^ I remember visiting that museum about 20 years ago... I loved it. At that time Brooklyn felt like a bit of an afterthought relative to Manhattan, there weren't any marquee-type developments going on around there. It's interesting to see how it's taken off over the last decade or so. Never thought I'd see the day where there would be a luxury supertall going up there... what's next, one in Newark?!
My wishful thinking post above about the buildings in Brooklyn, Amsterdam and Minneapolis got me thinking last night.
If you were able to develop a site by best choice of locations left in downtown, where would you build Winnipeg's new tallest? Groupings with other buildings, stand alone? When I mean new tallest, I am thinking about a 600-700 ft building. To me a tall building starts around 600 ft and is doable with the right developer in Winnipeg.
There is the wasteland on Graham (SkyCity area), Donald from St Mary south, somewhere around TNS (Kind of tight now), the lots around Shaw Park, the triangle lot across from the Burt, building on top of the Curry Building near P&M? It's wide open.
I think mine would be NW corner of Portage Ave E and Westbrook. The surface lots that the Richardson's own would be a great spot and one that would pretty much remain un-obstructed for decades.
I had thought of that, but I wasn't quite sure how a 600ish ft building right against the exchange would look. I guess it is no that different from my choice and would essentially have a protected view for ever.
I know it won't be popular, but I would love the tallest at NW Broadway and Main to be a bookend for the area with Portage and Main at the other end causing a lot of development finally on that stretch of Main Street. Too bad it's far away from the skywalk system, otherwise it would be a slam dunk for me.
My answer depends somewhat based on the hypothetical tower's use.
If it's predominantly offices (even if there is a residential or hotel component) then I'd say on Main next to 201 Portage. Mainly because it would fill in the tooth that's been missing for nearly a half century, and it would bolster P&M's critical mass as the commercial hub of Winnipeg. It would make the corner more of a showpiece and possibly even encourage better uses for some of the historic buildings on Main which are slumming it right now (La Carnita, Millennium Centre, 441) to some extent by reducing their isolation from the corner and its activity.
If it's mainly residential, then I'd say on Main where Earls is. I always thought that would be a perfect place for a showpiece residential tower. The suites to the east would have a soaring view that would not be blocked by any kind of tall construction nearby, and it would be close enough to 300 Main to hopefully nurture some more activity in the in-between stretch of Main. It would also make for an improved skyline with a bit more of a Central Park West kind of vibe for The Forks.
The bottom line is that I would personally prefer to see skyscraper development a bit closer to the P&M cluster. I would not really want to see a 600+ ft tower at Portage and Kennedy, let's say.
I'd go Portage at Westbrook, NW of the intersection. Need to start pushing the core east in preparation of our next NHL arena being built on Shaw Park lands in 25-40 years from now
In my opinion the worst empty space in Winnipeg is the 416 Main lot, but I'd rather see something in the 15-20 floor range on that lot - half the height of 201 Portage would be good. I'd like to see something tall on one or both of the Graham lots - the Skycity area. For south Main - around the Earls lot and down to Broadway, I'd be happy with 2-3 20 floor towers with mid-rise podiums.
I'd rather not have really tall buildings right up against the Exchange, but I think tall towers along Pioneer would be really cool. Something tall-ish on Portage E would be nice too if it transitioned down to Lombard.
If you were able to develop a site by best choice of locations left in downtown, where would you build Winnipeg's new tallest?
Portage Ave. South side between Sherbroke and Maryland. Just clear all the — off that block and make a nice statement piece on the west end of downtown.
Just for fun I did a really quick, simplistic mock up of 3 basic locations. There is no science behind any of this. I just guessed at the heights and I have no idea how to layer an image so they kind of float, but you get the idea.
You can do whatever you want. My point was within reason, what a developer would really do. Surface lots make the most sense followed by low rise buildings. Even if you wanted the new tallest on the Bell/MTS site, no developer would tear down the existing tower.
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