Winnipeg Construction

[metonymy]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Very nice people who run that shop.

I think they first proposed an addition about 5 years ago (and got sidetracked with a move into the Forks Market) - is it moving ahead or is this from the archives?

This is current - the proposal is before community committee next week.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by drew

^ but still, what really is the big deal about a brick facade? The building it once enclosed will be gone either way.

There is no reason to throw a hissy fit about a brick facade, at the end of the day its just a faux shell on an otherwise brand new building.

Let's save our energy and direct it towards preventing more buildings in the exchange from ending up where the Ryan Block is going.

I don't see how it's "faux". It's part of a building and adds to the ambience of the area. There is workmanship and history in a facade. It's better than nothing. I'm not sure why anyone is suggesting that it isn't going to be replaced as promised.

[Reed Solomon]

Originally Posted by Andy6

I don't see how it's "faux". It's part of a building and adds to the ambience of the area. There is workmanship and history in a facade. It's better than nothing. I'm not sure why anyone is suggesting that it isn't going to be replaced as promised.

I can live with a fake rebuilt facade, so long as the essence of the neighborhood remains the same. But if they take down that building and put up nothing but some glass parkade, and afterwards say "oops, ran out of money, blah blah blah" then I will have lost all of my patience with the city. I'm not so naive that I believe a building has to, or can stand forever. To a geological timescale our buildings are a house of cards that one ice age with glacial activity would destroy no problem. But all the same, we should strive to preserve as much as we can. My only concern was with the rumour that the facade would not go back up. If that is the case, the city must expropriate the land, and at the very least put up a brick facade that maintains the status quo at least for the scenery. Even if its nothing more than a disney-esque attempt at imagineering.

[h0twired]

Winnipeg certainly does not have a good parkade building/design track record right now.

[1ajs]

14 industrial buildings planned for OlyWest site
By: Bartley Kives
Winnipeg Free Press

Jan 31/2009

A triangle of city land once slated for a controversial hog plant will soon be developed without the need to slaugh*ter a single animal.

The former site of the proposed Oly*West plant, an ill-fated pork-process*ing facility that would have seen 2.25 million hogs trucked into St. Boniface Industrial Park every year, will be developed as ordinary industrial land under a proposed agreement between the city and Terracon Developers.

According to city documents, the city is prepared to spend $2.1 million to improve infrastructure along Maz*enod Road to allow Terracon to com*plete an industrial project called the Waters Business Park south of Dugald Road. Terracon wants to build 14 in*dustrial buildings in the development over the next 10 years, eventually add*ing $760,000 a year to the city’s tax base.

The improvements will also allow access to the former OlyWest site, a 232-acre triangle of city-owned land south of the Winnipeg Aqueduct. At current rates, city land sales resulting from the joint venture with Terracon would generate $24 million, accord*ing to a report the city real-estate and economic development managers pre*pared.

Michael Falk, Terracon’s develop*ment manager, declined to comment on the joint venture, which will go for approval from city council’s property and development committee on Mon*day.

But former opponents of the Oly*West hog plant, who waged a two-year battle against the project until it was cancelled in 2007, say they’re thrilled to see what they argue is a proper use for the vacant industrial land.

“I’m glad we’re able to develop that in a manner in which it was supposed to be developed. Clearly, a hog plant inside a light industrial park was not appropriate,” said St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal, who channelled home*owner outrage against the OlyWest proposal into a 2006 general election victory against incumbent Franco Magnifico, a hog-plant proponent.

New developments in and around the St. Boniface Industrial Park never would have proceeded if Oly*West went ahead, said Ed Shinewald, the president of Melet Plastics, who served as one of the spokesmen for the OlyOpp Group of businesses who lobbied to move the plant in 2006 and 2007.

“We made a difference,” Shinewald said. “I’m glad of the way it worked out, but basically it was the economy that saved us. When the bottom fell out of the (pork) market and the dollar went up, that finished it off.”

The OlyWest project went off the rails when two out of three partners in the proposed consortium pulled out, leaving Manitoba hog producer Hytek on its own. The company later chose to expand into Neepawa.

Nevertheless, members of the Con*cerned Citizens Coalition, a group of Winnipeg residents who fought against the OlyWest project, are plan*ning a long-delayed celebration party in coming weeks, said former spokes*man David Hedman.

The timing of the party is coinci*dental, but Hedman still welcomes the knowledge the land will be put to new use. “I guess that prevents any future problems,” he said.

Shinewald, however, said he ques*tions how quickly the city and Terracon will be able to market the new industrial land, given the shaky nature of the economy. Nevertheless, he said he wishes the project well.

In recent years, Terracon has been Winnipeg’s busiest industrial develop*er. New buildings stemming from its proposed joint venture with the city will begin to appear on tax rolls in 2010, according to the city report.

[newflyer]

Some more good news. This business park will be a great addition to the area and will further add to the city's tax base.

[sledhead35]

ill drink to that! oh, its sunday...

[Only The Lonely..]

Downtown buildings getting some far-reaching facelifts

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE By: Murray McNeill | Winnipeg Free Press

A Winnipeg architectural firm has come up with a Romans-meet-the-Jetsons plan for the redevelopment of a high-profile downtown heritage building.
North Portage Development Corp. recently asked architects Sasa Radulovic and Johanna Hurme of 5468796 Architecture to devise a redevelopment plan for the long-vacant 103-year-old Mitchell-Copp Building on the north side of Portage Avenue between Hargrave and Donald streets.

A team of engineers and architects, including Hurme and Radulovic, had conducted a detailed inspection of the fire-damaged building and concluded it was structurally sound and worth preserving. So North Portage asked them to put together a redevelopment plan it could use to market the former neo-classic banking hall to prospective buyers or tenants.

What they and their design team came up with was a building-within-a-building concept that retains the original stone and brick walls, but adds a giant, translucent "box" of office space suspended in midair above a basement-level restaurant.

Radulovic said the box will be surrounded on all sides by empty space so that natural light from the rooftop skylight can filter all the way down to the basement.

The box will include four floors of office space (2,000 square feet per floor), and will make extensive use of contemporary building materials such as translucent glass and plastic and synthetic materials.

"We think the contrast (between old and new) will be quite neat," Hurme said in an interview Friday.

North Portage CEO Jim August said corporation officials are "delighted" with the design and believe it will be a valuable tool for marketing the building, which has been vacant since 1992 when the interior was gutted by fire.

North Portage acquired the building in late 2007 as part of its ongoing efforts to revitalize the North Portage area.

"We've been talking to a couple of different groups about either buying or leasing it, or even doing some kind of joint venture," August said. "We'll work with them in any way that makes sense...."

He said it's anybody's guess how long it will take to strike a deal.

"I would hope it's sooner rather than later. It will happen, but whether it will be in three to six months or six to nine months, I just don't know."

He admitted that getting a deal done probably won't be easy.

"We're in tough economic times, so I don't expect to have them (prospective buyers or tenants) kicking down our door."

The Mitchell-Copp Building is one of a number of high-profile, downtown heritage buildings that are getting an extreme makeover.

Work is to resume this spring on redevelopment of the former Masonic Temple at Donald Street and Ellice Avenue, and on the three-storey Hample Building at 271 Portage Ave.

And the city's CentreVenture Development Corp. should know within a month or so whether a second attempt at reviving the Hample Building's next-door neighbour -- the long-vacant Avenue Building -- will proceed.

Here is an update:

THE MASONIC TEMPLE

Also know as the former home of Mother Tucker's Restaurant, the 114-year-old Masonic Temple is receiving a radical overhaul, which included power-washing and repainting the exterior, installing new windows and gutting the interior.

Now, Wolfrom Engineering is waiting for warmer weather to begin the next phase in the $2.5-million redevelopment. That will involve adding a glass atrium on the second and third floors on the north side of the building. The atrium will run the depth of the property, extend out over the sidewalk and provide additional space for Wolfrom Engineering, which will be relocating its offices to the second floor of the building.

"This opens it (the building) up and brings it out to the street," owner Dan Wolfrom said in an interview.

He said the plan is for his firm to buy the building from its owners, restaurateur Peter Ginakes and business partner Bob Harris. It hopes to find one or two retail tenants -- possibly a restaurant -- to lease the main floor and to convert the third floor into six loft-style apartments. Five will be about 700 square feet, and the sixth will be about 1,200 sq. ft.

Wolfrom said he hopes to have all the renovations completed by late summer and to have the building fully occupied by the end of the year.

THE HAMPLE BUILDING

Local developer/businessman John Caci said new windows will be installed this month and he hopes to also have the exterior upgrades completed by early summer.

In the meantime, he has the building advertised for sale or lease after a plan to establish a hairdressing school on the main floor fell through. If he can get the right price -- it's listed at $1,445,000 -- he'll sell. If he can't find a buyer, he plans to convert the top two floors to office space and the main floor to office or retail. He'll redevelop one floor at a time as tenants are found.

Listing agent Elaine Cowan of Avison Young Commercial Real Estate said she's received leasing inquires from restaurant operators, as well as the federal government but no deals are in the works.

THE AVENUE BUILDING

A tentative deal to sell this 105-year-old former office building to Saskatoon developer Kingdom Ventures Corp. could be in jeopardy because Kingdom has been unable to find a new equity partner to replace one that backed out after last fall's stock market meltdown.

Kingdom co-owner David Johnston said talks are continuing with the building's owner -- CentreVenture -- and with a Winnipeg group that might be interested in taking an equity stake in the building.

He said he already has a redevelopment team and a plan in place. It calls for the main floor to be converted to retail and indoor-parking space, the second floor to office space and the top four floors to residential condominiums.

All he needs is a new equity partner, which would then enable him to obtain financing.

"If I'm not able to find the right partner in the next month or so, I'll probably have to move on," Johnston said. "This has dragged on for quite a while already (he struck a tentative deal to buy it last August)... and for the good of the city and the good of the downtown, I don't think we want this to drag on too long."

If the Kingdom deal fails, it would be the second time a tentative deal to sell the building has fallen through. Winnipeg-based A.S.H. Management planned to convert it to a "green" commercial building, but handed it back to CentreVenture after it couldn't find an anchor tenant.

Know of any newsworthy or interesting trends or developments in the local office, retail, or industrial real estate sectors? Let real estate reporter Murray McNeill know at the e-mail address below, or at 697-7254.

[email protected]

[Only The Lonely..]

[Only The Lonely..]

Decision time for Katz:
Federal infrastructure funding Accessing Ottawa's cash puts city in tax dilemma

By: Bartley Kives | Winnipeg Free Press

One week after Ottawa offered to give billions to Canadian cities to help fix crumbling roads and bridges, Winnipeg still has no idea whether it'll be able to snag some of the cash.

Part of the problem stems from the seemingly contradictory terms of the federal offer, which dictate the projects in question must be "shovel ready" -- that is, ready to be tendered right away -- but also must not appear in any existing city spending plan.

On the floor of council last week, infrastructure-renewal secretary Coun. Russ Wyatt stood up during question period and asked Mayor Sam Katz how the city could possibly ask construction companies to start working on projects that have not been designed.

"Good question," whispered no fewer than three befuddled councillors, even though Wyatt's query was entirely rhetorical.

Even if Winnipeg does have major projects ready to roll -- and that's a very big if -- it may have no means of accessing the $54 million Ottawa is theoretically prepared to spend on the city.

Late last week, city number crunchers analyzed Ottawa's promises for municipalities and concluded Winnipeg's share of the collective kitty should be $40 million over two years for general infrastructure renewal, $10 million for recreation-related projects, and another $4 million for green projects.

The assumption is the city must find $54 million of its own for these projects, above and beyond the millions devoted to infrastructure in the 2009 capital budget.

And that presents a huge problem for Winnipeg, which has been averse to borrowing money ever since Katz was first elected in 2004.

Asked last week whether it was time to consider borrowing cash to access the federal money, the mayor insisted this was not an option for Winnipeg.

So that leaves only one more means of raising a big chunk of cash in the short term: ending the 11-year-old freeze on property taxes, a move Katz clearly considers just as unpalatable.

Over the past few weeks, Katz and the six other members of council's executive policy committee have been trying to balance the city's operating budget for the rest of the year. The early indications are it will be tough for the city to maintain the tax freeze, despite Katz's state-of-the-city declaration that his "goal" would be to hold the line on property taxes in 2009.

But another one of his goals involves eliminating the city's business tax, an elusive dream for Katz ever since his first mayoral campaign in 2004.

Over the past week, reporters have repeatedly asked the mayor whether Winnipeg would ever raise property taxes and lower the business tax at the same time. He was also asked whether substantial service cuts could be coming this year.

The answer to both questions: A resounding and decisive no.

That means the mayor may have no choice but to raise property taxes this year, merely to balance the operating budget -- never mind to find the funds to match a federal infrastructure promise.

Wyatt, who has made no secret of the fact he believes it's time for Winnipeg to end the property-tax freeze, believes the mayor should bite the bullet and go with the tax-increase flow.

"The question is very clear," said Wyatt, who claims the 11-year freeze has forced the city to eat $186 million worth of inflation. "Are we prepared to raise property taxes so we can access the federal dollars?"

What Wyatt wouldn't quite say is that the mayor appears to be playing an ideological game of chicken. Katz's 4.5-year-old promise to eliminate the business tax could compel him to allow $54 million in federal infrastructure money to slip away.

In other words, Katz must choose whether to give up his business-tax dream or give up a chance to snag the extra federal dollars.

It's the toughest decision this mayor has ever faced.



[email protected]

[1ajs]

neat concetpe for the michtel cop building... they playing onto the orig deign a bit

though that would be weird sitting under the office space eating lunch lol

[h0twired]

Looks like the same crappy design for Mother Tuckers that came out almost a year ago. Wasn't an engineering firm slated to occupy the space back then?

Why did this make the news again?

[drew]

^ according to that article, it's still the same firm planning on renovating it and doing renovations. I was a little surprised that it seems like they haven't even purchased the building yet...

Some of that stuff is pretty cool conceptually, but that building within a building for Mitchell Copp? I guess it's good to get the word out, but if anything ever happens with that building, it will be much more modest...

[rgalston]

Nice concepts.

What's going on in reality is that Garnet Tailors have exited the Albert Street Business block, to the Hammond Bldg. across the street. I haven't seen that much action on the St. Charles Hotel front since the City put "INSANITARY" signs in the windows a few months ago.

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by h0twired

Looks like the same crappy design for Mother Tuckers that came out almost a year ago. Wasn't an engineering firm slated to occupy the space back then?

Why did this make the news again?

Because Monday is a slow news day. The Business section on Monday is always recycled. The author is probably in Mexico.

[metonymy]

Couple of other renders for Mitchell Copp, from 5468796 Architecture web page.

[Riverman]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

its a shame none of those buildings hae acces to the river imagin having a dock with boats


anyhow looking back on hydro man

Hey, that's my dock!

Photo by 1ajs

[LilZebra]

The atrium will run the depth of the property, extend out over the sidewalk and provide additional space for Wolfrom Engineering, which will be relocating its offices to the second floor of the building.

"This opens it (the building) up and brings it out to the street," owner Dan Wolfrom said in an interview.

Great. More room for the disgruntled ghost(s) to roam around in.


SOURCE: SepiaMutiny.com

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Riverman

Hey, that's my dock!

Photo by 1ajs

i gota use my local park to laung my canoe from

[Archiseek]

Urban myths


A checkup of Canada's major cities reveals some surprises (it's okay, Montreal, you're still cool


excerpt...
On the other coast, Vancouver has become one of the world's most desirable cities, routinely voted the number-one livable community on Earth. But don't hold your breath for Calgary, Winnipeg or Edmonton to make that list. Western Canada may have a lot going for it, but not its cities. As Gertrude Stein would have said, there's no there there. For all the wealth, these cities are rough, unfinished, uncared-for and scarily empty.

My first question: Where is everyone?

http://www.thestar.com/article/580078