Winnipeg | Downtown Developments & Discussions

[BorealLynx]

Originally Posted by pspeid

At this moment we don't know if the MMF will try to purchase the Fort Garry, and if they do, whether they will make significant changes to the room furnishings or decor.

My unedjumacated guess is IF the purchase goes through they would probably try to put their own stamp on it, and redecorating the rooms might be the way they would do it.

Personally I think this could be a good opportunity for the old place. Traditional decorative Metis themes tend to incorporate stylized roses, vines, roses, berries and geometric patterns. These could be tastefully incorporated into room decoration to create a more unique guest experience than what seems to be the standard minimalist greys and whites of many hotel rooms.

I would make it a GRAND hotel, in the old style. It already has the look on the outside, so match that grandeur on the inside. Winnipeg already has the modern stylings of the Hilton and Fairmont and Hyatt brands, so do something different, something that keeps in the character and style of a grand European hotel.

That being said, I am no hotelier, so I have no idea whether there is a market for that kind of accommodation in North America. I just think that the interior should match the expectation set by the grand exterior. No other hotel property in Winnipeg has that same aesthetic.

[Wpg_Guy]

Interesting sale, hopefully it's a good news story.

[FactaNV]

Pics dont work Wpg Guy

[trueviking]

interesting...can't be bad news.

[Wpg_Guy]

• Video Link

[Wpg_Guy]

arrowarchitectural

[Sheepish]

Beautiful restoration. Looks great. Too bad everything around it has turned to 🞵🞵🞵🞵. Unless there is a concerted effort to keep that property free of tents and drugs, Thunderbird House will not rise from the proverbial fire. It will be sad.

[WinCitySparky]

Looks great though I give it two weeks before someone tries pulling the roof off again cuz it still looks like copper

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by Sheepish

Beautiful restoration. Looks great. Too bad everything around it has turned to 🞵🞵🞵🞵. Unless there is a concerted effort to keep that property free of tents and drugs, Thunderbird House will not rise from the proverbial fire. It will be sad.

just hoping the fire is proverbial and not literal

[Spocket]

That is pretty snappy. My question is how did it deteriorate so quickly? It's only 25 or 26 years old and we're talking about the roof, not something people touch and interact with.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Spocket

That is pretty snappy. My question is how did it deteriorate so quickly? It's only 25 or 26 years old and we're talking about the roof, not something people touch and interact with.

Except that's exactly what happened. The roof has been falling apart for years, the copper cladding started peeling and leaking badly. Copper thefts made it worse, and the building sat neglected for years especially during COVID.

[drew]

^ right at the beginning of COVID, I took my daughter for a covid test at the thunderbird house.

The building was fine at that point (obviously). The deterioration of the building was rapid in the time since then

[Biff]

I have to say, that is a pretty good photographer to capture just the building and not the immediate area around it with all the tents and urban garbage dump that is Higgins and Main. The building looks amazing. Too bad we couldn't transport it somewhere else.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by Spocket

That is pretty snappy. My question is how did it deteriorate so quickly? It's only 25 or 26 years old and we're talking about the roof, not something people touch and interact with.

Real copper is worth a lot at the scrap dealer. Probably why the new roof is copper coloured steel.

[Sheepish]

Biff...it's just a lot of close cropping. And the long shot on their page...really effective photoshopping. But the building sure looks nice surrounded by greenery.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Except that's exactly what happened. The roof has been falling apart for years, the copper cladding started peeling and leaking badly. Copper thefts made it worse, and the building sat neglected for years especially during COVID.

Ah. I didn't know that. That's a bit of a surprise.

[neutroniks]

They did the zoom blur/portrait focus so that you can't see the tents leaning up against the fencing lol

[Wpg_Guy]

‘Change coming’ as U of W ponders long-term plan to revitalize campus
Maggie Macintosh
Friday, Jul. 17, 2026


JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The University of Winnipeg, Tuesday, November 25, 2025.

The University of Winnipeg wants to revitalize its downtown properties, including its original campus that dates back to the late 1800s.

The institution, which wants to develop a 15-year plan for its central buildings and the public spaces that surround them, is in the process of hiring a consulting firm to study its presence downtown, in the inner city and West End.

“Sparling Hall sits in the middle of campus as a derelict building,” said Peter Miller, president of the U of W faculty association, referring to the structure built as an addition to Wesley Hall in the 1910s. “It hasn’t been accessible the entire time I’ve been here, so at least 10 years.”

U of W recently approved a $180.7-million budget for next year that includes a two per cent increase in operating expenses. Senior administration is raising tuition — four per cent for domestic students and 6.5 per cent for their international peers — and phasing out low-rate course fees to stay out of the red.

Interim president Jino Distasio said yet-to-be-finalized capital plan expenses will be “really reasonable” and help the university community rethink where its energy and resources should be spent.

“We’re at a new point. There’s change coming to the campus,” Distasio said.

The urban geography professor, a self-described “urban president,” indicated the exercise will involve contemplating the footprint and identifying potential infill projects.

Shortly before Distasio was tapped for his role in the fall, academics, administrators and representatives from U of W’s community renewal corporation released a strategic plan for 2025-30, which includes campus revitalization as one of its five pillars.

The university’s last ground-breaking event was for Leatherdale Hall, a roughly $5-million expansion to Wesley Hall and the U of W Collegiate that opened in 2017.

Citing recent budget pressures and development projects — including a major makeover to its library and more recently, a campus space audit — that have been stalled, Miller said he has mixed feelings about the undertaking.

“What funding is there to actually enact a plan?” the classics professor said.

At the same time, he said it’s worthwhile to consider how the Portage Place and former Bay building redevelopment projects, among others, will impact U of W.

“If I’m being optimistic, maybe a master plan makes sense rather than a piecemeal approach,” Miller said.

U of W is made up of roughly 20 buildings that span more than 1.6-million square feet in downtown. Distasio said he anticipates the new plan to be “a little more pragmatic, a little more inward-facing” than its predecessor, which was developed under former president Lloyd Axworthy.

“No one can fill those shoes, but I was certainly inspired by his boldness.”

The plan is anticipated to be complete before the end of 2026-27.

Winnipeg Free Press

[WinCitySparky]

Duckworth is a godawful ugly bldg

[wags_in_the_peg]

walked by the new building under construction in Chinatown, was surprised was the name "Chiu Man Mansion" affordable housing. Why the word "Mansion" is it mean something in Chinese different than English?