Quote:
Originally Posted by EdwardTH
"Judy Waytiuk is an old warhorse of a Winnipeg journalist who’s seen it all over the decades, and is now terminally jaded."
Such a self-important way to say "cranky old person" lol
The only failure here is that people still think development projects are supposed to single-handedly transform the downtown. Like that's the sole purpose of any downtown project and if downtown issues persist they are "failures". Unfortunately this is how projects like Portage Place were sold back in the day and now boomers like Judy can't get out of that mindset.
Development and solving social issues are two different things. The existence of the latter doesn't mean the former is a waste. The Forks is a massive success. Canada Life Centre is a massive success. Even the Exchange is seeing a steady stream of projects despite the persistent issues there. And every project that adds more people and activity to the area helps.
I don't recall Chipman or anybody else saying the portage place project is going to "save" downtown or whatever. It's a worthwhile project that makes better use of an underutilized property. That's all it needs to be. Yes, we absolutely need to address social issues as well but that has little to do with development, and Judy doesn't actually offer a single solution on that front.
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Hey I don't disagree. Maybe I should have chosen a less triggering word like "failures" lol. I was just generalizing, referring to all the initiatives from decades gone by that went sideways, got watered down, were politicized, or were scrapped after years of debate and costly studies (LRT anyone?). So yeah, I'm jaded. But not quite as old and jaded as Judy is, I was a teen in the '80s.
Yes, Portage Place was very much promoted as the be-all-and-end-all solution to Winnipeg's downtown woes, and no, we older folks will never get that out of our collective heads. They fucked up big time and we won't forget. I think Judy doesn't want today's leaders to forget that either, offended readers be damned.
Obviously, bricks-and-mortar projects do little to help social issues (duh!) and expecting developers to solve them is naive. The Chipmans are not claiming to "save downtown" (as if anybody would actually say that) but saying things like "creating social and economic impact by building a sense of community-mindedness” brings about certain expectations. Offering solutions to social problems is not in Judy's wheelhouse either, but holding our leaders to account certainly is. Sure, dismiss her as a cranky old person, but she's just telling it like it is.
That said, I'm unclear about her gripe with the Forks. I too think it's a success and am excited about the new housing that's being added. I also love how the Waterfront Drive area is evolving. Sure, the arena is a success, but plunk an arena or stadium anywhere and people will show up as long as there are events to attend. Building it downtown was a no-brainer, but tearing down the old Eaton's was just heinous. True North Square is a great addition to downtown and I honesty appreciate how the Chipmans are so invested in our city. They're arguably more invested than some of our navel-gazing civic leaders, who appear to be on autopilot.
I welcome the reimagining of Portage Place. It may have a better chance of addressing some of the issues that the original PP was intended to do. Anything is an improvement over the postmodern dystopia we have now.
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