Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire
The tower looks better than in the initial renderings... some might say it's a bit more boring but I think it looks more coherent. Lots of glazing which is nice.
The part that's worse is the podium at Main and St. Mary... I think the initial concept of a big glass wall facing Main at an angle looked better than the strange pseudo-pergola.
Reading the article that accompanied the renderings made me simultaneously happy and somewhat disappointed... happy because obviously something will finally be built at the south end of the Winnipeg Square complex, but also a bit disappointed by the fact that the tower will still leave most of the WS complex with little or nothing on the surface, given that the residential tower will have a much, much smaller footprint than the office tower initially planned for that site.
I also get the impression that the Fort Street side will still be left a dead zone with little presence on that side. Also, the proposal for in between the two towers seems kind of lame... just a squat lowrise that may or may not become the site of a grocery store. (Let's face it, a grocery store nestled by the office towers of P&M with inconvenient parking probably isn't poised for success.) Instead of building something half baked, I almost wish they left the space empty until it became feasible to build a sizable hotel or office on that spot. That said, if they do build it as shown, the Main Street side will go from being a hideous eyesore to a beautiful landmark, so there's that.
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I can't imagine anyone who would call that boring... there's a lot going on in that design while keeping classic shapes/materials/colours. There are funkier new towers elsewhere, but also far less appealing ones.
As far as the central portion, I'm not sure I follow your logic... there's nothing half-baked about that. There is an office component, and while it is about a storey or so shorter than the initial proposal, I think anyone would actually breathe a sigh of relief that it's actually going to HAPPEN, with the very important goal of a downtown grocer front and centre.
As far as parking, I'm not concerned. There's a parkade and i'm sure there's an economical system that can be worked with. Otherwise, foot traffic will drive this, just as foot traffic drives many other urban grocers. It's not like the Urban Fare in downtown Vancouver has a massive surface lot next door.
And a grocery store nestled between the largest (based on sf) office building and tallest apt building in Winnipeg doesn't seem poised for success? Yes it's a departure from a typical Wpg grocer profile, but if one were to depart from it, this is the way to do it. The other positive factor are the many bus routes stopping right in front of the store.
We are a long ways away from any solid indicators telling us where the Winnipeg office market's headed, so banking on something larger for the centre is far-fetched. It comes down to hotel vs grocer, and we know downtown needs a grocer, as well as that a Hotel might eat away at extended stay usage, so unless our market is booming (which again, we don't know when it will happen), is a bigger risk.
As for the Fort street, it will not be unaddressed. These are the renderings I was referring to earlier, and naturally, there are renderings to the other side that didn't make the paper.
In a utopian world, there are things that could improve this project. Given the cards dealt, I think we can be thrilled that this is not only going ahead, but looking as good and comprehensive as hoped.
One downside is the article mentioned a construction start in summer/fall. The people I know have great confidence in this project and have hinted that they're simply not rushing the process, getting it done right, but I'd be annoyed if it's only a fall start.
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