Canadian City Proposals II

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

Its an interesring question... how does one define "downtown"?

I’m not sure about other cities, but Winnipeg has clearly defined boundaries that mark its downtown.

[zoomer]

This has been discussed before on SSP - so I won't do a deep dive other than to link to this 2016 Stats Canada study where they examined what constitutes 'downtown' and they applied a methodology and created new maps which they now use to determine downtown statistics.

Their map of downtown Winnipeg is larger than the official city map you shared.

The official Stats Canada downtown populations for 2021 are available here.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by zoomer

This has been discussed before on SSP - so I won't do a deep dive other than to link to this 2016 Stats Canada study where they examined what constitutes 'downtown' and they applied a methodology and created new maps which they now use to determine downtown statistics.

Their map of downtown Winnipeg is larger than the official city map you shared.

The official Stats Canada downtown populations for 2021 are available here.

Boundaries vary by source, so the exact population depends on which one is used. Statistics Canada’s primary downtown definition uses a Downtown Community Area and recorded 44,061 residents in 2021, that number is never cited as Winnipeg's 'downtown' population.
For comparison, the most frequently cited official figure from the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and the City of Winnipeg (and the one that matches the boundary I posted) is approximately 18,000.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Pavlov

Its an interesring question... how does one define "downtown"?

There's a thread for that: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=191071&highlight=Downtown&page=19

[jc_yyc_ca]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Boundaries vary by source, so the exact population depends on which one is used. Statistics Canada’s primary downtown definition uses a Downtown Community Area and recorded 44,061 residents in 2021, that number is never cited as Winnipeg's 'downtown' population.
For comparison, the most frequently cited official figure from the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ and the City of Winnipeg (and the one that matches the boundary I posted) is approximately 18,000.

Downtown definitions vary widely depending on many factors, but I think Statscan's definitions, while not perfect are the best to go by. It's a somewhat apples to apples comparison, similar to how it defines metro area populations. In most cases a city's definition of an area is simply an administrative boundary on a map and doesn't really represent the actual population or number of jobs of the area. Kind of like how a municipal population doesn't really represent the city's true population.


Statscan uses a mix of number of residents, number of jobs and also takes into consideration how the city itself defines its downtown.

These are the downtown populations in 2016 and 2021, and the area of the defined downtowns. Quite a bit of variation as Edmonton's downtown is almost the same area covered as Montreal's downtown and double the area of Calgary's. Regina's downtown area is also larger than Calgary's, so you can see it's still somewhat subjective. Calgary's defined downtown map shows as the downtown CBD and Beltline, which is pretty accurate for the most part.

[J.OT13]

Massive project proposed for Hull. It's the fourth phase of Groupe Heafey's W/E development.

Originally Posted by J.OT13

W/E 4 Proposal

PDF Application
https://www.gatineau.ca/upload/avis_publ..._et_77-79__rue_saint-r%C3%A9dempteur.pdf

Description
Heafey is proposing a 33 floor tower with approximately 540 units for the next phase of the W/E project. The project will include underground parking and retail units on the ground floor.

Location



Site Plan/Renderings

[Calgarian]

In Calgary the Downtown is kind of the big built up area you can see from anywhere in the city. It currently consists of 5 neighbourhoods, but I could see Sunalta, Bankview, Mission / Cliff Bungalow and a couple others being considered downtown in the near future. I doubt it will ever cross the Bow river, but you never know, Kensington is getting some good density these days.

[jc_yyc_ca]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

In Calgary the Downtown is kind of the big built up area you can see from anywhere in the city. It currently consists of 5 neighbourhoods, but I could see Sunalta, Bankview, Mission / Cliff Bungalow and a couple others being considered downtown in the near future. I doubt it will ever cross the Bow river, but you never know, Kensington is getting some good density these days.

My understanding is a big part of the area definitions is the density of jobs, and Calgary's jobs are very heavily defined in the CBD/Beltline, but as retail jobs increase in areas like Mission or LMR, I can see those areas added to Statscan's downtown definition.

If going by people density and doing a roughly 12 sq km area, the population would be roughly 80K today.

[jc_yyc_ca]

With regards to proposals, a new one for Calgary's Beltline. Don't have a good rendering, but the architects involved previously proposed a design for a different development that was never built, and maybe proposing a similar design for this new one, only taller. Fingers crossed.

[Calgarian]

Would absolutely love to see that building in Calgary, we need more projects that strive for a higher level of design.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

[IMG]Towers look 2+ times taller than anything else, throwing the balance of the skyline off. They are far bulkier than anything else in the skyline. Ground level looks tacky and the one heritage facade looks like an afterthought that was just mounted to claim they care about heritage (which obviously they do not).

Totally agree with the heritage criticism. Losing the Dunsmuir Hotel was a travesty and I don't like how Henriquez has rather clumsily addressed the Georgia facade. With that said it was approved by heritage, but they do have one more kick at the can at the Development Permit stage to ask for a more sympathetic treatment of the Randall Building.

As far as the height goes, this might be outsized for when complete but there are more than a few very tall towers in the works for downtown right now, so this won't be alone for long, it might not even be the tallest for long...

[MonkeyRonin]

Nice looking UofT residence - 40 Harbord Street: https://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/u-t-new-harbord-residence.40241

[trueviking]

^ love it.

[jc_yyc_ca]

Nice looking proposal for UT. Any idea what the exterior material is?

[J.OT13]

A 13 floor, 166 unit building proposed in Vieux-Hull. This is very high quality for Gatineau.





https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/actua...ulation&utm_campaign=deux-manchettes-2-3

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by jc_yyc_ca

Nice looking proposal for UT. Any idea what the exterior material is?

Looks like pebbled precast panels. Very 70's vibe.

[TorontoDrew]

From Urbantoronto.ca
https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2026/08/zoning-towers-71-storeys-sought-canada-life-campus.61627

Zoning for Towers Up To 71 Storeys Sought for Canada Life Campus 231.3m

[Nouvellecosse]

Would be great to get rid of the large above ground parking garage and the green space looks nice.

[TorontoDrew]

I'm not sure how I feel about the green amenity building. I like the other structures, very mid 20th century style that works well in that area. It might have been nice had they made that structure look more organic with soft edges. It's looks too boxy to me.



Maybe something like this?

Canada Life Campus by Andrew Moore, on Flickr

[kwoldtimer]

Is the "amenity building" an actual part of the project, or an option for some sort of public facility?