Canadian City Proposals II

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Good call. We have a couple of these old, grand music halls in Winnipeg, the Pantages Playhouse and the Burton Cummings Theatre. Technically we have the Metropolitan Threatre in a similar style too. Lots of music Brutalist theatres too, the Centennial, the MTC, etc. A brand new one at the U of M too. Lots of theatres and musical halls here.

I recall the Burton 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 Theatre from a few years back. Wish I still had this file, but it's on an old computer that's busted.

01 by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

04 by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

03 by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

[jc_yyc_ca]

I don't know if there have been posted here already. A couple of recent ones for Calgary.

A new hotel proposed for Stampede Park


A three tower proposal for the Beltline

[Echoes]

Wonderful things happening in Winnipeg.

[FactaNV]

Originally Posted by Echoes

Wonderful things happening in Winnipeg.

Beyond Quebec City and maybe Halifax, I cant think of a Canadian city that tastefully preserves heritage buildings like Winnipeg does. The Exchange District is a such a blessing to the city. That said, it's not a museum and new development in the neighbourhood tends to be tasteful. There have been some lemons along the fringes but I digress.

[WhipperSnapper]

A podium in Calgary broken up to have publicly accessible internalized spaces is a step up in Calgary. The rendered towers above the podium are completely forgettable in this complimentary dusk light.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Beyond Quebec City and maybe Halifax, I cant think of a Canadian city that tastefully preserves heritage buildings like Winnipeg does. The Exchange District is a such a blessing to the city. That said, it's not a museum and new development in the neighbourhood tends to be tasteful. There have been some lemons along the fringes but I digress.

Halifax is pretty hit and miss on this. Some very good examples, but also some very bad ones. Quebec City would definitely be in a tier above.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

Beyond Quebec City and maybe Halifax, I cant think of a Canadian city that tastefully preserves heritage buildings like Winnipeg does. The Exchange District is a such a blessing to the city. That said, it's not a museum and new development in the neighbourhood tends to be tasteful. There have been some lemons along the fringes but I digress.

Montreal would like a word.

[FactaNV]

Beautiful.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Halifax is pretty hit and miss on this. Some very good examples, but also some very bad ones. Quebec City would definitely be in a tier above.

Halifax just has a unique stock of heritage buildings, especially pre-Confederation buildings, but extending to some other areas like, surprisingly, Art Deco. What is done with them is more or less up to the owners, whereas presumably areas like old Quebec City or Montreal have strict planning rules. In the neighbourhoods as well Halifax has some really ugly stuff. There can be a block that's 90% very nicely preserved buildings with a blue vinyl-clad slum type property on it.

Halifax has some good adaptive reuse projects, no doubt partly because buildings that would be 100% preserved in Quebec City have been gutted with floors built on top.

[WhipperSnapper]

Long list of cities that are hit and miss. The more pressure to build housing to meet growth, the more pressure there is to compromise. Sure Old Montreal is protected. Almost anything outside seems to be open to facadectomy.

[Wpg_Guy]

The Beltline Towers proposal in Calgary is very nice!

[zoomer]

Thanks for the summary of the Winnipeg proposals Wpg_Guy, greatly appreciated!

I follow the Winnipeg thread in the subsection as I think it hits the sweet spot of not too much construction/proposals as to be overwhelming yet enough to be interesting. It's nice to see changes in a city where projects really matter vs. often getting lost in the weeds. Also I find it a nice comparable to Victoria that is similar yet very different in all regards.

One example is the Hyatt Centric proposal - there is actually one under construction here in Victoria, so I suppose the first in Western Canada will indeed be Winnipeg if it opens next spring - that seems like a very quick timeline. The one here is keeping the facade of the 131 year old Duck building with additional storeys for a total of 8 and 167 rooms.



Duck Building Facade - Broad Street, December 1, 2024 by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Duck Building Facade - Broad Street, Victoria. March 25, 2025. by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



source: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/announcement/41010244.html

That render was prior to the approval this spring by city council to allow 2 additional storeys to cover the increased cost of restoration and construction:



Broad Street Hotel - Updated 2025 Rendering by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr



Broad Street Hotel - 2025 Updated Rendering by JohnnyJayEh, on Flickr

source: https://tender.victoria.ca/webapps/ourci...438679&folderId=83326C241029125254875539

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Some Winnipeg developments & infill
Hyatt Centric Winnipeg Downtown
Location: 325 Broadway
Developer: Kothari Group
Architect: Otto Cheng Architect Incorporated
Status: Under construction
Documents: HEDI program June 12, 2023
Media: Western Canada’s first Hyatt Centric hotel to open on Broadway–Winnipeg Free Press
Project post
Description: A vacant six-story building at 325 Broadway will be converted into a 140-room Hyatt Centric hotel—the first of the Hyatt Centric brand in Western Canada. The modern, upscale property will host a wealth of amenities including a dramatic atrium, a restaurant, lounge and coffee shop and a spa and a fitness centre. This upscale lifestyle hotel is slated to open in Spring 2026.

Another interesting point is the historic Bay buildings with an atrium - as you know the Victoria one was converted to condos with a public market at the bottom, so the interior courtyard is just for residents. The resulting 'darkness' of the market plus its decline since the pandemic has resulted in it closing up any day now, to be replaced by a No Frills grocery store.. ugh.



The east side was formerly connected to the parking garage, thus the new face which incorporates quite well. In return for the heritage restoration the city permitted high density on the former parking garage.





source: https://www.houseandbloom.com/listings/fisgard

The inside of the Winnipeg Bay atrium appears to have a similar vibe to the Victoria retail/office building The Atrium completed in 2011:



more pics and source: https://www.archdaily.com/226201/the-atr...um=office-landing&ad_name=featured-image

Finally, love to see the rebirth of the Pantages theatre, which is similar to the 112 year old Royal Theatre in Victoria which seats 1416 people and previously also had an east and west lobby added which also helps with earthquake stability. Home to the VSO, as well as plays, concerts, dance recitals, etc. Interesting tidbit was that on May 18, 1914, Al Jolson was on stage in Honeymoon Express, the same day Victoria’s McPherson theatre opened. This 772 seat theatre is actually part of the Pantages chain of theatres found across North America.

More info and pics on these theatres can be found here.

[zoomer]

Also really like the Calgary Beltline proposal.

Saint John would have to be right up there in terms of heritage preservation, mainly because there has been little pressure to redevelop. Now that things are slowly changing I hope they realize what they have and still accommodate new growth within that setting.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by zoomer

Thanks for the summary of the Winnipeg proposals Wpg_Guy, greatly appreciated!

Thanks for following the Winnipeg updates, and for sharing some from Victoria, one of my favorite cities ive been fortunate enough to visit.

Originally Posted by zoomer

[B]
One example is the Hyatt Centric proposal - there is actually one under construction here in Victoria, so I suppose the first in Western Canada will indeed be Winnipeg if it opens next spring - that seems like a very quick timeline. The one here is keeping the facade of the 131 year old Duck building with additional storeys for a total of 8 and 167 rooms.

The race is on! I think maybe it was the first to be announced for Western Canada, I believe the spring 2026 timeline is a little ambitious, the project was delayed getting started so I imagine the timeline for opening would be pushed back, probably into 2027.

That's unfortunate about the market in the former Bay Building surely the space is better suited than a no frills.

The Victoria retail/office building The Atrium is stunning.

[MonkeyRonin]

Some interesting proposals I've seen recently from around Vancouver:


Wyndham Hotel - 500-1588 West 3rd Ave.:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/wyndham-1500-1588-west-avenue-vancouver-granville-island-hotel


02-644 Kingsway and 603-617 East 16th Ave. rental towers:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/602-644-...e-vancouver-bonnis-rental-housing-towers


Lower Mall Student Residence at UBC:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ubc-lower-mall-student-residence-vancouver-design


4-36 West 3rd Avenue and 5 West 4th Avenue office/industrial building:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/4-36-wes...-pleasant-pci-office-industrial-approved


Project Phoenix at 43-95 East 3rd Ave.:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/4-36-wes...-pleasant-pci-office-industrial-approved


Marriot Hotel & apartments - 888-896 Cambie St.:




https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/888-896-cambie-street-vancouver-marriott-yaletown-hotel-npg


And this is no longer a proposal as construction has just begun, but I like this one too much not to post - Moxy Hotel at 848-850 Seymour Street:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/848-850-...arriott-moxy-elements-hotel-construction

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

Montreal would like a word.

LOL, I was going to say. I would think any city from Kingston going East does a pretty good to outstanding job of retaining heritage structures. However, these are also our oldest urban areas, and some have experienced slower growth and fewer threats over the years, tearing down the old in the name of progress. Just about all the Maritime cities have great old preserved downtowns.

If we could only travel back in time to the 50s when so much heritage was lost across the country to build new modern towers and make surface parking lots for the people driving to them.

[TorontoDrew]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Some interesting proposals I've seen recently from around Vancouver:


Wyndham Hotel - 500-1588 West 3rd Ave.:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/wyndham-1500-1588-west-avenue-vancouver-granville-island-hotel


02-644 Kingsway and 603-617 East 16th Ave. rental towers:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/602-644-...e-vancouver-bonnis-rental-housing-towers


Lower Mall Student Residence at UBC:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/ubc-lower-mall-student-residence-vancouver-design


4-36 West 3rd Avenue and 5 West 4th Avenue office/industrial building:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/4-36-wes...-pleasant-pci-office-industrial-approved


Project Phoenix at 43-95 East 3rd Ave.:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/4-36-wes...-pleasant-pci-office-industrial-approved


Marriot Hotel & apartments - 888-896 Cambie St.:




https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/888-896-cambie-street-vancouver-marriott-yaletown-hotel-npg


And this is no longer a proposal as construction has just begun, but I like this one too much not to post - Moxy Hotel at 848-850 Seymour Street:


https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/848-850-...arriott-moxy-elements-hotel-construction

Aside from the Wyndham Hotel, the rest look very Toronto/Montreal in design. They give off an East Coast vibe, or is it just me?

[Biff]

Those Vancouver proposals are great. I like seeing the finer grain stuff sometimes even more than the towers that get proposed....I know the last two are towers, but.

[WhipperSnapper]

Wyndham is interesting however, the rendering is very conceptual.
The Kingsway twin towers do not stand out at all.
The student residence looks like UofT's new one on Spadina or anything from the Dutch firms working in Toronto
The Marriott Hotel and apartments again is a pretty generic facade treatment (and a favourite) but, the awkward stacking I find familiar to Vancouver
Moxy belongs anywhere.

[Innsertnamehere]

Looks great. I feel like hotels are experiencing a bit of a revival across Canada - there are many new hotels getting built now after decades of almost none.

Also surprised to see new office building proposals in Vancouver. Toronto hasn't had a major office building start basically anywhere in the GTA since 2021.