Winnipeg Construction

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by trueviking

^ the wood squares you see on the floor will eventually have 22' trees in them....should add some softness to the space.

Hey when is your debt to Feepa paid off ...

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Hey when is your debt to Feepa paid off ...

maybe this weekend.....

[CoR East]

How do you get the rootball of a 22' tall tree into those tiny openings? Do you have a huge soil volume under the floor?

[jthor]

Originally Posted by rgalston

I think the scale of these developments (in East Exchange, etc.) are great. Rehabbing old warehouses, building new on vacant land, etc. It is great stuff.

But I'm just wondering why is the announcement of new incentives made? Is there still a legitimate gap between building/redevelopment costs and making something of a profit? Or is this program just bonus gravy to lure developers?

If there is an actual market gap, that's fine to provide some assistance, although there are some unintended, long-term consequences to this. Mainly that it conditions developers to get handouts when doing anything downtown (while politically unconnected developers just stay home, or let their downtown properties rot). And also that it feeds the self-serving nature of redevelopment groups (ie, "we need money because downtown is so terrible"/"we need money because downtown is so wonderful").

It also does nothing to identify or tackle causes of cost-profit gap. It's just a Band-Aid. Residential fire codes are hard to work around, but how much less important red tape is slowing down (adding costs to) development of old buildings downtown? Do heritage conservation regulations do this? Are land values completely out of whack downtown?

Like I said, I think the scale and type of residential development going on in the East Exchange/Waterfront Drive is great, but it won't change things for the better over the long term, anymore than the apartment boom in the late '60s/'70s did.

Also, I just about die laughing when I read Sam, Ross, and Co. talk about how residential and density is so crucial. That's why CV spent the last five years trying to turn North Main into a non-profit bureaucracy ghetto?

I agree with basically all of the first 4 paragraphs, and the last too, but it seems a bit simplistic to say that the Exchange developments "won't change things for the better over the long term, anymore than the apartment boom of the late '60s/'70s did. Obviously downtown did continue to slide after that boom, but as with the current developments, imagine what would have happened if this wasn't happening? And unlike the '60s/'70s when much of that density came as a replacement to existing buildings and accompanied by large parking lots, now there isn't even a real loss in such development; its all vacant, and now its filled. If residential isn't part of the long term solution, what is? How can it not help to change things for the better -- or at least stop the decline that would otherwise be happening? My hope is that such developments will spread across the core, take up lots and eventually involve (nice) rental space. But I see no downside to the East Exchange developments and whatever else happens, this is a net plus in the long term.

[good_dude]

UofW does look good, TV. Is that the roller rink on the wall?

[Joshy]

So I was talking with my mother, and she said that she saw signs for a new Sobey's somewhere in the vicinity of The Bay (around Kennedy, or Graham, she can't remember exactly where), but she swears that it's there. Does anyone have any info on this, or have seen these alledged signs? If so, this would be great news for the downtown!

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Just a couple of extra things to think about ...

If you build downtown, you are not required to provide parking.

Really ? Well I suppose that makes sense now that you've got me thinking of it . Thanks .

I think the issue that Manitoba Hydro faced is not downtown related, although it could be coincidental. True that there are more utilities downtown but the only time that has been a big issue was Sky.

You're probably right although I suppose it's only fair to point out that we don't usually hear about it except for when it becomes more problematic than usual . That's not to say that your point isn't still valid (for the simple reason that I really just don't know)

Heritage is heritage, regardless of whether or not the property is downtown.

Sorry but I have to disagree with you on this . You're right of course in principal but you have to acknowledge that heritage is an issue in the downtown many more times than it is in other areas of the city .

As I said before , I'm really just guessing at what factors might be involved in pushing costs upward if building in the core . Obviously whoever it was that undertook the study didn't calculate mitigating bonuses into their equation either . Thanks for the info on parking though ... I didn't know that although I suppose I should have figured it out for myself .

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Joshy

So I was talking with my mother, and she said that she saw signs for a new Sobey's somewhere in the vicinity of The Bay (around Kennedy, or Graham, she can't remember exactly where), but she swears that it's there. Does anyone have any info on this, or have seen these alledged signs? If so, this would be great news for the downtown!

theres an iga downtown if it matters prolly rebranding it to sobey's

[Joshy]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

theres an iga downtown if it matters prolly rebranding it to sobey's

If it's the one on Donald (I think?) that you are talking about, that is a pretty small store. I know that downtown Sobey's in Vancouver and Edmonton are not your typical big box stores, but they are still larger than that IGA, so I would assume they would want something a little bigger than that to accomodate their floor plan.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by good_dude

UofW does look good, TV. Is that the roller rink on the wall?

thanks...yes it is.

Originally Posted by CoR East

How do you get the rootball of a 22' tall tree into those tiny openings? Do you have a huge soil volume under the floor?

not sure....the pits are about a 5 foot cube....palm tree maybe?

[sledhead35]

Cracks in the city of glass

Special to Globe and Mail Update
Published Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2011 6:04AM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Apr. 19, 2011 6:05AM EDT

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/cracks-in-the-city-of-glass/article1990823/

Chris Vollan loves his box made of glass in the sky.

From his eighth-storey apartment on the north shore of False Creek in Vancouver, the floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides make him feel as though he is living on a viewing platform above the city.

“It's a huge panorama and it makes my whole place feel bigger,” says Mr. Vollan, an engineer who lived in 19 different homes before arriving at Concord Pacific's Cooper's Point tower.

His glass-box lifestyle is shared by many Canadians in urban centres. It was born in Vancouver – or as Douglas Coupland renamed it, “The City of Glass” – in the post-Expo '86 boom years and then popped up in Toronto about a decade ago.

But the ascension of the clear glass tower, first seen in Chicago in the 1950s, is slowing.

Architects and buyers have complained of how boring glass towers have become. Planners and sustainability experts wring their hands about the lack of energy efficiency – glass, after all, is the poorest insulating building material around.

[sledhead35]

i know hydro was designed to allow sunlight/ heat from the sun into office space, but im wondering if it would be even more efficient with less glass on the north and east sides? definitely less —!

[CoR East]

Originally Posted by trueviking

not sure....the pits are about a 5 foot cube....palm tree maybe?

For a palm that might work. I don't have any experience with tropicals. For comparison though, in an outdoor context, the City of Toronto is providing 30m3 of soil for each tree along the new waterfront esplanade near sugar beach.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by sledhead35

i know hydro was designed to allow sunlight/ heat from the sun into office space, but im wondering if it would be even more efficient with less glass on the north and east sides? definitely less —!

It has a double glass curtain wall (approx 2 ft between the two). The inner glass isn't subject to the outer elements. Someone with more expertise can explain further or you can look up how a double glass curtain wall works. All i know is it is a pretty expensive way to clad a building. Not your typical glass box.

[jthor]

There's a Sobeys on Yonge street in downtown Toronto which is probably no bigger than the one on Donald.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by trueviking

^ the wood squares you see on the floor will eventually have 22' trees in them....should add some softness to the space.

That's awesome. Its already looking amazing, to be honest.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by jthor

I agree with basically all of the first 4 paragraphs, and the last too, but it seems a bit simplistic to say that the Exchange developments "won't change things for the better over the long term, anymore than the apartment boom of the late '60s/'70s did. Obviously downtown did continue to slide after that boom, but as with the current developments, imagine what would have happened if this wasn't happening? And unlike the '60s/'70s when much of that density came as a replacement to existing buildings and accompanied by large parking lots, now there isn't even a real loss in such development; its all vacant, and now its filled. If residential isn't part of the long term solution, what is? How can it not help to change things for the better -- or at least stop the decline that would otherwise be happening? My hope is that such developments will spread across the core, take up lots and eventually involve (nice) rental space. But I see no downside to the East Exchange developments and whatever else happens, this is a net plus in the long term.

Exactly. Well said, a huge net plus imo.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

theres an iga downtown if it matters prolly rebranding it to sobey's

I don't think that IGA is owned by Sobeys... It has the owners name on the signage for the store for example, so I assume it's a franchisee. i could be wrong but I don't think that Sobeys allows franchises for the Sobeys brand but only the IGA brand (independent grocers alliance).

Although not all IGA's are independently owned since the jefferson and adsum IGA is owned by Sobeys (the jefferson and main location was a franchise and is now a family foods).


Edit: Decided to go for a walk at lunch. No Sobey's signage at the downtown IGA. Couldn't spot any signage anywhere around the Bay either. There is a sign advertising the Zellers market on the Bay that's in green. Maybe that's what she saw?

[dpenner]

new set of tour pictures of the avenue building up on the friends of the avenue building page, i did not realize how massive the ground level space is. Anyways here is the link

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbi...306.42814.107518159296404&type=1&theater

is there any existing floor plans of the apartments anywhere?

[Biff]

^^^ Neat, but why does everything have to be "Friends of" something nowadays?