Winnipeg Construction VIII

[dennis]

Wouldn't that proposed condo for the ufg site have preserved the original footprint of the historic site. Friends of ufg were complaining of the smells of barbecues and sights of outdoor furniture from the balconies polluting the senses of visitors to the park.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by drew

I think we all need to agree to disagree on this Park - and move on.

Let's do this.

[bomberjet]

Sounds like the City is going to make a mess out of the PSB save/demo decision.
https://twitter.com/BrohmanCBC

This reporter is live tweeting council today.

"What do we do? I don't know. Demo? Sure. Maybe. I unno." That's what it sounds like to me.

[Ando]

It would make a nice spot for a combination highrise interpretive centre.

[rkspec]

Demo it is:

http://www.cjob.com/2016/04/12/committee-votes-to-demolish-public-safety-building/

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rkspec

Demo it is:

http://www.cjob.com/2016/04/12/committee-votes-to-demolish-public-safety-building/

But it isn’t time to bring in the wrecking balls just yet.

The property committee stipulated it won’t come down until a firm plan is in place for what to do with the land.

A sensible solution.

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

A sensible solution.

Meh. Reclad it and repurpose it for residential or city offices or both. There isn't anything wrong with the building other than the cladding and dated systems. Seems like a waste to tear down a perfectly serviceable building.

Demolish the parkade. At least it has real problems.

[bomberjet]

The whole thing about the building is the exterior, right? I've never been inside the PSB, thank heavens, so i don't really know what it's like in there. I'm assuming a boxed layout with no fancy atrium's or architectural spaces.

Do we re-clad it back to it's original grandeur, to maintain the brutalist look. Or go with something different and new?

They were saying it's be $60M or $70M to fix the existing building. Would a new building of similar size and function cost more than that? I'm not sure, just asking.

[drew]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

The whole thing about the building is the exterior, right? I've never been inside the PSB, thank heavens, so i don't really know what it's like in there. I'm assuming a boxed layout with no fancy atrium's or architectural spaces.

Do we re-clad it back to it's original grandeur, to maintain the brutalist look. Or go with something different and new?

They were saying it's be $60M or $70M to fix the existing building. Would a new building of similar size and function cost more than that? I'm not sure, just asking.

That price is too much to repurpose the actual PSB. I think that number also includes the amount to demolish the parkade - which should be separated out to determine the actual value of the PSB.

In any event, the numbers presented to re-hab the building see a bit out to lunch.

[esquire]

Recladding with tyndall to preserve the brutalist exterior will cost a fortune. Recladding with something cheaper (a la RBCCC) will remove the element that makes the PSB architecturally distinctive. Either way the city really doesn't need the building anymore since it has been replaced. Is spending X million on recladding the right thing to do to, say, move PP&D out of Fort Garry Place and closer to City Hall?

Demolishing the PSB along with the parkade will clear the slate and erase this 1960s planning mistake. It'll allow for something better and more appropriate to the site.

But that said, I could live with the drew approach too.

[drew]

^ it just seems to me that the City isn't getting accurate information to base their decision.

Lets get a realistic budget for the reuse of this building (and we can assume the brutalist features are gone) and make an informed decision.

[trueviking]

I think the redevelopment was pegged at something like $40m for the building alone. I believe the façade was another $9m or something like that....seems about right for a 100,000 square foot building.

seriously though, just no park.

[trueviking]

if you aren't going to save the façades, might as well tear it down and make buildings that actually have their ground floor on street level and are at a scale that is more appropriate for the area. The heritage value is the façades, not the columns behind them.

[BigG]

There's something to be said about Brutalist Architecture.

http://www.winnipegarchitecture.ca/wp-co.../WAF_BrutalistArchitectureInWinnipeg.pdf

From the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation

[esquire]

Originally Posted by trueviking

seriously though, just no park.

This is really my bottom line too. I'm glad the City has committed to not demolishing until there is a redevelopment plan in place. Who knows, maybe over the next year or two some renovation proposal that makes economic sense will emerge.

[jmt18325]

I hate the building the way it is. Id almost rather a vacant lot.

[cllew]

Probably not worth a thread on its own but the bid is out for the new Windsor Park Library on Archibald St.

http://www.winnipeg.ca/MatMgt/FolderContents.asp?FOLDER_NAME=129-2016&YEAR=2016

[CoryB]

Seems people want a downtown dog park. Tear down the PSB and put the dog park there. Crosses two things off the list of things for the Mayor to do.

[esquire]

^ No dog park! It must be a building. Otherwise just keep the PSB and reclad it with plywood and tar paper or whatever the city's budget will allow. Just not a park.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Seems people want a downtown dog park. Tear down the PSB and put the dog park there. Crosses two things off the list of things for the Mayor to do.

dogs running around and taking a dump right across from city hall sounds about right to me! haha