Winnipeg | Downtown | True North Square | U/C

[buzzg]

I'm excited to see how it all lights up at night.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I'm excited to see how it all lights up at night.

I don't think there is much of a lighting component to the buildings themselves, if at all.

[DancingDuck]

The fireworks will light everything up

[Wpg_Guy]

This is such an awesome view from IG building.


Amanda Parker (@amandahoplock) on Instagram: • Looking up Portage Avenue

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Andy6

It's a challenge leasing what they've got ... the equivalent of three more TDS's would ba little hard to find. Plus the elevator core would then need to be expanded so the leasable space would go down significantly.

For sure, it's hard to argue with what they've built from a market perspective. I'm only referring to the building's overall proportions.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by esquire

For sure, it's hard to argue with what they've built from a market perspective. I'm only referring to the building's overall proportions.

True -- it would be interesting to see how much twistier it would have been had it had another 10-15 floors. On the whole, I guess I'm not as enthralled with these humungous buildings given that they are spreading like dandelions in Toronto and are generally so overwhelming and ugly. I like the size of Winnipeg's buildings; it's a much nicer scale in my opinion.

[buzzg]

It's crazy how much the "fins" make the centre wall look as though it's kind of carved out of the building. Like the north and east walls of Tower 1 look completely different from that angle, when really the fins are the only different.

[Wpg_Guy]

More
242 Hargrave is now officially open! We look forward to welcoming tenants, including @TDSLaw, and visitors into this beautiful space. #truenorthsquare


@TDSLaw
We are the first tenant to move into the city’s newest office tower True North Square today!








Myk Shane (@myktacular) on Instagram: “The view from True North Square

FIRST TENANT MOVES INTO TRUE NORTH SQUARE – TDS TAKES TOP THREE FLOORS
Winnipeg, July 23 2018 – Winnipeg’s leading independent law firm is the first tenant to move into the city’s newest office tower True North Square this week, with a 360-degree view of Winnipeg.

Thompson Dorfman Sweatman (TDS), the official law firm of the Winnipeg Jets, is making the move from its 28-year home at Portage and Main because it believes the new True North Square is the most important downtown development in Winnipeg in a generation, says TDS CEO and Managing Partner, Keith LaBossiere.

“We know that by collaborating with True North and other partners, we are part of a once-in-a-lifetime project for downtown Winnipeg. At TDS we’ve had a long history of investing in our downtown. We can see that Winnipeg has gained a new sense of confidence and energy that extends throughout the downtown, which is no longer defined by one intersection. We know that the next generation of lawyers at our firm wants to continue that legacy by investing in downtown and True North Square”, LaBossiere said today from the 17th floor of True North Square.

“Being a proudly local firm based in Manitoba, allows us to be free to make good decisions that are focused on the community where we live and where our clients live”, LaBossiere added.

TDS lived up to that promise when it hired local technology firms to outfit its new office, and a local architecture firm to do the interior design with furniture that was locally sourced. Manitoba Tyndall stone is featured in the reception area and a new TDS brand, videos and refreshed web site were created by local marketing firms. A large brass gate in the lobby created by local blacksmiths includes a design that spells out TDS in Morse Code.

Suspiciously absent from TDS’s new state-of-the-art law office are the usual walls of law books, replaced by the latest and best technology and highly efficient meeting rooms for collaborative teamwork.

“An office with more meeting space frees our people up to be better leaders and collaborators. We are also very proud that every day our clients and staff will be inspired by made-in-Manitoba art all around them, including Indigenous art and pieces from the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit collection”, LaBossiere added.

As TDS prepared to move from the old offices, it auctioned off older art and donated those proceeds to ArtCity, which teaches art to youth in the West Broadway neighbourhood. Office supplies and dishes that were not moved to True North Square were donated to the Salvation Army.

TDS FACTS

Head office in Winnipeg
The largest geographic reach in Manitoba, including eight other offices in Boissevain, Brandon, Gladstone, MacGregor, Morden, Portage la Prairie, Steinbach and Winkler.
130 years as Winnipeg’s leading independent law firm.
25 areas of legal practice, from litigation, labour and employment law and all forms of advocacy to corporate and commercial law, taxation and estate planning and Indigenous and environmental law.
Almost 100 lawyers and over 120 support staff with services in six languages.
TDS is the exclusive Manitoba law firm (and a founding member) of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading network of independent law firms, with in-depth experience in 100+ countries worldwide.
TDS is the only law firm in Manitoba to offer corporate development services, which are offered through their strategic partner, Acumen.
Each year TDS contributes over $250,000, supporting more than 100 community initiatives.
TDS lawyers contribute hundreds of hours volunteering their expertise pro bono.

TRUE NORTH SQUARE FACTS

True North Square is a cutting-edge mixed-use development that, upon completion, will feature four towers, one million square feet of office, hotel, residential, retail, parking and public plaza space, creating a new dynamic epicentre for Winnipeg’s downtown.
True North Square will house offices for up to 1,500 workers, 288 hotel suites and 324 rental apartments and condominiums.
242 Hargrave, where TDS occupies the top three floors, is the first privately-developed office tower built in downtown Winnipeg since 1990 and is 365,000 square feet.
Over 50 percent of 242 Hargrave is now leased and confirmed tenants include Scotiabank, MNP, and a number of retail tenants that will form part of an exciting, unique food hall concept.
The apartment building at True North Square, 225 Carlton, will be ready for renters in the spring of 2019.
Sutton Place Hotel and Residences is expected to be completed in 2021.
The plaza and surrounding streets have been designed to accommodate a host of exciting public events, including potential Winnipeg Jets Street Parties.

[Wpg_Guy]

i really hate olives tho (@olivee.tree) on Instagram

[roccerfeller]

Loving those angles. Has anyone walked through that area? How does it feel?

Originally Posted by esquire

^ As with Manitoba Hydro Place, another 10 storeys would have gone a long way.

Yep, agreed. If Winnipeg's downtown was smaller in area, and there was less of a suburban office culture, I'm sure that would change the dynamics of how tall buildings got. Among other things, that are beyond my knowledge - (but someone like Wolf13 would know haha)

Originally Posted by Andy6

It's a challenge leasing what they've got ... the equivalent of three more TDS's would be a little hard to find. Plus the elevator core would then need to be expanded so the leasable space would go down significantly.

I spoke to someone recently who works for Man Hydro, who said it should have been several more stories taller because "space is cramped in there"

If the leasable space went down because of an expanded elevator core, wouldn't that simply mean more stories = more space?

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by roccerfeller

If the leasable space went down because of an expanded elevator core, wouldn't that simply mean more stories = more space?

Higher cost per unit of leasable space, so already top-of-the-market rents (from what I understand) would need to be even higher.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

This is such an awesome view from IG building.


Amanda Parker (@amandahoplock) on Instagram: • Looking up Portage Avenue

To me, that is a very nice size of city. A nice mix of everything but not so big as to be alienating.

[Wpg_Guy]

Lawyered up
135-year-old law firm moves into top three floors of True North Square
By: Martin Cash | Posted: 07/23/2018 7:00 PM
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman (TDS) has moved into its new space on the top three floors of True North Square instantly transforming a 135-year-old firm into one of the most modern in town.

Not only does it get bragging rights being the anchor tenant in the first new office building in downtown Winnipeg in 25 years but TDS partners were determined to make the investment reflect their commitment to the community.

Keith LaBossiere, the managing partner and CEO of TDS said, "When we came we knew we wanted to do two things — we wanted to change the way we work, so we made sure we had state-of-the-art facilities and equipment and we wanted to make sure we invest in the community."

The community investment in the new office space starts with paintings and sculptures from Manitoba artists lavished throughout the space. Entering the light-filled reception area people see Carole Freeman’s 137 by 183 centimetre painting, 40 Below, a quintessential Manitoba image of a young child seriously bundled up, with only her happy eyes visible, skating on a frozen lake.

Although the firm spent $14 million on the move, partner Allan Fineblit said there was conscious care taken not to overspend — and not to appear to have overspent.

"We wanted it to be state-of-the art and we wanted it to Manitoba-focused but we also didn’t want clients to walk in here and say ‘Wow. I wonder how much it’s going to cost me as a client in terms of my fees?’ " Fineblit said. "We had a strict budget when we started. We made choices all along the way."

The firm chose to do a re-think in leaving its former Portage and Main digs where it had been for 28 years, to make the transition into the digital era. Among other things, TDS has gone almost completely paper-free. The new space, which is physically slightly smaller than its former location, needs only one wall of space to house its library that formerly occupied two floors of space.

"The space is so beautiful, the last thing we wanted to do was clutter it up with paper," LaBossiere said. "I carry an iPad Pro with all the documents I need. We are outfitting our lawyers with the technology that allows them to access paper as if they were holding the binders in their hands. We got rid of so much paper."

Also gone is the traditional opulent corner office for the senior partners. Instead, all 90 TDS lawyers will have offices that are exactly the same size. But having said that, not all of them will feature windows with dazzling views of the city from the 15th, 16th and 17th floors. However, all members of the firm, including the 30 support staff, will be able to enjoy a new in-house cafe linked by an interior staircase that designers believe will encourage more collaboration.

The Manitoba art in the space includes a functional gate by the artisan blacksmiths at Cloverdale Forge, and another Freeman piece hung in the firm’s boardroom that can be walled off into three separate spaces, called Something About Winnipeg, an oil painting depicting narratives of the city’s history at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers.

Jeff Hirsch, the partner who worked with curators to put the art collection together, is especially proud of a two dimensional bison, made of tin and found objects from Metis artist Candice Lipischak’s property in Otterburne.

"It sort of tells the story of what the firm is trying accomplish by supporting local artists," Hirsch said.

TDS is the first tenant in the 365,000-square-foot building. Scotiabank and the accounting firm, MNP, will start work in the coming weeks to fit out their new offices. Those three tenants will account for about 50 per cent of the leaseable space in the building.

Courtsey of Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/lawyered-up-488944051.html

[Wpg_Guy]

The True North Square complex nears completion as the first of its tenants - Thompson Dorfman Sweatman law firm - moves into the top floor of the 17 storey office building in Winnipeg on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun


The view of the lobby of the newly completed 17-storey True North Square office building in Winnipeg on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun


The view looking up the towering 17-storey True North Square office building is the newest addition to Winnipeg's skyline on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun


Construction continues on the residential building of the nearly completed True North Square in Winnipeg on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun


The view of Winnipeg's skyline surrounding Portage Avenue and Main Street from the top floor of the 17-storey True North Square office building in Winnipeg on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun


The view across Winnipeg from the top floor of the 17-storey True North Square office building in Winnipeg on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun


The view of the lobby of the newly completed Thompson Dorfman Sweatman law firm on the top floor of the 17-storey True North Square office building in Winnipeg on July 23, 2018. Danton Unger/Winnipeg Sun
https://winnipegsun.com/gallery/a-look-i...al&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1532380773

[BigG]

Wow, the picture of Tower 2 (forth last) is trippy. At first glance it seems like it was taken with a fishbowl filter, but looking at it further, that's the actual view. It's surreal - love it.

[The Unknown Poster]

If things are really cramped in the Hydro building Im sure True North would be happy to lease them some space across the way!

[esquire]

Someone mentioned how close the two towers are and from certain angles you can really see it... if you are in a south-facing apartment closer to the east end of the building, it looks like parts of your apartment would be extremely visible to people in the nearby offices. Maybe it's something you'd get used to after a couple of days but it seems like the kind of thing that would be weird for the first little while.

Also, I chuckled at the TDS guy's comment about wanting offices that are nice but not too opulent so as not to make their clients ill at ease. Make it nice, but not too nice!

[esquire]

Originally Posted by The Unknown Poster

If things are really cramped in the Hydro building Im sure True North would be happy to lease them some space across the way!

I remember getting a tour of MH Place not long after it first opened... things did not seem cramped in there at the time although from what I heard from a friend who works there, many staff (including my friend) have since been moved downtown from the Taylor Avenue site.

[Ale_Hawerchuk]

Have they taken down the construction camera?

[BigG]