It's clear that the rendering tries to show the building in its proper downtown Winnipeg context (for instance, you can clearly see where Princess St. starts to bend northeast), as opposed to a totally generic rendering that shows the building in some random Chinese city, so that's a plus. I won't blame them for not painstakingly illustrating half of downtown just to show what their building will look like!
As for the building itself, I like it. At first blush it reminds me of a modern take on First Canadian Place in Calgary. The sloped roof is something new and different for this city, and between that and its height (roughly 37 storeys by my count) it would certainly stand out in the skyline, if it actually gets built.
The podium is quite big which is a plus in my view. I realize that other complexes are like that but still manage to be pretty dead (hello, Fort Garry Place) but a few shops and offices can only help to liven up the streetscape.
The skywalk to the Police HQ isn't really a great surprise... considering how easy it is to link the project to the main skywalk system, it would be tough for the developers not to. Besides providing residents with an amenity, it will also encourage people nearby to wander in to eat or shop, and it'll appeal to office tenants too.
Of course, the best part of this proposal is that it would turn one of Winnipeg's most embarrassing dead zones into the site of one of our nicest-looking buildings. Winnipeg will always have a few surface lots downtown, but if projects like this can help get rid of the multi-block monsters, then we might see some real progress.
Now the big question is: will it actually get built? There are a lot of downtown condo projects on the go for a city where demand for downtown living is lower than in most other major Canadian cities.
Last edited by esquire; Sep 6, 2013 at 1:51 PM.
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