Winnipeg | True North Square | U/C

[Cyro]

Nice shot, great to get another angle on this one.

[biguc]

Originally Posted by CoryB

I haven't been there in a while but 201 Portage already had vacant floors. I suspect there are issues in the other corners too. Worse, once the BCE purchase of MTS completes they will start shrinking their workforce dumping more space on the market on the southeast corner of P&M.



If boarded up vacant buildings rotting away on Portage Ave like the one MB Start is now in was like for 20+ years is a good thing your vision of what is good for downtown is a little different than mine. Sure some property owners might upgrade their buildings or lower their rent but the end of the day there will be space that cannot be rented for any cost no matter how nice the space is. The former Canada Post tower is turning into one of those examples already...

These aren't the '90s. Your comparison isn't apt. We're talking about one smallish office tower. The vacancies of the past were thanks to the city bulldozing a massive area to create many new buildings; as well as the generally poor economics and stagnant growth of the time.

You're advocating for stopping people from doing business and making money in order to protect the earnings of the people who own a nearly 30 year old tower. That's ridiculous.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by biguc

You're advocating for stopping people from doing business and making money in order to protect the earnings of the people who own a nearly 30 year old tower. That's ridiculous.

On one hand you do have a point in that if the property is zoned for office towers then the developer should be able to do what it wants. But on the other hand this development, along with the centrepiece it is built around (MTS Centre) are taxpayer supported developments so there is a valid public concern being raised given that governments have a role in making it happen... is this type of development in the best interests of downtown?

I'm not saying it isn't and I'm happy to see something going up. But it could come back to haunt the city if we end up with empty office buildings.

[biguc]

The public money going into Chipman's pockets is a real problem but I'm confident we won't end up with empty office towers. Our economy is robust enough that rents can adjust to attract new tenants, and the precedent exists for smaller buildings to undergo adaptive reuse.

[inlp89]

With the announcement that the “Hot Line” will be the first to enter the Jets hall of fame, do you think there will be a brick and mortar hall of fame somewhere within this development? Or do you think there is an existing building that would be appropriate for the Jets hall of fame? I haven’t heard any mention of a location for said hall of fame.

I can’t remember exactly but wasn’t there a hall of fame at the old arena? I remember seeing a large trophy case with some memorabilia. I was pretty young at the time but i think it was on an upper level somewhere?

[Tacheguy]

is there public money going to chipman for tns that would not be available to others within the shed district? I know there was money allocated for the public spaces associated with the development but that hardly seems unusual.

[robertocarlos]

Spoke to a man wearing a white hard-hat. He said the big crane would be up by 3pm today. He said the temp crane takes longer to assemble.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by inlp89

With the announcement that the “Hot Line” will be the first to enter the Jets hall of fame, do you think there will be a brick and mortar hall of fame somewhere within this development? Or do you think there is an existing building that would be appropriate for the Jets hall of fame? I haven’t heard any mention of a location for said hall of fame.

I can’t remember exactly but wasn’t there a hall of fame at the old arena? I remember seeing a large trophy case with some memorabilia. I was pretty young at the time but i think it was on an upper level somewhere?

Yeah, there were a couple of places where hockey history was on display at the old arena. There was a Manitoba hockey wall of fame at the SW corner of the building, and there was the Trophy Room grill above the west concourse... as I recall it was an old school 50s/60s style room, kind of like a typical lounge in a curling club. There were some trophy cases in there with random memorabilia. I know they changed it up in the Moose era but I never went in there during the Moose days at the Winnipeg Arena so I'm not sure exactly what was different.

Then there were the "Great Moments in Jets History" photos mounted throughout the main concourse with B/W pics from the Jets' WHA and early NHL days.

I don't think there's really any room at the MTS Centre for anything substantial. If they want to create a wall of fame kind of thing, the skywalk level near the NW corner of the MTS Centre (where the MTS Connect used to be) has a bit of wall space.

[bomberjet]

Well it's now past 3 and the crane is not up. Truck just rolled up as I was taking the picture, carrying a piece of the boom. there was another truck also pulling in with a second piece of the boom.

[inlp89]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, there were a couple of places where hockey history was on display at the old arena. There was a Manitoba hockey wall of fame at the SW corner of the building, and there was the Trophy Room grill above the west concourse... as I recall it was an old school 50s/60s style room, kind of like a typical lounge in a curling club. There were some trophy cases in there with random memorabilia. I know they changed it up in the Moose era but I never went in there during the Moose days at the Winnipeg Arena so I'm not sure exactly what was different.

Then there were the "Great Moments in Jets History" photos mounted throughout the main concourse with B/W pics from the Jets' WHA and early NHL days.

I don't think there's really any room at the MTS Centre for anything substantial. If they want to create a wall of fame kind of thing, the skywalk level near the NW corner of the MTS Centre (where the MTS Connect used to be) has a bit of wall space.

I was thinking of that trophy room grill.

Do you think they will build a hall of fame within True North Square?

[1ajs]

from this morning when i was down there

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Tacheguy

is there public money going to chipman for tns that would not be available to others within the shed district? I know there was money allocated for the public spaces associated with the development but that hardly seems unusual.

In addition to the funding for the greenspace the land itself is owned, and will continue to be owned, by MPI except the former Carlton Inn site which was purchased with CentreVenture money. One of the lead tenants in True North Sqaure is going to be the Liquor Marts store. There is also the on-going TIFF from being in the SHED that basically kicks property taxes back to the developers. So yeah, there is a lot of public money in the development. There is also the negative impact on property taxes that could happen from office vacancies and reduced building values. There are lots of soft office vacancies in the class C buildings in the downtown core already and this will just add increased pressure on them and creep into the class B segment.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by inlp89

I was thinking of that trophy room grill.

Do you think they will build a hall of fame within True North Square?

Maybe a "wall of fame"... I don't think there would be a desire to build something that has to be staffed and maintained carefully.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

There are lots of soft office vacancies in the class C buildings in the downtown core already and this will just add increased pressure on them and creep into the class B segment.

Yeah, this won't be felt by 360 Main or 201 Portage. It'll be felt by the more marginal buildings like the Rice Financial Centre, Kensington Building, IBM Building, etc, which will have a hard time filling vacancies.

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by esquire

Yeah, this won't be felt by 360 Main or 201 Portage. It'll be felt by the more marginal buildings like the Rice Financial Centre, Kensington Building, IBM Building, etc, which will have a hard time filling vacancies.

Perfect. Some of them will likely be repurposed into living spaces. With all the vacancies in downtown Calgary now the older buildings are starting to be looked at that way. The market will clear eventually..

[cllew]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Well it's now past 3 and the crane is not up. Truck just rolled up as I was taking the picture, carrying a piece of the boom. there was another truck also pulling in with a second piece of the boom.

They could be working into later tonight. When I came in to work at 21:00 Thursday the crews were still working around the mobile crane.

[buzzg]

My biggest issue with TNS is not with TNS itself, but with The SHED. There are several other areas downtown that I'd rather see fully built out first, but whats the incentive for someone to invest in a big project on say Fort Street, when they can get significant tax breaks two blocks over. I'd LOVE to see The SHED boundaries extended like a block east to include the infamous Triangle Lot in front of the Burt, and maybe spur some development in what I view as the most important area downtown - the connection to the Exchange.

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by buzzg

My biggest issue with TNS is not with TNS itself, but with The SHED. There are several other areas downtown that I'd rather see fully built out first, but whats the incentive for someone to invest in a big project on say Fort Street, when they can get significant tax breaks two blocks over. I'd LOVE to see The SHED boundaries extended like a block east to include the infamous Triangle Lot in front of the Burt, and maybe spur some development in what I view as the most important area downtown - the connection to the Exchange.

is tiff limited to the shed?

[Urban recluse]

No.

[lilwayne]

2 cranes up at true north site