Winnipeg | Osborne Village & Fort Rouge | Developments & Discussions

[Cyro]

The Village Inn was always tagged as a reno, 2 floors, clean it up with some new eating establishments thrown in with the vendor as part of the hotel..

The bonus was always Phase II Condo/Office addition..

Jan.24th..

>>> http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=7310744&postcount=373

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Good point by esquire, on the lack of any type of hotel in the area, it always puzzled me why nothing was available for a destination area for so many out of town visitors..

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Cyro

Good point by esquire, on the lack of any type of hotel in the area, it always puzzled me why nothing was available for a destination area for so many out of town visitors..

It wouldn't even have to be anything spectacular... something like this garden variety urban-type Aloft built on the site of the Stella's/92 CITI building would be huge for Osborne Village. It would also present a different face of Winnipeg to visitors who are accustomed to staying only downtown or by the airport.


Source: trvl-media.com

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by esquire

It wouldn't even have to be anything spectacular... something like this garden variety urban-type Aloft built on the site of the Stella's/92 CITI building would be huge for Osborne Village. It would also present a different face of Winnipeg to visitors who are accustomed to staying only downtown or by the airport.

I like the vision, and introducing guests to the city from a totally different perspective. The ability to book a room, and go for a stroll, with restaurants/bars/retail a few steps away. I like the urban quality of the concept..

[Urban recluse]

Great example Esq. Frankly, it is embarrassing Osborne does not have any new architecture, as similar neighborhoods in other cities do.

[drew]

I think we just need to be patient.

There is a certain "sketch" vibe still in the area, that is slowly dwindling away. I think the biggest barrier to a true "yuppie" Osborne Village was the Oz. Now that it is gone and being renovated into something MUCH cleaner, we will see further enhancements. First, this new hotel will need to be successful.

The same issue on a smaller scale is happening on Sherbrook. Once the Sherby goes, it will remove the last bastion of sketch on that stretch. Ha, it rhymed.

[esquire]

I should stress that I'm not trying to yuppify entire areas, I'd just frankly like to have one good, non-dysfunctional urban neighbourhood for residents and visitors alike to enjoy. A decent hotel and the visitors it would bring in strikes me as a necessary part of that equation.

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

I should stress that I'm not trying to yuppify entire areas, I'd just frankly like to have one good, non-dysfunctional urban neighbourhood for residents and visitors alike to enjoy. A decent hotel and the visitors it would bring in strikes me as a necessary part of that equation.

I am in total agreement. Just pointing out that the Oz was probably the last hindrance to having this area truly gentrify enough to consider putting up a hotel.

[bomberjet]

One thing that could aid in all this is the ridiculous liquor laws. Why do you need a hotel to sell beer? So in theory someone who is drunk can have a room to stay in? Stupid. They're dive rooms that are barely even functional most of the time. Technically there's a bed within a locked room. A lot of the dive bars and hotels are strictly there for the vendor. Not quite the case in OV, as the Inn had the music scene going on.

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by drew

I am in total agreement. Just pointing out that the Oz was probably the last hindrance to having this area truly gentrify enough to consider putting up a hotel.

I do not think it is as simple as that. One small project is never enough in Winnipeg to spur more development. The CMHR has done nothing for Provencher, and that was a large project. Larger scale plans must be entertained by various parties, and that is too rare in Winnipeg. What the Hell does the Osborne Biz do? Esquire is bang on: the city deserves at least one area neighborhood that has it all; the Village should be it by now. Really, not much has changed there in decades. West Broadway, at this point in time, is progressing at a pace that I can live with. It has come a long way in 20 years. The Village, however, should have at least one or two glass mid rises along Osborne between Roslyn and, say, Wardlaw.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

I do not think it is as simple as that. One small project is never enough in Winnipeg to spur more development. The CMHR has done nothing for Provencher, and that was a large project. Larger scale plans must be entertained by various parties, and that is too rare in Winnipeg. What the Hell does the Osborne Biz do? Esquire is bang on: the city deserves at least one area neighborhood that has it all; the Village should be it by now. Really, not much has changed there in decades. West Broadway, at this point in time, is progressing at a pace that I can live with. It has come a long way in 20 years. The Village, however, should have at least one or two glass mid rises along Osborne between Roslyn and, say, Wardlaw.

Let's all be honest here, is this currently an area where a tourist would WANT to stay?

I don't think so. I think that will change greatly by the reno of the Oz.

And I do think it is as simple as that. It isn't a huge area, and the Oz currently sits on a large, very prominent site.

And either way, I am not sure what Osborne Biz is supposed to do. They can be boosters for trying to attract development and investment, but ultimately it is some one else's money and someone else's call.

[Urban recluse]

They can create a vision. I do not believe they have done so. Ever.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

They can create a vision. I do not believe they have done so. Ever.

What good is a vision if no one will pay for it?

[Urban recluse]

Why does no one want to pay for it? Why is there no level of pride in Winnipeg that there is elsewhere? And a vision is a pretty damn good start to get people excited, or at least, interested. Have vignettes crested of what Osborne can be, engage business owners and developers.

[drew]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Why does no one want to pay for it? Why is there no level of pride in Winnipeg that there is elsewhere? And a vision is a pretty damn good start to get people excited, or at least, interested. Have vignettes crested of what Osborne can be, engage business owners and developers.

I see what you are getting at, but again, someone needs to pay, and Osborne Biz would have no authority to holding a developer's feet to the fire, so it would need to come from the City, including incentives.

I would argue that Osborne seems to be doing it's thing fairly well thus far. It has had fairly continual development over the past decade or so. Nothing huge, but lots of good filler.

IMO the filler needs to happen before anyone is going to blow their brains out on a large scale development.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by drew

I see what you are getting at, but again, someone needs to pay, and Osborne Biz would have no authority to holding a developer's feet to the fire, so it would need to come from the City, including incentives.

I would argue that Osborne seems to be doing it's thing fairly well thus far. It has had fairly continual development over the past decade or so. Nothing huge, but lots of good filler.

IMO the filler needs to happen before anyone is going to blow their brains out on a large scale development.

What's most frustrating about Osborne Village is that there has been so much going on along the side streets over the past few years, yet if you drove down Osborne today it would look virtually identical compared to 15 years ago with the only significant difference being the reconfigured Safeway/Liquor Mart/Shoppers Drug Mart shopping area. The Osborne Street face of the neighbourhood looks downright stagnant.

That's why the Gas Station Theatre project would be such a godsend... it would help improve the public image of the area at least a bit by adding a noteworthy new building on Osborne itself, and would include space for residents as well as a beloved cultural institution.

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by esquire

What's most frustrating about Osborne Village is that there has been so much going on along the side streets over the past few years, yet if you drove down Osborne today it would look virtually identical compared to 15 years ago with the only significant difference being the reconfigured Safeway/Liquor Mart/Shoppers Drug Mart shopping area. The Osborne Street face of the neighbourhood looks downright stagnant.

That's why the Gas Station Theatre project would be such a godsend... it would help improve the public image of the area at least a bit by adding a noteworthy new building on Osborne itself, and would include space for residents as well as a beloved cultural institution.

The reason for this could be because Osborne Street today is the same commuter corridor that it was 15 years ago; maybe even more so now.

I also think it has something to do with the zoning and caveats for building along Osborne; you won't get as much backlash when you build on Bole or Norquay or Wardlaw as much as you would if you wanted to build anything (good or bad) on Osborne.

[Urban recluse]

Not sure about that; if anything, the opposite should be true. The quieter the side streets, the better in the minds of the people. The higher density should be along the major streets.

[EndoftheBeginning]

Here is the Sandhu project on River across the street from Pulse Condos. Almost finished up the south side, the east and west side exteriors look complete for the most part.

These are scaled - click for full size.

East elevation


East elevation


West elevation


South elevation

[Urban recluse]

Thanks for those. Not Sandhu though.

[EndoftheBeginning]

Hmm, my mistake. Thought for sure I remembered seeing Sandhu signs on the site as construction started.

The 373 River site is listed on their web page with an older render: http://www.sandhudevelopments.com/373-river-ave.html