Winnipeg | Downtown | True North Square | U/C

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Except guidelines will never, nor should be that strict, because at that point you're taking the favourable economics right out of the site. Guidelines should certainly ensure exteriors and ground level storefronts favour the neighbourhood, but capping height is dangerous. As soon as you put a cap on height in a downtown, the developer may struggle to overcome their land costs, especially considering Winnipeg's high construction costs, eventually driving someone's private land value down. I like a cohesive downtown, but I would consider that almost criminal if the city decided to suddenly cap height and reduce someone's net worth. My libertarian side is kicking in.

That's why a majority of the smaller buidlings in downtown Toronto, for example old. Anything new has to build high to make money. Maybe not AS high in Winnipeg, but it's still a dangerous game to limit someone's profitability, because that sends them to other markets.

Some land in downtown Winnipeg might still be cheap enough, but perhaps not in the best locations. It's hard to gauge. Maybe 10-15 storeys is still a financial sweet spot downtown but I have my guard up against that...

This may or may not be true. I am not nearly familiar enough with the economics of downtown Winnipeg to know if shorter buildings make economic sense or not. Obviously any regulatory proposal would have to take this into account.