Winnipeg Construction X

[Luisito]

Looks good to me. Hope this project goes through. I would like to see more projects like this in the area. I would like to see Chinatown get some revitalization. When they knocked down the shanghia building I thought they were going to replace it with something else. Chinatown is slowly fading away.

[pspeid]

I believe the purpose of the project may have an influence on the aesthetic considerations of the design. I believe it is an attempt to address some of the homelessness in the area, a goal that should receive broad support IMO.

I hate to suggest this, but it is perhaps easier to get the go-ahead for a project like this when the design is more functional than anything else. A functional design would lower the cost over a more elaborate one, and would help deflect some criticism from the contingent that believes homeless people somehow don't "deserve" an attractive place to live (let alone "deserve" housing of any kind).

I don't agree with this opinion, but I think it's certainly out there.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by Luisito

Looks good to me. Hope this project goes through. I would like to see more projects like this in the area. I would like to see Chinatown get some revitalization. When they knocked down the shanghia building I thought they were going to replace it with something else. Chinatown is slowly fading away.

Chinatown is disjointed. Dynasty & Mandarin building and foot bridge, many empty spots, lots, then @ Logan it picks up again with the enclosed mall at the end. It has potential but it desperately needs some incentives as in 1980's to start some momentum. We were promised the Shanghai lot would get a seniors centre with CRU's on the King Street side. Well ,we are waiting.I know there was a rendering out less than a year ago...suggesting what it could look like but nothing so far.

[buzzg]

The McLaren proposal is fantastic – sure it's not an award winner, but by keeping it simple and putting in lots of glass they could get a very nice building for a modest budget. Love it if it's real haha.

Chinatown's time is just around the corner. Market Lands will be a game changer as it will connect Chinatown and the Exchange way more, where PSB used to divide them. There is a neighbourhood plan now, so it's only a matter of time before development pushes north. I think we'll see lots of change there in 5-10 years. RRC will help.

[Wpg_Guy]

Chinatown falls under the downtown BIZ, not The Exchange BIZ, this disjointedness doesn't help it's plight it's become a forgotten zone. For example the McLaren is actually in the downtown BIZ.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by esquire

Looks great, but my brain just cannot process the idea that someone will build that kind of an expansion to the McLaren Hotel. This is the ultimate "I'll believe it when I see it" proposal.

I agree. I can’t imagine government supported housing having a full curtain wall facade but it sure would be great to see something built there.

The rendering looks simplistic for some reason.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I agree. I can’t imagine government supported housing having a full curtain wall facade but it sure would be great to see something built there.

The rendering looks simplistic for some reason.

A solid brick wall on the three other sides.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

A solid brick wall on the three other sides.

It has to be, you can't put windows on the sides when there's no space between buildings. Maybe one day that RBC site will be prime for a new tower.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

It has to be, you can't put windows on the sides when there's no space between buildings. Maybe one day that RBC site will be prime for a new tower.

I occasionally wonder how much longer that RBC will be around... I think they've cut their hours/days of operation back over the years, and it never seems that busy inside. With another branch a few blocks away at Portage and Main I get the feeling that its days may be numbered.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by esquire

I occasionally wonder how much longer that RBC will be around... I think they've cut their hours/days of operation back over the years, and it never seems that busy inside. With another branch a few blocks away at Portage and Main I get the feeling that its days may be numbered.

Not sure whats going on at that branch but coming home from work a few days ago I notice that most of the windows were covered with plywood. People going around smashing glass again?

[bomberjet]

The McLaren project would be great.

Wasn't there a concept plan for Chinatown recently that would aim to focus development on King and Princess?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by cllew

Not sure whats going on at that branch but coming home from work a few days ago I notice that most of the windows were covered with plywood. People going around smashing glass again?

There has been a lot of plywood on that branch in the last year or so. The constant headache of replacing plate glass is an annoyance I'm sure.

On that note, one thing I have noticed while abroad is that roll-down security shutters are a common thing in many places. Even in posh districts, businesses often roll down the shutters at closing time. By contrast, you don't really see much of that in Winnipeg. I know it doesn't look awesome but I wonder if a place like that RBC wouldn't be better off dropping 10 or 20 grand on roll-down shutters and never have to fix a broken window again?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

The McLaren project would be great.

Wasn't there a concept plan for Chinatown recently that would aim to focus development on King and Princess?

When you look at development trends in the area, it does seem to me that Chinatown has run out of gas. The only things really keeping it going are the couple of big apartment blocks for Chinese residents and a few restaurants. In the last 25 years the only new Chinatown buildings to go up are the Peace Tower residential block and the bakery on Alexander. The more recent waves of people from China are concentrated in the south end of town around the U of M and Waverley West.

I'm not sure at this point that I'd really put much of an effort into Chinatown other than as a matter of historical interest... it just doesn't have the critical mass necessary to keep on going. If the area is going to grow, it will probably be as a northern extension of the Exchange District, not because Chinatown will somehow be revitalized.

[drew]

^ The re-development along Princess is finally reaching the Chinatown area, so that will help give it a bit of a boost in the near future.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by cllew

Not sure whats going on at that branch but coming home from work a few days ago I notice that most of the windows were covered with plywood. People going around smashing glass again?

North Main is a disaster for broken windows right now.. 3/4 of the windows on the RBC branch, the new Main Street Project building has a huge window smashed already, Thunderbird House has a couple broken windows, the advertising kiosk by the Salvation army is all smashed and boarded up, etc. I don't know if it was due to construction or not, but the whole north side of RRC along Elgin was boarded up not long ago as well. My uncle's car shop had all his front windows smashed on Higgins this summer.. all the bus shacks at St. Mary's and Marion were smashed out last week.... I agree, the security shutters don't look good, but we're not some small, idyllic village. I think the city or the downtown/exchange biz should give a grant for the installation of these shutters. The downtown biz has said it is a major ongoing problem when I chatted with one of the members recently.

[esquire]

^ That is consistent with what I've been seeing. It looks like there has been more smashed glass over the last couple of years, with the effect being especially pronounced in some of the "rougher" parts.

I'm a little surprised that some businesses dealing with constant glass breakage like the RBC on Main didn't just install securit shutters years ago... how is constantly paying for glass replacement better than just dropping a few grand to eliminate the problem for good?

[OTA in Winnipeg]

^Meth

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by drew

^ The re-development along Princess is finally reaching the Chinatown area, so that will help give it a bit of a boost in the near future.

Who is the developer of the property at Logan/Princess?

[oftheMoon]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

^Meth

meth rage. Anecdotal observation that the number of broken windows have gone up with increased meth use over past couple years.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by Jeff

North Main is a disaster for broken windows right now.. 3/4 of the windows on the RBC branch, the new Main Street Project building has a huge window smashed already, Thunderbird House has a couple broken windows, the advertising kiosk by the Salvation army is all smashed and boarded up, etc. I don't know if it was due to construction or not, but the whole north side of RRC along Elgin was boarded up not long ago as well. My uncle's car shop had all his front windows smashed on Higgins this summer.. all the bus shacks at St. Mary's and Marion were smashed out last week.... I agree, the security shutters don't look good, but we're not some small, idyllic village. I think the city or the downtown/exchange biz should give a grant for the installation of these shutters. The downtown biz has said it is a major ongoing problem when I chatted with one of the members recently.

I guess that's why Colleen Munro sort of shrunk the family heavy construction business and went into the "rock glass" distribution business.