Winnipeg Construction IX

[trueviking]

Trust me guys. Nobody is building that rendering. It was for an RFP a couple years ago. It is an image being used to entice someone who might need a site for a development. It has the bottom layers of parking because that was a requirement of the RFP.

[BuildUpWpg]

Originally Posted by wardlow

Do you think most arts groups and restaurants in the Exchange actually depend on SUV-driving suburbanites who have unrealistic expectations about parking in an urban environment? I doubt it. If you're already living that much of a car-oriented life, you're not coming downtown for anything but Jets games anyway.

I'm think of the older crowd...most seniors are not going to take public transportation in the evening.

[DowntownBooster]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Someone mentioned the one storey building at the end of market. I wouldn’t expect to see any new build residential downtown without a TIF program. There will be conversions but nothing new. I can’t see how the economics would work.

Such a short-sighted decision to end the TIF program. If the goal is to get more residents downtown, why end the program? Density downtown is what we all want. The long-term benefits are worth the investment by government.

[no use for username]

Originally Posted by WpG_GuY

Over the last few years my sump pump started running all year round, right through the winter, caused major problems with freezing water, its rigged up now to pump directly into the sewer.

That's against Winnipeg by-laws.

http://winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/drainageFlooding/lotGrading/sumpPumpDischarge.stm




Q: Why can’t I drain water from my sump pump into my floor drain?

A: Weeping tile water that collects in your sump pit should not go in the sewer system for two reasons:

It increases the risk of basement flooding for you and your neighbours. The sewer system is designed to manage only normal flows of wastewater, not sump pump water.
It prevents unnecessary increases in sewer costs to you, our customer, since it is clean water and does not need to be treated. If you discharge sump pump water to the sewer, it flows to a wastewater treatment plant. This can result in extra wear and tear on equipment, and even require an increase in the size of the plant. We then recover these added treatment costs by increasing the sewer rate.

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by headhorse

developers not making enough money is not a reason to approve bad designs. developers need to be more creative. have ground floor units that are easily convertible between residential and commercial use, depending on demand. they're only putting ground floor parking in these developments because it maximizes profit and the city isn't stopping them. no street downtown should given to developers as a public driveway for their parking garages.

Originally Posted by buzzg

Nailed it.

Well, not really nailed it.

Let's assume that these developers have money, or access to it. There is substantial risk in getting creative because it can drain you. One project, and either your pockets or reputation, or both, are drained. If risk and creativity aren't yielding appropriate returns, they'll go build a sure thing with less risk elsewhere. Or go to a different city and get higher returns for a safer project.

Ground floor residential is not particularly desired in downtown Winnipeg, which hasn't quite shaken its "dodgy neighbourhood" status. Or most urban neighbourhoods. Furthermore, tenants don't go to spaces unless its VERY well designed to their needs. Similarly for residential units. These don't convert well at all and it would cost a lot more to make that flexibility feasible. The compromise isn't a selling feature to the end user.

By all means, this is where creativity is required, but it's never that simple.

Originally Posted by buzzg

They could build this building as is but flip it so the first 2 storeys are commercial and top 2 are parking. Infinitely better. People keep mentioning that there's no market for these commercial spaces, when this is predominantly a commercial building – it's not what's in the building that's the issue, it's where it is in the building.

I'd be willing to bet most tenants would rather be on the first floor than third floor above a parkade anyway.

Retail tenants? Yes. Office? Hard no. Plus it also rents for less, so developers don't have the incentive.

Originally Posted by DowntownBooster

Such a short-sighted decision to end the TIF program. If the goal is to get more residents downtown, why end the program? Density downtown is what we all want. The long-term benefits are worth the investment by government.

Hopefully it's just to temporarily slow the supply down. Maybe it's reactivated in a couple years?

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by no use for username

That's against Winnipeg by-laws.

http://winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/drainageFlooding/lotGrading/sumpPumpDischarge.stm




Q: Why can’t I drain water from my sump pump into my floor drain?

A: Weeping tile water that collects in your sump pit should not go in the sewer system for two reasons:

It increases the risk of basement flooding for you and your neighbours. The sewer system is designed to manage only normal flows of wastewater, not sump pump water.
It prevents unnecessary increases in sewer costs to you, our customer, since it is clean water and does not need to be treated. If you discharge sump pump water to the sewer, it flows to a wastewater treatment plant. This can result in extra wear and tear on equipment, and even require an increase in the size of the plant. We then recover these added treatment costs by increasing the sewer rate.

I know it but there’s no other option it’s safer this way than having it freeze and burst in the winter

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by WpG_GuY

I know it but there’s no other option it’s safer this way than having it freeze and burst in the winter

If you just take the hose off you'd be fine. I have an overflow that runs to the drain which I also shouldn't have.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by dmacc

If you just take the hose off you'd be fine. I have an overflow that runs to the drain which I also shouldn't have.

Without the hose the water has no where to go but back down into the weeping tiles due to snow and ice build up my pump started running every two minutes it was just recycling the water and would have burnt out the pump and I’ve had basement flooding issues due to the high water table, anyhow I have value switches so summer it can run outside and winter inside.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by DowntownBooster

Such a short-sighted decision to end the TIF program. If the goal is to get more residents downtown, why end the program? Density downtown is what we all want. The long-term benefits are worth the investment by government.

Call your MLA.

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Call your MLA.

If the Province has no interest in foregoing the school portion of the property tax to the TIF program, is there any reason the City can't create its own grant program (through CentreVenture, for example) and grant developers $10,000 a door?

[trueviking]

Yes. They can. And might. The issue is that it likely isn’t enough to cover the funding gap to be truly effective. But it might be the only option.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Well, not really nailed it.


Ground floor residential is not particularly desired in downtown Winnipeg, which hasn't quite shaken its "dodgy neighbourhood" status. Or most urban neighbourhoods. Furthermore, tenants don't go to spaces unless its VERY well designed to their needs. Similarly for residential units. These don't convert well at all and it would cost a lot more to make that flexibility feasible. The compromise isn't a selling feature to the end user.

By all means, this is where creativity is required, but it's never that simple.


Retail tenants? Yes. Office? Hard no. Plus it also rents for less, so developers don't have the incentive.

One way to implement ground-level residential units is to design them as townhouses, preferably on a foundation. BUT I think that downtown has a long way to go before we start seeing this kind of development.

[windypeg]

Originally Posted by scryer

One way to implement ground-level residential units is to design them as townhouses, preferably on a foundation. BUT I think that downtown has a long way to go before we start seeing this kind of development.

The townhouse units in 300 Assiniboine are nice and really help the streetscape in my opinion. I'm sure more stuff like that can be done even if townhouses can't work on their own. I'm massively disappointed they cut the townhouse units out of the winter club development.

[Urban recluse]

Not charging the growth fee (permanently) on downtown projects will help.

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Not charging the growth fee (permanently) on downtown projects will help.

I thought the growth fees were only for developments on the outer edge of the city? I didn't know they included the downtown.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by dmacc

I thought the growth fees were only for developments on the outer edge of the city? I didn't know they included the downtown.

Very initial plan was to charge it everywhere. They revised it so that in the phase in period of 3 years it would only apply to new developments, but they would work out on how to apply it beyond the 3 years.

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Very initial plan was to charge it everywhere. They revised it so that in the phase in period of 3 years it would only apply to new developments, but they would work out on how to apply it beyond the 3 years.

That's insane, why tax growth where you want it?

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by scryer

One way to implement ground-level residential units is to design them as townhouses, preferably on a foundation. BUT I think that downtown has a long way to go before we start seeing this kind of development.

Agreed. I actually think that would be a decent location. We're just not there yet. More critically, the developer wants office here so it's a non-starter.

Originally Posted by windypeg

The townhouse units in 300 Assiniboine are nice and really help the streetscape in my opinion. I'm sure more stuff like that can be done even if townhouses can't work on their own. I'm massively disappointed they cut the townhouse units out of the winter club development.

Those look nice indeed, but there is perhaps hesitation for townhomes/ground floor residential in not-quite-gentrified urban centres... all that foot traffic at who knows what hours. For the winter club, I can understand. It's not THAT walkable except for all the transit connections. Usually that's where you get more undesirable pedestrians at obscene hours.

End users usually don't want that kind of company. While Assiniboine isn't exactly the friendliest area, it is a residential area.

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Not charging the growth fee (permanently) on downtown projects will help.

Originally Posted by dmacc

That's insane, why tax growth where you want it?

Stop making sense, Bowman might totally not hear you. It's insane that downtown isn't completely exempt forever.

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

Not charging the growth fee (permanently) on downtown projects will help.

I agree. That was really a head scratcher. Maybe politically they wanted to deal with one controversial policy at a time? Who knows..

[robertocarlos]

The hotel bars continue to be a source of problems downtown. When they close at 2am the trouble starts. They've even used crowbars on the doors to break into buildings.