Winnipeg Construction IX

[buzzg]

That's disgusting.

[1ajs]

What's worse a empty space full of weeds or an attempt to reclame a space?

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

It's demise cannot come soon enough. The sooner it is replaced by construction fencing, the better. The above image needs to become:

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/10+mark...4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5099b24227bafc07!6m1!1e1

ah the Portland look . no thanks.

[1ajs]

expansion of the manitoba museum hall

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by Tacheguy

ah the Portland look . no thanks.

The successful, thriving, vibrant downtown urban look.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

It's demise cannot come soon enough. The sooner it is replaced by construction fencing, the better. The above image needs to become:

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/10+mark...4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5099b24227bafc07!6m1!1e1

I'd love to see that sort of treatment given to this building (link below) eventually when/if it's not long being used a lot. Would take a bit of creativity with the entrances, but maybe a raised walkway would do it.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.9002854,-...w%3D227.71857%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

The successful, thriving, vibrant downtown urban look.

Do you live in Winnipeg right now?

If you do, go downtown. It's not like you're remembering. I was just there on Sunday and Tuesday, and I haven't seen so many people in a long time.

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I'd love to see that sort of treatment given to this building (link below) eventually when/if it's not long being used a lot. Would take a bit of creativity with the entrances, but maybe a raised walkway would do it.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.9002854,-...w%3D227.71857%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656

Another building with amazing potential. Buzz, your link link shows a downtown streetscape that most cities do not have anymore; this image is reminiscent of the 60s, not 2016. In any other city, the buildings shown would all be redeveloped.

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/The+Old...1!8m2!3d41.2555757!4d-95.9310643!6m1!1e1

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

Do you live in Winnipeg right now?

If you do, go downtown. It's not like you're remembering. I was just there on Sunday and Tuesday, and I haven't seen so many people in a long time.

Very good indeed.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

Do you live in Winnipeg right now?

If you do, go downtown. It's not like you're remembering. I was just there on Sunday and Tuesday, and I haven't seen so many people in a long time.

Totally agree. Have been in the Exchange several times the past few weeks. It's becoming very vibrant. Lots of new shops and restaurants. You have to get out and experience it to know what's going on.

[esquire]

^ I would agree with the general sentiment. We haven't exactly reached Montreal levels, but it feels like a critical mass is building. Sidewalks are busier, storefronts look better.

Having seen Edmonton's downtown go through the same process some 12-14 years ago, it feels a bit like we're about a little more than a decade behind them.

[Urban recluse]

I can appreciate the lack of new skyscrapers in Winnipeg. What I find abhorrent is the lack of pride in existing buildings--both heritage and newer. Even cities such as St. John's and Halifax, with less growth and worse economies (although Halifax has been on an upswing recently), have beautiful downtowns with the vast majority of heritage buildings restored or redeveloped, and charming storefronts.

For Princess Street, as an example, to NOT look like (at least) this by now, is beyond ridiculous.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@47.5611611,-...-QCTeE3lOUGEma365NRhw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[jmt18325]

Why the constant negativity when so many new builds and restorations are happening right now?

[1ajs]

because of the concervitive weirdnes that lurks of self hate. its weird

its improved over the yrs still more to go in our city for progress but were getting there

saturday i felt like i was in a different city while at bodegoes amazing and jaz fest wasnt even going at that time of day

[Pinus]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

Why the constant negativity when so many new builds and restorations are happening right now?

Because some people are just negative in life. They focus solely on the negative and refuse to acknowledge any positive. He's an example of the dying breed of negative Winnipeggers who's sole purpose in life seems to be to wince all the time.

How anyone willingly chooses to live their life in that manner is beyond me.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

I can appreciate the lack of new skyscrapers in Winnipeg. What I find abhorrent is the lack of pride in existing buildings--both heritage and newer. Even cities such as St. John's and Halifax, with less growth and worse economies (although Halifax has been on an upswing recently), have beautiful downtowns with the vast majority of heritage buildings restored or redeveloped, and charming storefronts.

For Princess Street, as an example, to NOT look like (at least) this by now, is beyond ridiculous.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@47.5611611,-...-QCTeE3lOUGEma365NRhw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Maybe you're unfamiliar with Winnipeg's history.

Winnipeg has plenty of pride in its old buildings. However, unlike other cities, Winnipeg hit its stride a century ago. Then it migrated its downtown a little south. That left us with a horde of buildings that hadn't kept up with the times. Rather than tear them down, we tried our best to save them. We're not talking about a dozen buildings here, we're talking about an entire district. Demand never picked up until recently with conversions because population growth was too low to make them feasible. Not to mention that that district had become dilapidated itself which made new builds far more promising.

Choosing a city like Halifax to compare us to is very much an apples to oranges matter. Halifax has a smaller CBD footprint, fewer buildings to convert, no downtown migrating, and smaller scales to work with. And St. Johns is everything that Halifax is but on an even smaller scale.

[pacerx]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

That is truly embarrassing. Every person involved in this decision should be ashamed.

[bomberjet]

Were there attempts made to shape the piles? Looks like they just dumped some loads of crushed concrete, I guess it is. You can see the tail gate drag marks in the pile tops. Even less artsy.

[oftheMoon]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ I would agree with the general sentiment. We haven't exactly reached Montreal levels, but it feels like a critical mass is building. Sidewalks are busier, storefronts look better.

Having seen Edmonton's downtown go through the same process some 12-14 years ago, it feels a bit like we're about a little more than a decade behind them.

When festival season hits (aka Jazz Festival on), the Exchange District is amazing. I've been out in the area as late as midnight - 1am or so the past 2 weekends and the number of people on the streets is impressive.

The Friday night of opening weekend for Jazz Festival was unlike anything I've seen before. OMS and the surrounding area was so packed, you could hardly move.

When you add the festival crowd with the restaurant and club crowd, there are hundreds of people everywhere.

This is my third summer living in the Exchange and cannot agree more that critical mass is building - I've seen it first hand. Downtown is looking sharper than ever and the people are coming.

[biguc]

Nuit Blanche last year was amazing too. The weather was uncommonly nice but there were people literally everywhere, many of them doing a distinctly un-North American thing: socializing in public spaces. It was almost Berlinesque.

But I want to say, in Recluse's defence, that I don't think he's being negative. He's being incredibly positive, just not tempering his positivity with the constraints of time. He wants what he wants when he wants it--and we all do--but all these good things are coming our way, just not right away.