Winnipeg | Exchange District | Developments & Discussions

[cllew]

Originally Posted by pspeid

I guess "land banked" is developer euphemism for "sit empty and derelict for decades".

There is LES.net in there as a tenant with one of their 3 Winnipeg data centers in part of the building. It's not in their best interest to be in an empty derelict building with the money they spent to put their IT equipment in.

Maybe LES.net owner Les Bester bought it to become one of the AI data centers that the Premier of Manitoba wants to have in Manitoba?

[bomberjet]

Is les.net in that building or the one at Portage E? Maybe both?

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by cllew

There is LES.net in there as a tenant with one of their 3 Winnipeg data centers in part of the building. It's not in their best interest to be in an empty derelict building with the money they spent to put their IT equipment in.

Maybe LES.net owner Les Bester bought it to become one of the AI data centers that the Premier of Manitoba wants to have in Manitoba?

He's in the portage Ave East building not the Lombard building

He bought 93 Gomez last yr..

[cllew]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Is les.net in that building or the one at Portage E? Maybe both?

I thought they were the same building with two different civic addresses but I could be wrong.

Sort of like City Place building where there is one address for the 1st 4 floors (2 retail and 2 parking) off of St. Mary and the office floors 5 thru 9 have an address off of Donald.

[bomberjet]

There's 3 nutty club buildings. 2 at Westbrook. The on Labroco mentioned I Lombard near Waterfront.

[neutroniks]

^^^ would be cool if they could convert the one on Waterfront into either residential or something cool like Grand Central Market in LA. They have a ton of garage doors on either side that could be open during the summer

[trueviking]

I wonder if the Richardsons bought it. I hope they don't demolish it.

i also hope it doesn't become a fake old building made of Styrofoam painted like bricks.

[bomberjet]

I think labroco did.

[FactaNV]

If its too cloae to doxxing fair eniugh but does anyone know which company labroco owns? I think he's a developer but dont know any of his builds.

[bomberjet]

The name is like a puzzle. The pieces are right there.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I think labroco did.

Ah. Missed that. He’s good at finding uses for old buildings so hopefully it will become active again and saved for the next generations.

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by FactaNV

If its too cloae to doxxing fair eniugh but does anyone know which company labroco owns? I think he's a developer but dont know any of his builds.

Given that the username is a shortened version of the company name, I don't think it would be doxxing. I don't know that the user is the owner, but the company is Leon A. Brown, which I don't believe they're trying to hide.

[drew]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Ah. Missed that. He’s good at finding uses for old buildings so hopefully it will become active again and saved for the next generations.

Love to hear more about some specific examples.

[Brick&BRT]

I would also like to hear specific examples; was unaware of this.

[WinCitySparky]

https://leonbrown.ca/

[drew]

^ I checked the website before I posted the request.

I could be wrong, but it seems like they purchase buildings and leave them be - or least let them function as the do at the time of purchase.

I don't see any active redevelopment or repurpose of a building into residential conversions or anything like that.

If that is true - it is a shame that they got their claws into the Nutty Club on Lombard, and not a developer that will bring the building into it's full potential.

strategic acquisition and will be land banked for future redevelopment doesn't exactly scream out a positive outcome for a building with a lot of potential and a great location.

Again - assumptions on my part - but I would be happy to be wrong here.

[neutroniks]

Visited that link and 45 Lily looks like it could have been renovated inside and out & made into a nice AirBNB for large groups visiting Winnipeg. But it looks completely bare. And a shame that nothing was done to preserve the original interior. It looks like someone detonated a white paint bomb in every room. Kind of unsettling, tbh. I bet that house has stories to tell.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by drew

^ I checked the website before I posted the request.

I could be wrong, but it seems like they purchase buildings and leave them be - or least let them function as the do at the time of purchase.

I don't see any active redevelopment or repurpose of a building into residential conversions or anything like that.

If that is true - it is a shame that they got their claws into the Nutty Club on Lombard, and not a developer that will bring the building into it's full potential.

strategic acquisition and will be land banked for future redevelopment doesn't exactly scream out a positive outcome for a building with a lot of potential and a great location.

Again - assumptions on my part - but I would be happy to be wrong here.

There is a 45 unit apartment block at 835 Nortre Dame by HSC that went up on a former gas station site that they owned. I am not sure if they did the development or sold the lot to somebody else.

[Mr Tall Forehead]

They sold the Notre Dame lot that the new building is on.

[drew]

Selling an empty or underused lot to build a new structure is a far different animal than repurposing a heritage building. This is why there are so few developers that are capable of doing it.