Winnipeg Construction VIII

[CoryB]

As painful as this is leaving the surface lots behind Portage Place on Ellice is likely a smart long term move. Portage Place included a large residential component when it opened and it largely failed to connect with the market. Sticking another residential tower there will just be more of the same. Focus the residential attention just a short block north to the central park area and work on meaningful redevelopment there and let that area start pushing south as it needs more space to meet demand.

[bomberjet]

I heard those residential building are full of bed bugs. Might have been posted on here.

[Urban recluse]

What we need to see--at this point anyway--are many low-rise infills lining the downtown streets. They do not all need to have retail components, as long as the design is appropriate and the sidewalks have trees/planters along them.

We also need a hotel or two in the west Exchange (preferably along Princess) to get more people out and about eating and shopping in the area. If I had the resources, I would purchase and convert the Peck Building into a boutique hotel, perhaps adding a few floors above in glass.


http://www.icom-cc.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=207


http://www.tripadvisor.it/LocationPhotoD...-i99417247-Novotel_Wien_City-Vienna.html

If the Galt Block on Princess is ever up for redevelopment, something like this IMO would look stunning.


http://vibrantbayarea.org/2013/07/finding-ways-for-history-to-accommodate-urbanism/

What about renovating the exterior of the former Dreman parkade into something like this?


http://www.urbanrealm.com/news/4344/Coun..._Scottish_Provident_demolition_plan.html

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

If the Galt Block on Princess is ever up for redevelopment, something like this IMO would look stunning.


http://vibrantbayarea.org/2013/07/finding-ways-for-history-to-accommodate-urbanism/
[/IMG]

^ This image tends to remind me of the Pump House or what it may have become. The unfeasible 24 storey proposal, lack of parking and heritage status seem to have kept it quietly out of sight and mind..


http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/features/walkingtours/exchange/

[bomberjet]

What is under construction at Martha and Pacific? Is that part of the sports whatever is there?

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by esquire

The struggle has given way to a gradual conversion of large swaths of retail space into office space. This trend will probably continue... I could see Portage Place of 10 years from now just having the food court and the main floor shops, with everything else being office space.

I remember the top floor as having office space, is their much retail left on the 2nd floor or has it moved to a more service, office..orientated use? The last time I spent a full day at PP was during a movie shoot their, New in Town.

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by Cyro

^ This image tends to remind me of the Pump House or what it may have become. The unfeasible 24 storey proposal, lack of parking and heritage status seem to have kept it quietly out of sight and mind..


http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/features/walkingtours/exchange/

Yes, actually I was to have included that as an example.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by Cyro

I remember the top floor as having office space, is their much retail left on the 2nd floor or has it moved to a more service, office..orientated use? The last time I spent a full day at PP was during a movie shoot their, New in Town.

There's still quite a bit of retail on the second level. The wing closest to the IG building has been office conversions. I think they may be wanting to convert it completely to office space as there has been a relocation from there to another portion of the mall, and another couple of closures. But the majority of the mall proper is still retail. I think only one unit was converted for the IG office expansion and access to an elevator to the third floor offices.

[bomberjet]

^We're talking Portage Place?

Pretty much all of the first and second floors are retail. there's some services in there, like a dental office at the east end. 3 and 4th floors are office, which I believe they've always been? There's no walkway in the mall there. 3rd floor at the old Imax theater, not sure what's going on there, as I haven't ventured up that way.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

^We're talking Portage Place?

Pretty much all of the first and second floors are retail. there's some services in there, like a dental office at the east end. 3 and 4th floors are office, which I believe they've always been? There's no walkway in the mall there. 3rd floor at the old Imax theater, not sure what's going on there, as I haven't ventured up that way.

Yes the third floor on the south side has always been offices. Investors group recently took over a large portion of them, they added elevator acces on the second level to the mall there and some office space in the mall that used to be a retail space.

A large section of the second floor towards the IG building/The Bay is now offices that was previously retail. A couple to do with U of W, some regional law thing and a call centre.

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

If I had the resources, I would purchase and convert the Peck Building into a boutique hotel, perhaps adding a few floors above in glass.

A great idea, but the Peck Building is still owned by the Scientologists, I believe, who use it as one of their Ideal Org scams, whereby they dangle the promise of a new local headquarters in order to con money out of their followers, but never actually do any work.

See here about the exciting development of the Peck Building, set to be complete at the end of 2008!

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/20502/scientology-buying-respectability

[CoryB]

The second floor of Portage Place east of center court has also largely converted to non-retail space now.

[bomberjet]

Centre court being the fountain?

Looks like a couple U of W offices and iMarketing Solutions. The rest are little shops.

Edit:
Oops, east of centre court. What I said above was at the west end. Again though, the dental centre and the FNP office. The blank Buck or Two wall makes it look pretty empty though.

[h0twired]

Originally Posted by Cyro

^ This image tends to remind me of the Pump House or what it may have become. The unfeasible 24 storey proposal, lack of parking and heritage status seem to have kept it quietly out of sight and mind..

The problem with the pump house is that people still have the stupid idea that the pumping equipment be retained.

This is probably the greatest hurdle in its development.

[Urban recluse]

Agreed.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by h0twired

The problem with the pump house is that people still have the stupid idea that the pumping equipment be retained.

This is probably the greatest hurdle in its development.

Yes, It's Heritage designation makes it problematic and costly to developers. I'm fine with the removal of the pumps to another location for preservation purposes and the restoration of the facade. Will this actually come to fruition in the future..???

Moving discussion reg: the Pump House to >> The Exchange District Thread...
thx...

>> http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=206460

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway

A great idea, but the Peck Building is still owned by the Scientologists, I believe, who use it as one of their Ideal Org scams, whereby they dangle the promise of a new local headquarters in order to con money out of their followers, but never actually do any work.

See here about the exciting development of the Peck Building, set to be complete at the end of 2008!

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/20502/scientology-buying-respectability

Thanks for the chuckle. I remember that "plan".

[buzzg]

The only major office conversion in PP that isn't right on the edges of the mall is the Service Canada centre on the main floor. The way they designed it pretty much eliminates any chance of it ever opening to the Promenade again, unless they move.. Seeing how busy it always is in there I don't think it's going anywhere.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by buzzg

The only major office conversion in PP that isn't right on the edges of the mall is the Service Canada centre on the main floor. The way they designed it pretty much eliminates any chance of it ever opening to the Promenade again, unless they move.. Seeing how busy it always is in there I don't think it's going anywhere.

Investors group has offices in the middle of the second level. It was formerly a women's clothing store. They also added elevator access there which wasn't there previously.

[Urban recluse]

A renovation is long overdue.