Winnipeg Construction VIII

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by oftheMoon

Wouldn't the capacity of Pantages (just over 1000) vs. Centennial Concert Hall (2300) be a little small for the WSO? Notwithstanding it would need new seats as those seats in Pantages are horribly uncomfortable.

I think it comes down more to control over the building than capacity. I don't follow the WSO close enough to know what capacity they run at but there was a pretty public grievance with how they were told the Concert Hall was being given to a touring show at a prime time in the WSO concert season. It also comes down to more than just capacity too as the Jets have shown with one of the smaller NHL capacity buildings with revenue per ticket mattering more than total attendance.

I think the plan, if it happened, is the WSO would invest significantly in upgrades to Pantages and become the lead tenant with a significant voice in both the booking calendar and the type of renovations that were made. Almost a "managing partner" or "owner" type of role with the venue.

[esquire]

^ I'm hardly a WSO regular but I do go on the odd occasion and I find the CCH to be one of the highlights of attending. It's a great venue and trading that for an old vaudeville theatre (as elegant as it may be) would seem like a huge downgrade. It would make the WSO look a lot more small-time. I really hope it doesn't come to that.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Yeah, agreed. They will already own these assets, so makes sense to use them..

Other than the MTS Main Exchange on Portage Ave East, didn't MTS sell off the rest of the MTS Place complex to Artis a few years ago. I thought the idea was to get their money out of the building in exchange for a predictable long term lease.

[jmt18325]

According to CJOB, the MTS Centre will stay the MTS Centre.

[Moony]

Everything else aside, CCH is vastly superior to Pantages acoustically. I've performed in both halls and Pantages sounds like crap, it really is a terrible space from a musicians perspective. I doubt any of the WSO musicians would favour a move there. Maybe they don't have the biggest influence in this decision, but it would be a factor.

[Urban recluse]

Has anyone been by the We Lofts site on Burnell? Curious about the progress.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by cllew

Other than the MTS Main Exchange on Portage Ave East, didn't MTS sell off the rest of the MTS Place complex to Artis a few years ago. I thought the idea was to get their money out of the building in exchange for a predictable long term lease.

Hey, you're right. I forgot all about that.

http://www.artisreit.com/office/mts-place/

[trueviking]

WSO has no plan to stop using the concert hall. As has been mentioned, they need the capacity. They do plan to make Pantages their face in the community. It will be their home for offices, outreach programming and education. The theatre itself will open a new range of opportunities for them. New music festival, Christmas shows and much of their programming suits a smaller venue. It is hoped that by being in control of their own venue instead of renters having to work around other's schedules will allow them to do new things. They hope to attract new audiences by broadening their programming and doing new things that a smaller facility allows. It will broaden their offering and target new, younger audiences. It will make the symphony more accessible. They can do their own lighting, recording and other things that are not possible as a renter. There will always be a place for the concert hall but to have both will take the WSO to a new place and being so visible in the community will only help them be prosperous.

Acoustics are an issue. It s a theatre not a concert hall. The plan is to make significant acoustic upgrades. A lot is possible these days. Seating will be all new to a modern standard reducing capacity to about 1000.

As far as experience goes, I can't imagine a better experience than listening to a full orchestra surrounded by a glorious fully restored century old theatre. I think the intimacy and richness of the setting will be inspiring.

[hexrae]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Has anyone been by the We Lofts site on Burnell? Curious about the progress.

I'm by there often, haven't seen any progress. I figured this project hasn't started given they are continuing with sales, ala Sky City.

[Urban recluse]

Hopefully it breaks ground soon.

[Cyro]

It's nice to see some newer projects surfacing in the Daniel McIntyre area. It's been a while since I've passed through or driven in the neighborhood..



http://www.welofts.ca/

[jmt18325]

See, in other cities, these things would get their own thread.

[Cyro]

^ Would Manitoba forumers like to see threads for every 4-6 storey structure proposed or being built in Winnipeg?

I value the input? Yes, no? Thoughts from posters on the forum structure and thread creation?

Cursory Glance: there's aprx: 55+ threads on the main page/aprx: 40 are Winnipeg specific, 5 are dual Man/Sask, leaving aprx: 10 Sask specific threads.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

See, in other cities, these things would get their own thread.

Nothing is stopping you from starting one. Seriously. We regulars could probably stand to be a little more aggressive with starting new threads for projects.

To answer cyro's question, I think any development is fair game for a new thread but some are obviously of more interest than others. Something like We Lofts is definitely fair game for a new thread.

[CoryB]

How about this as a rule: any project that is three stories or more except for single family residential, is given its own thread.

[esquire]

On an unrelated note, I'm not sure if this is new or not but I passed by 423 Main Street (G3/former CWB head office) and I noticed a sign heralding it as 90% leased. This means that perhaps 1/2 of the 8 floors total is not spoken for (G3 takes up 2 floors).

If that's true, then that's amazing. That was a huge amount of space to fill in a big but fairly humdrum building which has been mostly vacant for the last 4 years. That'll have a big impact on the office vacancy rate and it'll probably inject some more life to the streets of the area.

Any word on who the tenant(s) are?

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by esquire

On an unrelated note, I'm not sure if this is new or not but I passed by 423 Main Street (G3/former CWB head office) and I noticed a sign heralding it as 90% leased. This means that perhaps 1/2 of the 8 floors total is not spoken for (G3 takes up 2 floors).

That's fantastic news. No idea who it may be, but with the TNS development, I was really worried about this building lying fallow.

[Cyro]

Thx, I'll let this question perculate with posters for a while. It is Construction related, this thread is about construction in Winnipeg, so comments and suggestions are welcome.

[bomberjet]

^If someone feels it's warranted that a particular project requires a thread, then said poster can start one. Really it takes 5 minutes to start a thread and a link or a couple photos.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

^If someone feels it's warranted that a particular project requires a thread, then said poster can start one. Really it takes 5 minutes to start a thread and a link or a couple photos.

Exactly. There are plenty of what I'd regard as "chatty" or otherwise off topic threads (many of which have single-digit post counts) and no one seemed to think twice about posting those. So next to them, any actual building, design or construction related thread is welcome.