Winnipeg Deconstruction

[Archiseek]

Originally Posted by rgalston

Thanks, guys.

I sent it in to the Free Press on Sunday evening, and it was not published today (Tuesday), so I'm thinking they won't run it. Perhaps because my writing style lacks the clarity of such brilliant prose stylists as, say, Colleen Simard, or because publishing it would be tougher (and more expensive) than cut-and-pasting articles from The Economist. Alas.

maybe if you told them you were a native winnipegger, they'd take it the wrong way and publish it

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by rgalston

Thanks, guys.

I sent it in to the Free Press on Sunday evening, and it was not published today (Tuesday), so I'm thinking they won't run it. Perhaps because my writing style lacks the clarity of such brilliant prose stylists as, say, Colleen Simard, or because publishing it would be tougher (and more expensive) than cut-and-pasting articles from The Economist. Alas.

Don't be put off Galston. I have submitted letters to the editor and sometimes they run them much later in the week. Especially if lots of other letters on the same topic come in or a guest columnist decides to write an editorial on the subject.

Maybe Steve Cohlmeyer is coming to your rescue.

[1ajs]

from today..

anyhow was up on the 7th floor of the erc today and looked down at the house thats slated for demo its a brick house not timber.....
see if i can grab a shot of it from the 7th floor tomarow.

[1ajs]

[Archiseek]

St. Charles hotel plans renovations
Critics say historic hotel shouldn’t destroy an exchange building for parking lot

By Elisha Cumbers
Nov. 30, 2006

Critics say the planned renovation of a historic downtown hotel isn’t in the core area’s best interest.
Ken Zaifman, lawyer and part owner of the St. Charles Hotel on Notre Dame Avenue, says he wants the vacant building on Albert Street adjacent to him demolished to make way for hotel expansions and a parking lot.
However, Councillor Jenny Gerbasi, chair of the city’s historical buildings committee, wants to see the building, the second-oldest in Winnipeg, designated a heritage building.
Gerbasi said that the house has significant residential and commercial history and that she couldn’t believe anyone would want to dismantle a building with this much history in the Exchange District.
At the Nov. 21 meeting of the Lord-Selkirk West Kildonan Community Committee meeting, Zaifman said he and his two business partners want to tear down the unused building to make way for additional parking, a restaurant patio and a new entrance on Albert Street as part of extensive renovation plans for the St. Charles Hotel.
“There’s currently no access to the hotel off Albert,” said Zaifman.
Zaifman said he and his partners plan to turn the St. Charles into a boutique hotel that will cater to the kind of cutting-edge, hipper crowd usually found in the city’s Exchange District.
A representative of Globe Agency Ltd., who owns the historic property beside the St. Charles hotel on Albert Street, said at the meeting they currently have no plans to renovate the building and will let it sit indefinitely if the building is designated historic. Zaifman and his partners currently have a long-term lease agreement with Globe Agency Ltd.
Councillors Harry Lazarenko (Mynarski) and Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas) voted against the historical designation, while Mike O’Shaughnessy (Old Kildonan) voted for it.
Pagtakhan said the decision made at the meeting was not to demolish the building, but to not give it historical status.
“A demolition order will come down in time but right now, this is what was decided.
“Perhaps it is the oldest rented residence in Winnipeg...but I’ve been all around this building, it’s in extreme need of a lot of repair.”
Lazarenko said he usually votes to keep historic buildings, however this one he feels is beyond saving.
“It comes to a point where you have to say, ‘Where is the funding going to come from?’ There aren’t going to be any renovations to the building, it’s just going to sit there, and eventually someone, some firebug, will torch it, people will break in. It becomes a danger.”
Lazarenko said he would rather see the land bring new life to the St. Charles Hotel if the only other option is to let the building sit empty.
Zaifman says if a heritage group wants to save the building, they’re welcome to it.
However, Cindy Tugwell of Heritage Winnipeg says her group has no plans to do so, telling media that it’s more important to see the St. Charles re-developed rather than saving two buildings in need of extensive repairs.
Normally Heritage Winnipeg would be in favour of the historical designation, but Tugwell said in this case the pros outweighed the cons.
According to a civic historical report, the building began as a house on Albert Street in 1877 and commercial additions were built on in the 1920s.
Since then it has been home to several businesses until recent years, when the businesses moved out.

[rgalston]

Cindy Tugwell should be fired.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by drew

This is a really good idea for a story for the Free Press.

I could easily see them doing a front page story with a large aerial photo highlighting the abundance of surface parking lots around downtown - and close to the St.Charles hotel - with a headline something like "why do we need more parking lots downtown?". It would be really effective.

Anyone know Bartley Kives or any other reporters at the FP well?

Dig back to May 1999 Free Press and sure enough there is a large cover aerial (colour) photo of downtown Winnipeg, surface parking and all.

I know because I used that photo in my presentation to Council when CentreVenture was first created.

[flatlander]

Sometimes, when i'm feeling really bent out of shape, i think about taking a suitcase full of diesel fuel and fertilizer, and leaving it in the glass addition built on to the front of the Royal Albert.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Sometimes, when i'm feeling really bent out of shape, i think about taking a suitcase full of diesel fuel and fertilizer, and leaving it in the glass addition built on to the front of the Royal Albert.

it adds to the character of alexander... should be left alone...

but we don't need 2 of them along that street...

[1ajs]

o on a side note i had lunch today at the chinies rest raunt there.. had the boul of wonton soup that place is like steping back in time lol the old woden fridge the 60's decor lol and then cbc fm playing in the background thats a restruant with character how long has it been there anyhow?

[rgalston]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Sometimes, when i'm feeling really bent out of shape, i think about taking a suitcase full of diesel fuel and fertilizer, and leaving it in the glass addition built on to the front of the Royal Albert.

You and me both, pal. The original ground-level facade is more charming than the bulky "heritage" patio.

[Archiseek]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

o on a side note i had lunch today at the chinies rest raunt there.. had the boul of wonton soup that place is like steping back in time lol the old woden fridge the 60's decor lol and then cbc fm playing in the background thats a restruant with character how long has it been there anyhow?

the wonton soup there is fabulous and shit cheap....

[1ajs]

ya it is
but my dad got a head ache from it, but then hes got an alergy to canola... and msg dose not agree to with him either

[biguc]

I'm not quite sure how they're going to make a case for this parking being necessary when there's a GIANT FUCKING PARKING LOT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.

Remember when Joe Diner first made his idiocy known? His big idea for downtown was to level buildings on the periphery of downtown, leaving an intact, Disney land core of historical buildings that suburbanites could treat like an outdoor mall by parking around it and such. It's a stupid idea, but Joe Diner is such a retard he can't even stick to it.

If these buildings are destroyed for a parking lot, I will regularly vandalize cars that parks there. See how successful your parking lot is when your customers are scared to use it.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by biguc

I'm not quite sure how they're going to make a case for this parking being necessary when there's a GIANT FUCKING PARKING LOT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET.

Remember when Joe Diner first made his idiocy known? His big idea for downtown was to level buildings on the periphery of downtown, leaving an intact, Disney land core of historical buildings that suburbanites could treat like an outdoor mall by parking around it and such. It's a stupid idea, but Joe Diner is such a retard he can't even stick to it.

If these buildings are destroyed for a parking lot, I will regularly vandalize cars that parks there. See how successful your parking lot is when your customers are scared to use it.

then your adding to the problem agian.....

[h0twired]

What I find interesting is that most of the parking lots around the site are full during the day on weekdays. So saying "park somewhere else" probably wont work.

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by biguc

If these buildings are destroyed for a parking lot, I will regularly vandalize cars that parks there. See how successful your parking lot is when your customers are scared to use it.

I'm just gonna get drunk, pee and pass out in the lot. I'm always looking for a location anyway, so why not this one?

The Albert St parkade is rarely full, and empty on weekends ...

[biguc]

Good call, flatlander. Drinking, peeing, and passing out are all a great time. Less risk of jail than vandalism too.

Originally Posted by h0twired

What I find interesting is that most of the parking lots around the site are full during the day on weekdays. So saying "park somewhere else" probably wont work.

So five extra stalls make a difference, how? Keep in mind, these parking lots are full because there are already thousands of people downtown using them, thus defeating the rational for building more--that we need parking lots to attract more people downtown. The customers for these businesses are already there, as evidenced by the full parking lots.

You inadvertently point out the real problem in your post: on evenings and weekends these lots are empty. And that's because parking lots make downtown suck ass.

[1ajs]

their soup ... took it today sorry for the crapy shot... i was freezing and hungry and my lens was foging up lol

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by biguc

Good call, flatlander. Drinking, peeing, and passing out are all a great time. Less risk of jail than vandalism too.

Drinking, pissing and passing out...sounds like you guys have quite the evening planned for yourselves.