Canadian City Proposals

[WhipperSnapper]

Is Skycity dead?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Is Skycity dead?

They're still selling units and regularly updating the sales counts on their billboards, so it certainly looks like the project is alive.

[WhipperSnapper]

I doubt this new one will be taller.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

I doubt this new one will be taller.

Very unlikely... Skycity is pegged at 45 storeys with a commercial podium and huge crown that will drive the height to the equivalent of a 50 storey+ residential tower, while Winnipeg Square II is reportedly going to be 40 storeys of residential (although that's according to a columnist who doesn't really have a keen eye for detail on this sort of thing... he got the city's tallest building wrong in his "scoop" on the project).

I'd imagine that WSII will probably match its office tower neighbour for height (360 Main, 31 storeys, 384 ft, 3rd tallest built in the city and projected to be 4th if/when Skycity gets built).

Between Skycity, WSII and True North Square's residential building (24 storeys) all planned for Graham Avenue, that's 109 storeys of residential going up just a few blocks apart. Another condo tower is part of the TNS project a block off Graham that would push the count to 126 storeys. That is massive for Winnipeg... there was a brief period in the 70s where residential highrises were being built on something close to that scale here, but this is really unprecedented for us.

[WhipperSnapper]

Artis has a large commercial/industrial portfolio. It won't be just residential. I'd also speculate they'll be looking to sell the residential to a rental portfolio or condo developer.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by WhipperSnapper

Artis has a large commercial/industrial portfolio. It won't be just residential. I'd also speculate they'll be looking to sell the residential to a rental portfolio or condo developer.

What do you foresee? A mixed use building? It sounds plausible....considering that TNS and Skycity are in the works, 40 storeys more residential space is an awful lot to dump on a downtown housing market that is still fairly nascent relative to other major Canadian cities.

To those outside of Winnipeg, this project is of particular symbolic importance because it will take up the south pad of the block-long Trizec-developed Winnipeg Square project. The pad was originally slated for an office tower that would be a twin to 360 Main, but it was never built... we've just had this ugly pad sitting there since the early 1980s.

Once this tower is built, the only unbuilt portion of Winnipeg Square that will remain is the pad between the two towers which was originally intended to have a large but low-slung atrium hotel.

Here's the site of the planned tower, the pad where you can enter Winnipeg's underground mall with nothing on top of it. Winnipeg Square I is on the far left, and a full recladding is part of the project that will see the new tower get developed.


Source: Bryan Scott, winnipeglovehate.com

[gentlepuppies]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

75 on the Esplanade by aA & Harhay

Finally a proposal I won't be embarrassed to live in as an architect

Can't wait to see floorplans and pricing

[vanman]

I'm not sure if these Brentwood proposals have been posted yet.

Escala - 42flrs

Originally Posted by Klazu

Gilmore Avenue - ?flrs

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by gentlepuppies

Finally a proposal I won't be embarrassed to live in as an architect

Finally? It's a good design but looks just about identical to at least a few dozen others around the city.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by esquire

What do you foresee? A mixed use building? It sounds plausible....considering that TNS and Skycity are in the works, 40 storeys more residential space is an awful lot to dump on a downtown housing market that is still fairly nascent relative to other major Canadian cities.

To those outside of Winnipeg, this project is of particular symbolic importance because it will take up the south pad of the block-long Trizec-developed Winnipeg Square project. The pad was originally slated for an office tower that would be a twin to 360 Main, but it was never built... we've just had this ugly pad sitting there since the early 1980s.

Once this tower is built, the only unbuilt portion of Winnipeg Square that will remain is the pad between the two towers which was originally intended to have a large but low-slung atrium hotel.

Here's the site of the planned tower, the pad where you can enter Winnipeg's underground mall with nothing on top of it. Winnipeg Square I is on the far left, and a full recladding is part of the project that will see the new tower get developed.


Source: Bryan Scott, winnipeglovehate.com

I thought that was a very weird thing. A half burried mall in the downtown is just odd.

[gentlepuppies]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Finally? It's a good design but looks just about identical to at least a few dozen others around the city.

Such as? I can think of a few distant cousins, but those are far less restrained, and more tacky.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by gentlepuppies

Such as? I can think of a few distant cousins, but those are far less restrained, and more tacky.

Off the top of my head it looks like a cross between Whitehaus...






...and Clover: (another aA)





Or like, any other aA designed building. But really, "as an architect", you'd live in that but be embarrassed to live in places like these?


Hill and Dale




IT Lofts




383 Sorauren




277 Davenport




The High Park




WQW Condos




Southwood




Oben Flats




1884 Queen St. East




838 Broadview




346 Davenport




115 Dupont






234 Simcoe




217 Adelaide St. West






Etc.


I'll grant you that the majority of proposals and new developments are fairly nondescript, but nonetheless it's not exactly hard to find attractive buildings at every price point and size across the city, even without getting into the high-profile projects.

[Martin Mtl]

/\ I wish we would see more often smaller Toronto projects like some of these.

Lots of fine proposals there.

[TorontoDrew]

Yes lots of nice "filler" going up.

[FrankieFlowerpot]

838 Broadview is dead and 115 Dupont has been completely redesigned and became an office building

[gentlepuppies]

Clover is inferior to this latest proposal because of the split in tower expression. I'm thinking in terms of what someone in their 20's can actually afford, and the rest are either high-end boutique low-rises, inactive proposals, or not downtown.

[Spocket]

234 Simcoe looks awesome while 217 Adelaide St. W looks like the '60's stopped by and forgot to take their — design with them. Sorry, I know there are fans here but I hate bare concrete designs a la Brutalism (even if it isn't actually Brutalist)

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by koops65

Geographically, Hamilton is "between" Toronto and Winnipeg... and Hamilton has a 43 floor residential tower...

Well, if you want to get really technical... this being a giant globe we're living on, everywhere on Earth is between any other two points.

[TorontoDrew]

Had to check that out of curiousity.....
Hamilton to Winnipeg is 938 miles 1,509.56 km
Toronto to Winnipeg is 942 miles 1,516 km

Turns out Hamilton is between Toronto and Winnipeg.
http://tjpeiffer.com/crowflies.html

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by gentlepuppies

Clover is inferior to this latest proposal because of the split in tower expression. I'm thinking in terms of what someone in their 20's can actually afford, and the rest are either high-end boutique low-rises, inactive proposals, or not downtown.

Okay if you're looking strictly in the core then you're not going to get as many of those sort boutique mid-rises (most of those examples aren't high-end though), unless you go out past Spadina to any of the Freed buildings or a slightly older building like the District Lofts or 32 Camden. But just as far as recent or U/C, non-high end high-rises right downtown go, what about Massey Tower, L Tower, Five, Peter Street Condos, X, Theatre Park, Picasso, Totem, etc?

But anyway now we're getting into your other thread...