitoba

You should post that in the Canada section! Very exciting! It will be one of the nicest convention centres in the country, up there with the new one in Vancouver!

On street parking should cost more, because the demand is greater (regardless of the cost of construction).

The WRHA parkade and Bedford parkade on King are also pretty quiet ...

Great idea Chad, very true..