Winnipeg | Exchange District | Developments & Discussions

[buzzg]

planters*

[buzzg]

Got word from a VERY credible source close to the project that the owner of 98 Market has big plans for the 1 storey office next door with Impark in it.

Plan is for next year to tear the office building down and replace it with a 6 storey building. 3 lower levels will be residential with 3 storeys of parking on TOP.

[esquire]

^ Interesting, that office building is not all that old by Exchange standards... must date back to the 80s or thereabouts?

But parkade on TOP of the residences... that's peculiar. Wouldn't noise be a factor? You'd think it would make more sense to build the residences on top?

Hopefully it's designed to really shore up the streetscape around there. I hope whatever gets built hugs the street nicely to contribute to the overall walkability of the area.

[Urban recluse]

Another inferior building no doubt. Cities everywhere will be envious; they be like "how can THEY achieve that?"

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Interesting, that office building is not all that old by Exchange standards... must date back to the 80s or thereabouts?

But parkade on TOP of the residences... that's peculiar. Wouldn't noise be a factor? You'd think it would make more sense to build the residences on top?

Hopefully it's designed to really shore up the streetscape around there. I hope whatever gets built hugs the street nicely to contribute to the overall walkability of the area.

Yeah it does sound odd however the city would never allow a ground floor parkade there without CRUs on the main floor, so perhaps easier to put parking on top as opposed to sandwiched between main floor and residential like Radisson for example. I think there's a 6 storey limit there, so that makes it a little difficult.

[1ajs]

i thought limit was 8 storiess

[buzzg]

^Could be right, I'm not 100% sure. Can see a storm coming from the obnoxious ppl living on Waterfront whose #1 goal in life is to kill all fun in the city. How dare someone build a building that will TOWER over their poor condo.

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by buzzg

^Could be right, I'm not 100% sure. Can see a storm coming from the obnoxious ppl living on Waterfront whose #1 goal in life is to kill all fun in the city. How dare someone build a building that will TOWER over their poor condo.

I have the same concern with all the housing going into the Forks.

[buzzg]

^Difference is The Forks controls that land, not the city, so they have a lot more say in that matter... and even though they still have to follow CoW rules, they'll be able to influence a lot. Exchange District is bad enough, but if someone gets a place at Railside and has issues with all the events there, they're idiots and should be exiled.

[Hecate]

The same can be said for people buying condos in the exchange, don't like the nightlife don't live near it, but now we have no music on patios after 11:00pm. Super lame. If you think the rail side at the forks is gonna be any different... ha. My guess is most of the seniors living in the exchange right now will up and move to the rail side because they'll be the only ones who can afford it. You will not have the vibrant diverse population of an organically grown community. You'll have old people with money and affluence who'll want to be at the "centre of it all" and have their peace and quiet after 9:00pm too!

[CoryB]

Re parking on top of residential. Aren't ground level residential units more difficult to rent out in urban areas like the Exchange which is why most of them try to do something like retail units on the ground level?

Also how will access to/from the upper parking decks work? If you run ramps on the outside you lose windows on one side of the building and ramps in the core of the building seems like a bad idea trying to force the situation.

I can't imagine that this idea gets a lot of traction.

[bomberjet]

Run ramps up the one side of the building. Still have windows on three sides. Seems fine to me.

[esquire]

Can't remember if this was mentioned here before or not, but I see that the hundred dollar T-shirt joint at McDermot and Arthur is closed with the space for lease.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Re parking on top of residential. Aren't ground level residential units more difficult to rent out in urban areas like the Exchange which is why most of them try to do something like retail units on the ground level?

Also how will access to/from the upper parking decks work? If you run ramps on the outside you lose windows on one side of the building and ramps in the core of the building seems like a bad idea trying to force the situation.

I can't imagine that this idea gets a lot of traction.

Don't know how far into planning they are... possible there will be CRUs on the main floor too. One thing about that site though is there's no lane and the south side is along the sidewalk by Carnaval, so any possible ramp would have to be right off Bertha, alongside the south wall of 92M.

The Porter House has expensive townhouses right at street level on McDermot and Rorie. Even though they haven't finished the deck entrances yet, they're occupied. I agree though, those units are super awkward, your living room is right on Rorie with huge windows.

[AJYBR]

Originally Posted by esquire

Can't remember if this was mentioned here before or not, but I see that the hundred dollar T-shirt joint at McDermot and Arthur is closed with the space for lease.

Kit and Ace.

They have been closed for quite some time now, would have been July-ish. Was in there shortly before they closed, was told that it was a short term agreement to lease the space. They closed all stores except a couple in larger cities. I think only Toronto and Vancouver are the only ones they plan to retain.

They have switched their focus to online sales from what I was told.

[buzzg]

So a lounge was supposed to be going in the basement of the Saddlery building. Building owners told the new tenants last year they should apply for their permits in winter when ppl aren't out paying much attention to variance/permit notices... They waited til summer to apply and residents on Waterfront raised a stink. Got the city to place a caveat that they would have to close by 11pm, so it killed their business plan. They abandoned it after almost a year of work and quite a bit of money invested in the space. All so some obnoxious people can pretend they live in Sage Creek but not have to drive far to get to work and Jets games.

[Riverman]

Do you mean the Birt Saddlery building on Main? That's a long way from Waterfront.

[Authentic_City]

^Great West Saddlery Warehouse (112-114 Market Avenue, Winnipeg)

http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/greatwestsaddlery.shtml

[bomberjet]

That's such a joke. Living downtown and you're pissed off about noise. ffs.

[Riverman]

There was a bar it there before and it was pretty rowdy. Can't remember what it was called but it was during the Marble Club era.

It doesn't matter whether you live downtown or in the burbs, you have to be able to sleep.