Winnipeg Construction

[newflyer]

I find it ridiculous to condemn a 20 year project after only the first year of development. Why not condemn the new musuem for being nothing more than a construction fence. It is articles like these that exposes the Free Press for its moronic editorials... and one of the poorest dailies in the nation.

While I have mixed feelings on Waverley West, it does allow the city to collect taxes off of the population growth of the Winnipeg's Capital Region. Les we sit back and watch towns like Niverville and Stonewall grow beyond 30,000 each.

The poplulation of Winnipeg is steadily growing ... and the outter communities were eating the city's lunch, due to a lack of quality lots to build highend housing. While I am strongly in favour of increasing the density of the inner city ... it seems that Winnipers are agaist changing things in established neighbourhoods. Of course the Free Press would never mention the real issue of NIMBYism, but why would they? .. they are among the Nimby population.

I for one will wait for at least 10 to 15 years of development before passing judging wether this major development lived up to its promises. I will also wait for the Free Press to acknowledge that things need to change in established city neighbourhoods to add density. Simply put ... the Free Press is against anything new.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Kris22

The papers are making it sound like scaling back Waverly West is a bad thing.

Well actually , in this case , they're right.
WW has had it's few redeeming features excised from the plans so in that regard , scaling it back actually is a bad thing. If they insist on doing it , then they should do it right. What they've done is to turn it into just another cookie-cutter burb. Not that it wouldn't have been precisely that anyway but at least before the scaling-back it would have been a cookie-cutter burb with some positive aspects.

[rgalston]

Originally Posted by newflyer

I find it ridiculous to condemn a 20 year project after only the first year of development.

Gord Mackintosh said it's too soon to judge Waverley West, especially since some of the suburb's best features -- high-density condos and apartments, commercial areas, good transit connections -- are still to come.

"I think all the early signals point to a successful development," he said. "We're only two years into a 20-year project, remember."

NDP Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh, is that you?


The people that wish to live outside the (post-Unicity) city boundaries will continue to do so. It was not a "tight" market that pushed them out of the city, it was a healthy market with much to choose from. Waverley West will not eliminate city property taxes or make lot sizes bigger--the primary reasons why people who choose to live in the R.M.s do so.

What Waverley West will do, however, is bring commercial amenities (ie--its "town centre") closer and closer to the R.M.s where people are living, making it more desirable to develop and live there. And so it goes, with the city losing residents and their property taxes.

But hey, maybe I'm not enough of a capitalist to appreciate an NDP government subdivision.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by rgalston

The people that wish to live outside the (post-Unicity) city boundaries will continue to do so. It was not a "tight" market that pushed them out of the city, it was a healthy market with much to choose from. Waverley West will not eliminate city property taxes or make lot sizes bigger--the primary reasons why people who choose to live in the R.M.s do so.

What Waverley West will do, however, is bring commercial amenities (ie--its "town centre") closer and closer to the R.M.s where people are living, making it more desirable to develop and live there. And so it goes, with the city losing residents and their property taxes.

But hey, maybe I'm not enough of a capitalist to appreciate an NDP government subdivision.

This NDP govt. subdivision will cost all of us not living in this new "utopia" of quasi-urban planning in the long term. This supposed self sustaining subdivision will require massive infrastructure funding as well as siphon off tax dollars that would otherwise be destined for more mature and needy and worthy parts of Winnipeg. Doer and his minions fooled us all.

[newflyer]

Not more follied innercity subsidizing the suburbs idiology. Please lets all grasp hold of reality .. much of Winnipeg's innercity is extremely dependant on the tax base of Lindenwoods and Island Lakes. You only need to look at the city budget .. look at the tax assessments of properties.

I know its hard for some to accept, but the amount of city services required to service the high crime .. high maintainence neighbourhoods is not possible without outside help. Inner city services are very expensive ... high police and fire coverage is required .. the highest levels of transit coverage, old and decaying roads and bridges ... and yet some of the lowest proprty values in the city is suppose to pay for it. Sounds good in some warped textbook, but in reality it is a very different story.

During the period when the Unicity Act passed there were many rumbles that the suburbs were going to used as a life line to keep poor innercity policy's alive. I often wonder how different Winnipeg would have turned out if Unicity never happened. I am sure the city would have been forced to focus much more effort on attracting more uppermiddle income residentcial to the innercity, instead of allowing it to fall into further decay.

While inner city subsidization is not the fact in most cities like Vancouver or Calgary, where inner city property values are among the highest in the city .. Winnipeg's inner city is not anywhere near as sustainable, and requires a massive amounts of tax dollars to assist with its unsustainable makeup.

I am not supportive of Waverley West, but I also respect the laws of supply and demand. Winnipeg is a growing city .. and under the current reality denification of established nieghbourhoods is met with huge amounts of resistance from the NIMBY clan. Something had to give ... and it is called Waverley West.

[Donovanf]

A St. Boniface renaissance
Retail, office, restaurant development shoots up

By: Murray McNeill

1:00 AM | Comments (0)

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The heart of Winnipeg's French Quarter is going through another growth spurt, with more than half a dozen new businesses opening in the last year and more on the way.

Like the 13 new businesses that sprang up between late 2003 and late 2006, many of these latest arrivals are restaurants. And most of them have set up shop on the quarter's premier retail/commercial strip -- the eastern half of Provencher Boulevard.

"Ten years ago you could shoot a cannon down that street (Provencher) and not hit anybody," the director of the area's economic development arm -- Enterprises Riel -- said in an interview.

"Now there is a definite pent-up demand for retail space on the boulevard," Normand Gousseau said.

The most high-profile new addition -- a clothing boutique by L.A. celebrity twins Chip and Pepper Foster -- is just temporary.

The two Winnipeg natives have been opening "pop shops" (they pop up for a while and then close) in a variety of locations, including one that opened for the Christmas shopping season in one of their old stomping grounds -- Kenora, Ont.

Pepper Foster and their local business partner -- Kenora publisher/photographer Tom Thomson -- said the Kenora store attracted so many Winnipeg shoppers that opening one here was a no-brainer.

The nearly 1,200-square-foot Winnipeg shop, which will carry higher-end denim jeans and T-shirts -- will be located on the main floor of the Place Joseph Royal condominium complex on Provencher just east of Rue Tache. It opened on Friday and will remain open until March 15.

Pepper said if it's successful, they'll consider opening a permanent store somewhere in the city.

"You never know. I think a store could work there. It's a great city and a great market," Pepper said of their hometown.

"I think within the next year we'll have to plan on doing something (in Canada). If we do, we'd probably do two (stores). One would be in Winnipeg and one would probably be in Toronto."

Gousseau said he'd love to see a permanent Chip & Pepper store open on Provencher. But even if that never happens, there's another huge development in the works just across the river at The Forks -- the Canadian Museum for Human Rights -- that will be even better. Construction of that is to begin on April 1 with a targeted opening for early 2012.

"From a tourism perspective and a traffic-generating perspective it's going to be huge for St. Boniface," Gousseau said. "Provencher Boulevard, no matter what we do now, is going to fly."

Some area proponents have said they're a little frustrated that it isn't already flying high, but Gousseau is preaching patience.

"These things take time. Development doesn't happen overnight."

He said there are only two significant parcels of land on Provencher that need to be redeveloped -- the former Shell gas station site on the south side of the street east of Tache, and another one directly across the street.

He said the Shell property is on the verge of being sold and a multistorey office/retail complex will likely be built there.

And the property across the street, partially owned by Enterprises Riel, could also be redeveloped within the next year. "We're working on a couple of concepts right now," he said, including another office/retail complex or possibly a hotel.

Gousseau said Enterprises Riel officials would welcome more multistorey developments that have retail space on the main floor and office space above.

He said a perfect example of that is the new $10.5-million, four-storey, office/retail complex that Caisse St. Boniface is building on the north side of Provencher near Aulneau.

They're also anxious to see more multifamily residential developments like the 58-unit Place Joseph Royal complex and the 79-unit condo development at 500 Tache, both of which were competed within the last two years.

And they won't have to wait long. The Qualico Group's StreetSide Development Corp., which built Place Joseph Royal, is planning another multi-family residential development for the former Le Rendez-vous nightclub site on Tache.

StreetSide sales manager Paul Gray said the pre-construction launch of Phase 1 of the Verve Tache development is scheduled for this spring, and details will be announced then. Construction of Phase 2, which will be located across Aubert Street, will begin once most of the units in Phase I are sold.

The Place Joseph Royal complex included 8,000 square feet of retail/commercial space on the main floor. Laurent Soret, commercial property manager for the Qualico division that manages the complex -- Rancho realty Services (Manitoba) Ltd. -- said tenants have been found for two of the eight units.

He said the kinds of tenants they're looking for include professional offices, retail stores, a specialty food store and a small restaurant.

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]

French Quarter growing again

Winnipeg's French Quarter -- Provencher Street and the surrounding area -- has experienced a commercial revival in the last five years, and is going through another growth spurt. Here are some of the new businesses that have opened within the last year, as well as a couple that are coming within the next few months:

Sawatdee Thai Restaurant, 150 Provencher. Opened in November.

Jardin Asie-Pacifique Gardens restaurant, 271 Provencher. Opened last year.

Les Jasmin De La Tunisia, 131 Provencher. Opened last May.

Cafe 22, B-130 Provencher. Opened on the weekend.

Le Garage Cafe, 166 Provencher. Opened last November.

Unit 107, 147 Provencher (Place Joseph Royal). Plastic surgeon's office. Scheduled to open on April 1.

Unit 101, 147 Provencher. Lawyer's office. Scheduled to open on May 1.

Chip & Pepper. Temporary clothing store that will be open from Feb. 13 to March 15, also on the main floor of Place Joseph Royal.

Caisse Saint-Boniface. New four-storey corporate headquarters to be built on three lots on Provencher east of Aulneau Street. Construction to begin this fall, with building to open in late 2010.

[wags_in_the_peg]

"a clothing boutique by L.A. celebrity twins Chip and Pepper Foster -- is just temporary"

that's too bad!

Good news that about the street in general though. I can't wait for North St. Boniface / Pointe Hebert to get developed.

[sledhead35]

may be temperary but its good to see a higher profile retail proudly set up shop on a side walk in our core area. not only that but they have expressed interest in our humble town along with toronto(take that calgary and vancouver).i can only hope this temperary setup is a success and more businesses catch on.

[rgalston]

Originally Posted by sledhead35

may be temperary but its good to see a higher profile retail proudly set up shop on a side walk in our core area.

That's major. So far, American Apparel is the only popular retail chains have opened up on a traditional urban street in years, maybe even since the 1950s.

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by rgalston

That's major. So far, American Apparel is the only popular retail chains have opened up on a traditional urban street in years, maybe even since the 1950s.

I'll throw out Urban Barn as well - it opened on Osborne a few years back. I believe it's a smaller chain.

[Greco Roman]

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

"a clothing boutique by L.A. celebrity twins Chip and Pepper Foster -- is just temporary"

that's too bad!

Good news that about the street in general though. I can't wait for North St. Boniface / Pointe Hebert to get developed.

Why would you bother to open up a store temporarily? Maybe they mean temporary location? Even if they are just testing out the market, other stores that do so never say "Grand Opening for our temporary store". Kind of a strange thing.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Greco Roman

Why would you bother to open up a store temporarily? Maybe they mean temporary location? Even if they are just testing out the market, other stores that do so never say "Grand Opening for our temporary store". Kind of a strange thing.

Hmmm...good question. I gave it some thought and realized though that clothing stores come and go pretty quickly. Initial sales are good and then they peter off and die a slow death. Perhaps Chip and Pepper have learned that the secret to selling their brand in the cut-throat world of clothing retail is to always keep people wanting more.

[rgalston]

Originally Posted by flatlander

I'll throw out Urban Barn as well - it opened on Osborne a few years back. I believe it's a smaller chain.

True enough.

[rypinion]

Originally Posted by Greco Roman

Why would you bother to open up a store temporarily? Maybe they mean temporary location? Even if they are just testing out the market, other stores that do so never say "Grand Opening for our temporary store". Kind of a strange thing.

They did the same thing in Kenora over the winter, just a temporary Chip and Pepper store for the season.

[good_dude]

Originally Posted by rgalston

True enough.

Birks too? I sometimes wonder how they are doing on Main

[rrskylar]

From Waverley West and Beyond:


Waverley West's Forgotten Pioneers
I enjoyed reading Rob Galston’s take on the latest WFP article on WW, as always. His POV is much more urbane then my parochial rural perspective. I would like to add to it by saying I am wondering if Justin Swandel is not truly owning up to his past as John Angus’s political assistant all those years ago? Waverley West has Swandel’s fingerprints all over it; he just does not have a street named after him yet. The U of M’s Dean Witty I am tired of slagging online. As a reporter once told me, he is just trying to get jobs for his graduates. The U of M sold its vast landholdings in Waverley West to Ladco. If only they had the gumption to keep the land and do something truly different there. Finally, the conflict of interest of MMM Engineering as judge, jury and executioner is true farce. The Mikado should be rewritten to make it about about the housing industry.
The housing industry, the growth industry as some call it, will make money off Waverley West for decades to come. How do the pioneers of Waverley West, the original homesteaders, feel about the dashed hopes of WW the Mega-burb? Like all indigenous peoples everywhere they are ignored. I received an e-mail from a long time WW rural resident about, of all things, Waverley West. Here is an excerpt.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by rgalston

That's major. So far, American Apparel is the only popular retail chains have opened up on a traditional urban street in years, maybe even since the 1950s.

Wasn't that title supposed to belong to A&B Sound, which put opened retail stores in heritage buildings in Winnipeg, and Vancouver?

[1ajs]

they also put one in downtown calgary...

mec probly would be on that list also

[mrchristian]

This is that lot on main around St. John's where that nas-tay looking abandoned Wendy's sat for years. I see there are piles on both sides of the lot. Someone says it's an MPI claim centre replacing the one on Dufferin ?

[mrchristian]

Originally Posted by jimj_wpg

Wasn't that title supposed to belong to A&B Sound, which put opened retail stores in heritage buildings in Winnipeg, and Vancouver?

Yeah but the A&B Sound chain went — up and had to offload all of it's locations outside of a couple of core stores. That was too bad.

I always wondered why a men's retailer like Tip Top isn't downtown. Seems like a bit of a no brainer considering a majority of the men who wear suits/ties/dress shirts and pants in the downtown is probably equal to the entire rest of the city. I seem to recall that in a lot of of cities, even smaller centres like S'toon and Regina, there's a Moores downtown.