Winnipeg | 300 Main St.- Phase II 360 Main St. | 465 Ft | 42F | Completed

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by Biff

Looks "glassier" than the original renders.

Amazing that a couple of years ago with the new energy code that came in we were moaning that we would likely never see another glass building in Winnipeg after Glasshouse.....390 on the River, 360 Main, 300 Main, TNS 1 & 2, Richardson Innovation Centre, Hyatt Place, RRC Innovation Centre, Smartpark Innovation Hub.

Well, that statement requires a big asterisk. I think 390 was in well before the new energy code, RRC has money and funding that private corps don't, and Richardson probably got that too, TNS and 300 were big beneficiaries of grant programs now dead, plus 300 Main had an existing foundation.

I've heard, however, that 300 has an absurdly high end curtain wall. Guaranteed this wouldn't happen without helping factors above.

As far as Glasshouse, they've experienced tons of problems with window wall.

300 Assiniboine... well, they committed to reducing glass.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Well, that statement requires a big asterisk. I think 390 was in well before the new energy code, RRC has money and funding that private corps don't, and Richardson probably got that too, TNS and 300 were big beneficiaries of grant programs now dead, plus 300 Main had an existing foundation.

I've heard, however, that 300 has an absurdly high end curtain wall. Guaranteed this wouldn't happen without helping factors above.

As far as Glasshouse, they've experienced tons of problems with window wall.

300 Assiniboine... well, they committed to reducing glass.

Any idea what’s going on at the top of 300 main? Can we expect some signature lighting?

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Well, that statement requires a big asterisk. I think 390 was in well before the new energy code, RRC has money and funding that private corps don't, and Richardson probably got that too, TNS and 300 were big beneficiaries of grant programs now dead, plus 300 Main had an existing foundation.

I've heard, however, that 300 has an absurdly high end curtain wall. Guaranteed this wouldn't happen without helping factors above.

As far as Glasshouse, they've experienced tons of problems with window wall.

300 Assiniboine... well, they committed to reducing glass.

What sort of problems?

[1ajs]

prolly the wrong panels for our climate were orderd

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by buzzg

There is a big mobile crane on Main right now loading some giant beams onto the roof of WS right now... is it possibly the crane is being fastened to the roof?

Originally Posted by drew

It's being supported off of existing columns.

Originally Posted by buzzg

Ah, so not going on Graham anymore?

Originally Posted by drew

along graham, on the building, not on the street

Reading back on this article says crane is going on the roof as drew mentioned
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/goodnews/ready-set-go-for-downtown-tower-416191744.html

"They have just finalized all of the engineering (plans) for how to deal with all of the ducting and ventilation for the food court tenants," Sherlock said. "It was a very complicated feat of engineering."

He said the engineers had to figure out the design for the podium portion of the new tower, which will house the lobby and likely a restaurant and other amenities.

They had to figure out where to place the overhead crane that will be used during the construction phase.

It will be placed on top of the elevator shaft that had been installed for one of the office towers that was never built.

"It’s a lot more complicated when you’re building over an occupied building, as opposed to just starting from scratch," Sherlock said.

"But on the plus side, we don’t have to build a parkade... and the columns and elevator shafts are there already. We’re really starting above grade on the construction, so once it gets going, it will go fast."

[OTA in Winnipeg]

^^^Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

Yeah. I can appreciate why Artis had a tough time with drawing in a grocer as an anchor tenant. If you're courting someone like Sobeys, well they also own the Safeway brand so it would be dividing up their current standing businesses. No doubt those 3 safeway locations supply some downtown population on top of the adjacent populations as mentioned.

Also, the area Edmonton defines as downtown is smaller than what Winnipeg defines as downtown, and some of Winnipeg's downtown population would be closer to these other grocer locations than they would be to P&M, so the effective local core population being served by a central downtown grocer may be much smaller than ~17k

(...that just means we need a few more of these 300 main towers )

Well as regards spots to put up the residential necessary to support downtown grocery, there is not lack suitable sites to build up the critical mass within walking distance.

[IMG]https://flic.kr/p/25GLWbS][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/25GLWbS]grocery store critical mass[/IMG]

The red are lots that are open (except for the St Regis, which could be redeveloped, and the Curry Building, which would be an awesome podium for a mixed use development). The yellow ones are lots that are currently undergoing development, including the Hyatt project at 138 Portage. The white circle just represents what would be a pretty reasonable walking radius, although I think that the on the whole it would be pretty easy to get to a Portage and Main location from any of the lots pictured.

And as far as ordering stuff online goes, that's ok for some things, but I would honestly prefer going to a physical store and browsing the stuff myself. Otherwise you really can't control for freshness or quality or any of the other myriad variables in play when it comes to shopping. There really is no substitute for seeing and smelling and handling produce for example in person. You can only do so much online without seeing the goods in real life. I also find it easier to compare two products that are in front of me than to try and tease out the differences on a computer, especially when it comes to food.

[buzzg]

The points you raise about shopping for groceries online are fair, however with most of these developments, they generally now target "young professionals" and millennials, and by the time more get built these people will be of an even younger generation – who are growing up shopping online.

I have never had an issue with any produce ordering online – every item you buy you can leave notes (green bananas, ripe avocados, etc) and it's real people (trained) who pick out stuff for you. I often find I get better stuff by ordering online from Superstore because they get the orders together early when selection is best (my location always runs out of cilantro by the end of the day!!!). Your point about comparing items is true, but most people don't order 10 of something the first time they try it – you can still get something you don't like shopping in-store.

At some point you make a trade off and say "I can free up an hour by ordering online" and that is likely worth the "risk" for many people. Especially young ones. If you bus or walk to get groceries, you could be saving much more than an hour, especially on weekends.

[1ajs]

one red area u got is a electrical substation now

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

Any idea what’s going on at the top of 300 main? Can we expect some signature lighting?

Shit, I hope so. I hadn't heard anything nor have I asked anyone about that in a while.

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

What sort of problems?

Weatherproofing. It's more difficult to get a good seal on hollowcore floor slabs with window wall due to their camber. Better suited for concrete rather than structural steel buildings.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by esquire

That will be a factor in how viable a grocery store is.

Downtown Winnipeg could have the highest per household income in all of Canada and a downtown grocery store is still not going to happen.

People need to adjust their thinking. Bricks and mortar retail is dying across all sectors and the lower the margins the harder it is to spin a business case on opening a new location. There are few segments with lower margins than groceries which is why that segment is all about extreme volumes.

[esquire]

^ Let's face it, downtown Winnipeg retailers also have to deal with substantial losses from theft. When every week you see crimestoppers featuring someone who pushed a shopping cart full of meat and cheese out of a store without paying for it, you know it would get messy fast in a downtown supermarket. That can't help when you're already dealing with razor-thin margins.

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by CoryB

Downtown Winnipeg could have the highest per household income in all of Canada and a downtown grocery store is still not going to happen.

People need to adjust their thinking. Bricks and mortar retail is dying across all sectors and the lower the margins the harder it is to spin a business case on opening a new location. There are few segments with lower margins than groceries which is why that segment is all about extreme volumes.

I'm surprised new buildings in the Exchange aren't doing more to build grocery delivery into their designs (e.g., cold storage facilities in lobby). Seems like it would make an easy answer to the usual question.

"Hey, is there a grocery store nearby?"
"No. But you can order your groceries online, and they can be left in the lobby's cold storage for you to pick up when you get home from work."

There are some buildings in larger cities that have started to do this. The usual reason people aren't willing to rely on delivery and forgo a close-by grocery store is that it's a little fussy because you have to be home at the right time.

[windypeg]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Let's face it, downtown Winnipeg retailers also have to deal with substantial losses from theft. When every week you see crimestoppers featuring someone who pushed a shopping cart full of meat and cheese out of a store without paying for it, you know it would get messy fast in a downtown supermarket. That can't help when you're already dealing with razor-thin margins.

I used to shake my head a bit when people would talk about "food deserts" in the inner city and basically just insist that the big bad grocery corporations didn't care about poor people. Like maybe point the finger at certain residents who make a habit out of robbing businesses blind instead of blaming the retailers themselves for being victimized and not wanting to put up with it anymore.

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Let's face it, downtown Winnipeg retailers also have to deal with substantial losses from theft. When every week you see crimestoppers featuring someone who pushed a shopping cart full of meat and cheese out of a store without paying for it, you know it would get messy fast in a downtown supermarket. That can't help when you're already dealing with razor-thin margins.

Every city has theft.

But what we need is people. The added presence of people, simply more eyes everywhere on anything, reduces this.

But for 300, I doubt security had anything to do with it.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Every city has theft.

But what we need is people. The added presence of people, simply more eyes everywhere on anything, reduces this.

But for 300, I doubt security had anything to do with it.

There is no way it wasn't part of the equation. Lack of people living in the area + higher than average shrink does not build much of a case for a grocery store. And hey, if I'm wrong then where's the grocery store?

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Wolf13

Every city has theft.

But what we need is people. The added presence of people, simply more eyes everywhere on anything, reduces this.

But for 300, I doubt security had anything to do with it.

There is no way it wasn't part of the equation. Lack of people living in the area + higher than average shrink does not build much of a case for a grocery store.

Both of you are right on these particular points. They're both factors.

True North Square will hopefully help change this. We shall see though because if TNS is all foreign owners or speculators then we won't see a difference. TNS is significant enough of a development to inject a small amount of life back into downtown..... Nevermind attempting to introduce a different demographic to a challenging area.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by scryer

Both of you are right on these particular points. They're both factors.

True North Square will hopefully help change this. We shall see though because if TNS is all foreign owners or speculators then we won't see a difference. TNS is significant enough of a development to inject a small amount of life back into downtown..... Nevermind attempting to introduce a different demographic to a challenging area.

TNS is a rental apartment building so where would foreign ownership come from?

[robertocarlos]

Where is the crane? Would you believe the project won't be finished until 2021? It's true.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by robertocarlos

Where is the crane? Would you believe the project won't be finished until 2021? It's true.

Not too shocking, the first tower of TNS will have taken a little over 2.5 years from groundbreaking to occupancy. So Jan. 1 2021 would represent a similar length of time. I suppose whatever ground is gained by the presence of an existing foundation is offset by the fact that this building will be almost double the height.