Winnipeg Construction XI

[Wpg_Guy]

Bonivital Pool Renewal
Location: 1215 Archibald Street
Developer: The City of Winnipeg
Architect: LM Architectural Group
Status: Completed - Fall 2025
Documents: Award of Contract
Media: Supporting pool enhancements at Bonivital- Our Communities
Description: The Bonivital Pool renovation in Winnipeg that straddles the wards of St. Boniface & St. Vital includes a comprehensive upgrade to modernize the facility and enhance accessibility. The scope of work involves:

• Accessibility Improvements: Addition of universal changerooms and barrier-free access to ensure compliance with modern accessibility standards.
• New Features: Installation of a new sauna and steam room to enhance user experience.
• Mechanical and Electrical Upgrades: Updates to HVAC systems, electrical systems, and other mechanical components to improve energy efficiency and functionality.
• Interior and Structural Enhancements: Renovations to the pool area, including new tiling, decking, and interior finishes, along with structural improvements to extend the facilitys lifespan.
• Sustainability Focus: Incorporation of energy-efficient systems and materials to align with environmental goals.
• Safety and Code Compliance: Upgrades to meet current building codes, including fire safety and water treatment systems.

The project, valued at approximately $6,9 million, aims to address aging infrastructure (originally built in 1976) while improving community access and user comfort. The renovation began in summer 2024 and is expected to be completed by fall 2025

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Sheepish

Clearly this is NOT an echo chamber. There are plenty of divergent views, and sound arguments (as can be noted with PSPEID).
There are some basic truths we can probably agree upon:
1) unless there is a social/community benefit driving a development, development happens when it is economically beneficial...TO THE DEVELOPER.
2) ground level parking lots prevent street level social interaction

Agree as long as we also agree parking for passenger vehicles is also necessary to generate street level social interaction. AKA parking at street level can be move above grade or below grade but still needs to exist.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

3) a lack of street level interaction creates a vacuum in which less desirable activity can happen

Definitely not in full agreement here. Less desirable activities find ways to be near places but not be seen from street level interactions.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

4) crime and other socially negative activity has a negative impact on positive social activity

Strongly disagree see CLC, Burt and more recently TNS. All bringing positive social activity to the same general area that has had some of the most challenging things in Winnipeg happening, ie see St Regis one block from CLC.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

5) this becomes a further disincentive for development as it will be perceived to be financially risky.

Again strongly disagree. Just to shortlist a couple things CLC, Hydro Place and TNS all happened downtown knowing all the social challenges happening in the area. The ongoing improvements and reuse of the Walker/Burt is another example.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

6) Development has to be more attractive that NOT developing - ie leaving a lot empty.

First, there are near zero truly empty lots in downtown, the Exchange and adjacent areas. Further, surface parking lots are a future development opportunity. Take the lot opposite the Police HQ on Graham. In the 80s it was a low rise building and being actively used. It got demolished to make way for a planned redevelopment. That ended up falling through. It has since been proposed to be developed a few times. Similar story for the surface lot at St Marys and Edmonton. Lakeview, who owns the lot, has made public proposals a few times about building a hotel on the site. As it has yet to happen those proposals may have been looking for investors to come forward with some money.

Further, when Hydro Place was in the proposal stage just about every surface parking lot in downtown submitted a plan on how their site could be home to Hydro Place. This shows when the right proposal happens owners of the surface lots are open to developing them.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

Where do you start? Perhaps closing Graham was considered a strategy for creating social interaction. Unfortunately, with so little organic activity in the area, and kind of half baked execution, that won't do the trick...and it isn't really even a good start.

Some easy changes there, do something to encourage the food trucks to come back downtown and use Graham. Put out tables for people to sit and eat lunches from there. Put different outdoor friendly games for people to interact with. Improve the lighting, for example look at lighting that was done in the lane behind the Portage Ave Dollorama. I think there was more planned for that project but the Pandemic killed that.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

There is only one way...create an economic environment that will make development of the lots attractive and will create an urban neighbourhood that is safe and socially attractive. Look no further than the renders for the UofM community. THAT is what downtown should be like!

That project is still very early on. While I have hopes in turns out the way it is being envisioned I think the Southland project at U of M is not going to meet expectations and ultimately will just be more apartment buildings near campus with minimum street level activity.

[bomberjet]

The pool looks really nice!

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

The pool looks really nice!

I agree-a great facility for the area.

[The Jabroni]

Definitely checking out the newly renovated pool.

[WinCitySparky]

Apparently the Reh-Fit centre is doing a big(?) expansion

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Yeah, they're expanding and building a two level parking garage. It looks like they are piling for the parking already.

[Sheepish]

Thanks...I'd been wondering what was happening there. Didn't that used to be the mini golf course (for chipping and putting)?

[Sheepish]

BomberJet
I appreciate your comments...and wanted to respond.

1. Agree as long as we also agree parking for passenger vehicles is also necessary to generate street level social interaction. AKA parking at street level can be move above grade or below grade but still needs to exist.
Yes...of course parking is needed.
2. Definitely not in full agreement here. Less desirable activities find ways to be near places but not be seen from street level interactions.
Yes, 🞵🞵🞵🞵 will happen. The point is tip the scales, and reduce the opportunities.
3. Strongly disagree see CLC, Burt and more recently TNS. All bringing positive social activity to the same general area that has had some of the most challenging things in Winnipeg happening, ie see St Regis one block from CLC.
Yes they do, except they are all far apart, with significant human voids in between. They're was recent discussion about the Burt being successful despite it being on an island. Connecting nodes is what is critical.
4. First, there are near zero truly empty lots in downtown, the Exchange and adjacent areas. Further, surface parking lots are a future development opportunity. Take the lot opposite the Police HQ on Graham. In the 80s it was a low rise building and being actively used. It got demolished to make way for a planned redevelopment. That ended up falling through. It has since been proposed to be developed a few times. Similar story for the surface lot at St Marys and Edmonton. Lakeview, who owns the lot, has made public proposals a few times about building a hotel on the site. As it has yet to happen those proposals may have been looking for investors to come forward with some money.

Further, when Hydro Place was in the proposal stage just about every surface parking lot in downtown submitted a plan on how their site could be home to Hydro Place. This shows when the right proposal happens owners of the surface lots are open to developing them.

There are way too many surface lots. (not sure where you come up with 'near zero') And if my memory serves me, the lot on Graham was the old Winnipeg Tribune...LONG GONE. That is where Sky City planned to locate...and we know what happened there. The St. Regis was just a small bit. Hydro was a public driven project, with the expressed purpose of creating an iconic building on or near Portage ave that would help drive downtown economy. It was a gimme for a property owner.

5.Some easy changes there, do something to encourage the food trucks to come back downtown and use Graham. Put out tables for people to sit and eat lunches from there. Put different outdoor friendly games for people to interact with. Improve the lighting, for example look at lighting that was done in the lane behind the Portage Ave Dollorama. I think there was more planned for that project but the Pandemic killed that.

Sure there are things that can be done. But there is an organic void that needs filling to provide the right conditions for success.

6.That project is still very early on. While I have hopes in turns out the way it is being envisioned I think the Southland project at U of M is not going to meet expectations and ultimately will just be more apartment buildings near campus with minimum street level activity.

My point was that a dense, walkable downtown community - LIKE what is envisioned for UM - is what should be driving downtown development concepts.

Trust this offers some clarity to what I was trying to communicate...agree or not.

[bomberjet]

For CoryB I think.

[WildCake]

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

Apparently the Reh-Fit centre is doing a big(?) expansion

The parkade is the only thing confirmed at this point and is under construction. They put it on the easternmost part of their site to accommodate an expansion to their existing facility. In their public communications about the parkade, it implies that the expansion is mostly an idea and nothing concrete is happening on that for now. No idea if there are more formed ideas or plans behind the scenes.

[Sheepish]

Sorry Bomber...you are absolutely correct.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Sheepish

Yes they do, except they are all far apart, with significant human voids in between. They're was recent discussion about the Burt being successful despite it being on an island. Connecting nodes is what is critical.

TNS is literally across the street from CLC. If you count the pumphouse, Wawanesa, the future Sutton Hotel, and CentrePoint (aka Alt Hotel) the project has developed/redeveloped three more or less continuous blocks of downtown and is almost across the street from The Burt, admittedly the corner away from the entrance. The same ownership did also lead the major redevelopment of the street/park in front of The Burt to better make use of existing space. There are three properties of the block closest to The Burt left for redevelopment, a surface lot, an office building on Donald next to the Alt Hotel and the former Dayton Building.

A true missed opportunity was not successfully brokering a deal with the rental car agency in front on The Burt to relocate into the CentrePoint parkade. If that had been done it would have opened up a lot of possibilities for building a lobby addition onto The Burt and perhaps some improved backstage areas. As that rental agency is still there is will continue to be a future development opportunity. Another one of the seemingly vacant building at Ellice and Donald which appeared to be used as a bit of a construction office for CentrePoint.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

There are way too many surface lots. (not sure where you come up with 'near zero') And if my memory serves me, the lot on Graham was the old Winnipeg Tribune...LONG GONE. That is where Sky City planned to locate...and we know what happened there. The St. Regis was just a small bit. Hydro was a public driven project, with the expressed purpose of creating an iconic building on or near Portage ave that would help drive downtown economy. It was a gimme for a property owner.

The Graham lot from memory was home to the Domo office and a Ford dealership with at least an extra level of vehicle access. It may have also been where the Tribune office was. There was a proposal back around that time to build a residential (?) tower there. I think the proposal may have died with the 1987 stock market crash.

Vacant lot, like the one on Portage Ave next to the Boyd Building, is different than surface parking lot. In theory, a truly vacant lot is not actively generating revenue while a parking lot is.

Surface parking lots generate mostly passive income for the owner. Any development proposal needs to account for that and provide enough incentive to the owner to give up that passive income.

From memory CLC, the previous arena proposal, and perhaps the BellMTS downtown HQ all had similar interest in developing surface lots to Hydro Place. The hard truth is other that Canada Life, Wawanesa and STD there is no private company large enough to drive a development downtown. As STD took up occupancy in TNS over other proposals that is likely locked in now.

What that means is Winnipeg is going to need to have a lot more outward development happen before commute times and costs make strong enough financial cases to start developing downtown surface parking lots into high rise residential. Putting that in perspective though the long dormant pads at Winnipeg Square and Portage Place are finally starting to be used so things are definitely starting to turn.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

Sure there are things that can be done. But there is an organic void that needs filling to provide the right conditions for success.

If we go back to peak food truck days Winnipeg wasn't trying to charge something like $5000 a year per truck for street access. It was generating a lot of foot traffic on Broadway at the time. It is that same sort of "organic" activity you want to see. Dropping the costs to the truck operators and putting from tables on Graham could breath some life back into that scene which the City successfully choked out with their red tape. Bonus if they take the extra step to allow open alcohol sales and consumption on Graham. I bet though they run scared of the excess public consumption that sometimes challenges the area. Hipsters drinking $10 IPA is different than unhoused people with a 2L of Stone Cold.

Originally Posted by Sheepish

My point was that a dense, walkable downtown community - LIKE what is envisioned for UM - is what should be driving downtown development concepts.

What is proposed for Southlands v what actually gets built is my concern. The area feels like it will have the same sort of challenges with walkable groceries as downtown Winnipeg. All the major players are established in the area and seem unlikely to move. It also seems likely that a Liquor Mart is going to be discouraged from the area and likely is not something that MLCC is going to actively be looking for either. Restaurants and bars also don't have a strong history in Winnipeg of locating on the ground floor of residential buildings so that also seems like a long shot. The one that might get lured into the Southlands development would be a pharmacy and perhaps a walk-in clinic. Someone will no doubt take a change on a high price convivence store.

The question is will Southland see these challenges and actively go out of their way to counter them such as essentially free leases to attract some of these tenants early on.

[Sheepish]

CB
First mia culpa...indeed, CLC and TNS are in VERY close proximity. For reasons I can't fully explain, I had the Concert Hall in mind. Having said that, go east and there is nothing. Go south, to St. Mary, and it's parking lots. (The Keg will be on the East side soon with more residences). And as it was noted earlier, we agree that the rental lot next to the Burt is a crime...as is the parking lot across the street. As for the ALT, it is telling that Merchant Kitchen had to leave there.

The Tribune was definitely on half the lot facing the post office and was taken down in 1983ish. The only proposal I recall was Sky City.

I get your distinction between empty lots and surface lots. However, I was specifically referring to surface lots (referencing comments from an earlier poster). So to be clear, the issue IS surface lots (not empty lots).

The Graham mall can work, but it requires either strong organic activity (residents, restaurants, entertainment) in the area that brings people, OR curated programming (food trucks, stages, 'beer can', activities, tie ins with events at CLC, farmers market).

Finally, my comments regarding the vision for Southwood Circle is only a reference to the concept NOT about whether it will actually happen. The concept presents itself as built up, dense, walkable residential community with recreation and amenities. THAT is the sensibility that downtown planning needs to adopt. How that happens is a discussion for another day.

Thanks for the conversation.

[Biff]

From the WFP


Vacant hotel among historic downtown properties set for redevelopment

By: Free Press staff Posted: 11:19 AM CST Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026

A long-neglected Winnipeg hotel is among four historic downtown properties slated for redevelopment, amid a push to increase the population in the city’s core.

The St. Charles Hotel will be transformed into 140 new housing units, alongside three other downtown developments, CentreVenture Development Corporation announced Tuesday. The three-storey structure, built in 1913 at 235 Notre Dame Ave., has been vacant since 2008.

“I have been clear that we need to turn vacant commercial space into housing to bring life back to our downtown,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a news release.

“Today, we are delivering on that commitment. These investments will turn vacant heritage buildings into hundreds of new homes, bringing the ‘feet on the street’ we need to revitalize our core.”

The other properties slated for redevelopment are Maw’s Garage at 291 Bannatyne Ave., which will include 114 housing units; 290 Garry St., with 29 units; and the Alloway Lofts at 179 McDermot Ave., with 14 units.

CentreVenture made the announcement as it unveiled a strategic plan to double the population in downtown Winnipeg by 2050. It contributed $4.65 million to help fund the construction of 297 new downtown housing units, “immediately kickstarting the effort,” the release said.

Of those new units, 106 will be reserved for affordable housing.

The plan is supported by the City of Winnipeg, the federal housing accelerator fund and the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund, a city program that supports the preservation of Winnipeg heritage.

“These projects demonstrate how strategic investment can unlock under-used buildings and deliver meaningful housing results,” Rochelle Squires, CEO of CentreVenture, said in the release.

“By partnering with all levels of government and the private sector, we’re helping create a downtown that is more livable, inclusive and economically strong.”

[email protected]

[Mr Tall Forehead]

Originally Posted by Biff

From the WFP


Vacant hotel among historic downtown properties set for redevelopment

By: Free Press staff Posted: 11:19 AM CST Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026

A long-neglected Winnipeg hotel is among four historic downtown properties slated for redevelopment, amid a push to increase the population in the city’s core.

The St. Charles Hotel will be transformed into 140 new housing units, alongside three other downtown developments, CentreVenture Development Corporation announced Tuesday. The three-storey structure, built in 1913 at 235 Notre Dame Ave., has been vacant since 2008.

“I have been clear that we need to turn vacant commercial space into housing to bring life back to our downtown,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a news release.

“Today, we are delivering on that commitment. These investments will turn vacant heritage buildings into hundreds of new homes, bringing the ‘feet on the street’ we need to revitalize our core.”

The other properties slated for redevelopment are Maw’s Garage at 291 Bannatyne Ave., which will include 114 housing units; 290 Garry St., with 29 units; and the Alloway Lofts at 179 McDermot Ave., with 14 units.

CentreVenture made the announcement as it unveiled a strategic plan to double the population in downtown Winnipeg by 2050. It contributed $4.65 million to help fund the construction of 297 new downtown housing units, “immediately kickstarting the effort,” the release said.

Of those new units, 106 will be reserved for affordable housing.

The plan is supported by the City of Winnipeg, the federal housing accelerator fund and the Gail Parvin Hammerquist Fund, a city program that supports the preservation of Winnipeg heritage.

“These projects demonstrate how strategic investment can unlock under-used buildings and deliver meaningful housing results,” Rochelle Squires, CEO of CentreVenture, said in the release.

“By partnering with all levels of government and the private sector, we’re helping create a downtown that is more livable, inclusive and economically strong.”

[email protected]

This is great news. All four of these developments will have positive change. I hadn’t heard 290 Garry or 179 McDermot were slated for conversion.

[ColdRain&Snow]

Wow, great news! I guess the 140 units for the St. Charles Hotel includes the proposed development on the adjacent parking lot. Don't see how you could fit 140 units into a small, 3-story building.

Here's the news release from CentreVenture:

https://www.centreventure.com/news/centreventure-s-plan-to-double-downtown-population-launches

[ColdRain&Snow]

Regarding the heritage conversions such as 290 Garry St and 179 McDermot, these are the result of the "Downtown Heritage Residential Conversion Grant Pilot Program" that CentreVenture announced back in November.

https://www.centreventure.com/news/centr...rsion-to-residential-grant-pilot-program

[Biff]

Originally Posted by ColdRain&Snow

Wow, great news! I guess the 140 units for the St. Charles Hotel includes the proposed development on the adjacent parking lot. Don't see how you could fit 140 units into a small, 3-story building.

Here's the news release from CentreVenture:

https://www.centreventure.com/news/centreventure-s-plan-to-double-downtown-population-launches

The new build is 100 proposed at 100 units, my very poor math skills lead me to believe that the St Charles redevelopment would be 40 units.

290 Garry is exciting because I believe that to be the surface lot on the north side of the Local.

[FactaNV]

Any renders of 290 Graham?