Winnipeg Construction IX

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

That's garbage. Bait and switch, again.

It's not the like the city wouldn't have approved what ultimately got built, though. What I presume are 3 CRUs + 4 apartments taking the place of one falling apart CRU is a step up, in my opinion.

[biguc]

I'm pretty sure they released a downgraded render, anyway, for the proposal.

Originally Posted by esquire

Well, at least things are moving in a positive direction?

I can tell you that many global cities are filled with wholly unimpressive and unspectacular buildings... yet put them all together, and they add up to an incredible urban environment.


Osaka
Source:wikimedia.org

Precisely. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Shanghai, and it's often pretty ugly. It also shits all over a lot of urbanist orthodoxy, but it still made for an incredible urban experience because it was so intense. A great urban environment needs urbanity first, everything else falls in line behind that.

Here are more examples of "ugly" buildings in great (and conventionally beautiful) cities. Guess the city!

https://www.google.ca/maps/@48.8520076,2...-OMXadF24HD3_iw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/search/rue+av...D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.232065,-1...46Xu8PG9P0l7pkg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en


Nobody is leaving Winnipeg because of ugly new mixed-use buildings. Winnipeg is basically a collection of really trashy suburbs bent on eviscerating what's left of the urban space here. Far from this development being a catalyst for people to leave, it's a rare win.

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by Hecate

Meh... this design would be fine if it was in an industrial park, not for Osborne. I do agree the external access is nice!

But it's not on the fun strips of Osborne anyway...

Originally Posted by biguc

And cheap! Like I said, this building doesn't look good, but it looks better than any strip mall in the city, and we'd be a much better city if people realized how affordably they could do mixed-use. We could honestly use 100 more of these in this city long before we could use 1 better looking iteration of this building.

This is the truth.

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Sarcastic yes. Developers and city leaders in Winnipeg are destined to remain insipid. Why do you think so many young professionals leave the city: just look around.

The render you provided was also clearly a refurbished older building. as that kind of stuff rarely gets built new. If the existing structure looked like that, surely that would have been the direction of the development.

The other thing is cost. I don't know who the developer was, but sometimes these "developers" only have 1-3 projects to complete in their lifetimes, and get back to their day jobs. They don't have the money or finesse to make a splash, so they play it safe, put together a good but boring building, and try to lock up some leases. If you're only going to do it once, you don't try to wow everyone... you do it simple, and reliably, and get that money.

[bomberjet]

I mean sure, it's 'nicer' than most crappy 70's era buildings around town. Just a downer from what they wanted to build. And the backside, yeesh. At least its the backside.

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by wolf13

but it's not on the fun strips of osborne anyway...


This is the truth.



The render you provided was also clearly a refurbished older building. As that kind of stuff rarely gets built new. If the existing structure looked like that, surely that would have been the direction of the development.

The other thing is cost. I don't know who the developer was, but sometimes these "developers" only have 1-3 projects to complete in their lifetimes, and get back to their day jobs. They don't have the money or finesse to make a splash, so they play it safe, put together a good but boring building, and try to lock up some leases. If you're only going to do it once, you don't try to wow everyone... You do it simple, and reliably, and get that money.

"2015"

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by esquire

Well, at least things are moving in a positive direction?

I can tell you that many global cities are filled with wholly unimpressive and unspectacular buildings... yet put them all together, and they add up to an incredible urban environment.


Osaka
Source:wikimedia.org

That pic is pure urban bliss, and a lot of it has to do with the signage In the case of the Osborn location, it needed something with a nicer design, as it alone.

[hexrae]

The garage doors are open at the downtown Snap fitness. Pretty cool environment to be working out in.

[tree]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Sarcastic yes. Developers and city leaders in Winnipeg are destined to remain insipid. Why do you think so many young professionals leave the city: just look around.

okay good yeah I thought those were nice.

One defence of this building being underwhelming is at least its not in the more dense / truly walkable area of Osborne village - its right across from the big transit depot. The nice buildings you posted may even be a bit out of place there.

[tree]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

i wonder if its being built in phases?

Some of what is there does match the original design (window sizes and placement mostly) so maybe. Still don't get the barn yard sheet metal type stuff up top though. Its amazing what just adding the top part and replacing the sheet metal siding stuff would do for it though .

[esquire]

ICYMI, today's WFP has some details on the new mixed use building set to rise at Maryland and Westminster. Project includes 12,000 sf retail and office space and 44 1/2/3 bedroom apartments. According to the developer, ground breaks this spring, right after the existing houses are demolished.


http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/west-broadway-boom-417920683.html

Nice to see some of the activity on Sherbrook spilling over onto Maryland... as the article points out, that's 3 projects on the go at once in this one-block stretch between Westminster and Wolseley.

[drew]

^ more good news for the area. It will fill in much of that ugly pockmarked area of Maryland nicely, while getting rid of some tear-down condition rental/rooming houses.

[esquire]

^ This is probably a sign of things to come for Maryland south of Broadway. It's such a busy street that I don't think it it's a particularly desirable place for anyone looking to spend serious money on upgrading a single family home. So as those homes deteriorate and the area gets busier, new multiunit residential, commercial or mixed use builds start to make good sense.

[Urban recluse]

Good looking project.

[1ajs]

first folk show i help put on in that back area of 318ross that came down last week blah still ringing in my heart
• Video Link

[Svenn]

Does anyone have any recent info on 210 Masson Street? The last info I could find was this tweet from November 30, 2016:

https://twitter.com/audettenic/status/804073325924405250

[Jeff]

last time I walked by, there were some construction company signs on the fence surrounding the building.. but nothing seemed to be happening at all from the exterior. this building and that lot on provencher that has been empty for over a decade are supreme embarrassments for st. Boniface.

[windypeg]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

first folk show i help put on in that back area of 318ross that came down last week blah still ringing in my heart
• Video Link

I went to school with Ingrid, great girl very talented

[1ajs]

o kool shes out on the east coast now making her sound

[CoryB]

Small Sterling update:

Saw crews recently removing debris from the second floor and clearing the main floor where the retail store was on Smith. As it seemed they were doing a top down demo it has likely hit the end phase.

Looks like one of the windows on the Smith St side was broken in the activities and was replaced. Interestingly it has an upgrade trim colour over the default white possibly hinting towards something further to come.

Also this morning caught it with the sun shining the right way and could floors 4+ have all been studded but didn't look like anything else was done.

The floor leveling crews are also back on site today.

[Urban recluse]

Thanks for that. Did you happen to notice if the boarded up window in the annex was removed?