Winnipeg Construction X

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by zalf

https://globalnews.ca/news/7883446/winnipeg-pollard-family-donation-micro-suite-apartment-homeless/

Pollard family is moving forward with their housing-first apartments for homeless Winnipeggers. Construction is supposed to start this summer at 390 Ross.

This is the best news I've heard in days. I can't praise the Pollard's enough for initiating this fantastic project. Based on what i've read it's exactly what homeless people in the city need. Let's hope other public-spirited Winnipeggers step forward with similar projects.

[buzzg]

They also offered to re-home everyone that lived in the Winnipeg Hotel when they bought it (and did for all that wanted it). While they’re no longer involved in the Beer Can, the BC guys did the same thing with all the homeless living near the river by the Granite. Worked with them to clean up the area and offered to help them get shelter if they wanted.

[davequanbury]

While we're on the Pollard love train I'll add that if more building owners shared their attitude towards 'reanimating' the Fortune Block, downtown would be a much better place.

Here is an example, a certain arts organization went through a process of looking for anew space and visited several buildings with vacancies in the exchange/downtown. Some of those spaces were asking rents that were higher than the organization could justify, that's fine, but those spaces were vacant then and they are all still vacant now.

Compare that to The Fortune Block, the Pollard's priority is the 'reanimate' the space, and through that lens they recently let the U of W radio station set up a satellite studio in one of their unrented ground floor commercial units. The station is occupying the space rent-free with a simple short lease that, once expired, puts them on a month-to-month agreement. As soon as a paying tenant presents itself, the radio station has to move (potentially to a different unoccupied space in the building)

This flexibility, willingness, and generosity contributes to a ton of people thinking the Pollards are awesome, it also means CKUW can actually broadcast while their volunteers are locked out of U of W campus. Most importantly, the Fortune Building is actually being used and, I would hazard a guess that this will make the building more attractive to a potential renter for the CKUW space. It seems like a win win situation.

Compare that to folks like the Bedfords, whose lens is simply to get as much dough as possible for a space. No creative thinking, no willingness to let an arts organization 'borrow' the space in the interim. No real desire to 'reanimate' the space.

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by davequanbury

Here is an example, a certain arts organization went through a process of looking for anew space and visited several buildings with vacancies in the exchange/downtown. Some of those spaces were asking rents that were higher than the organization could justify, that's fine, but those spaces were vacant then and they are all still vacant now.

So what's the story with this? These landlords like to keep units vacant just so they can, what, deduct inflated carrying costs?

Like, the Albert St Parkade: Those CRUs have been vacant since the thing was built in 1990, haven't they? I mean, how do they convince the CRA they haven't been able to find suitable tenants for THIRTY years?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

Like, the Albert St Parkade: Those CRUs have been vacant since the thing was built in 1990, haven't they? I mean, how do they convince the CRA they haven't been able to find suitable tenants for THIRTY years?

Wasn't there a gym in there for the longest time?

I take your point, though. There are definitely a lot of buildings with storefront spaces that have been vacant for years if not decades. Bedford's buildings are a great example. Same with the Kensington Building. There are others.

[peg]

Lots of progress on the RWB expansion. I walk by it quite a bit, so I snagged some pictures yesterday. It looks like it's getting a bit taller too!

[buzzg]

It's still insane to me that there's been no announcement about this given it's such a public facing (and funded) organization.

[esquire]

Looks awesome. Nice to see the below the radar growth on that street.

[BAKGUY]

So, Winnipeg is a bit larger, population growing a bit faster than Quebec city. Can we not find the will & investors to pull off something similar here? We need to show the world who we are. There must be some investors willing to do this here.
https://globalnews.ca/news/1837013/quebe...stment%20project,Groupe%20Dallaire%20Inc 65 floor tower surrounded by several about 1/2 that height. Yes, TNS is fine but we need something like this next.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by BAKGUY

So, Winnipeg is a bit larger, population growing a bit faster than Quebec city. Can we not find the will & investors to pull off something similar here? We need to show the world who we are. There must be some investors willing to do this here.
https://globalnews.ca/news/1837013/quebe...stment%20project,Groupe%20Dallaire%20Inc 65 floor tower surrounded by several about 1/2 that height. Yes, TNS is fine but we need something like this next.

Yeah I mean unfortunately that project hasn't been built yet. There's a more recent iteration but I'm not sure it'll survive. There obviously has to be a market to justify projects but I would also be pretty happy if something along those lines were proposed here. I'm just not sure the market justifies it here

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by esquire

It's interesting looking at that site on Ross through Google Streetview... there are hardly any older homes around there. It looks like it's all post-1970s infill construction. It's a relatively new looking block considering it's probably one of the oldest streets in the city.

That area between Ross and Pacific was railway tracks for the Midland Railway until the early '80s.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by BAKGUY

So, Winnipeg is a bit larger, population growing a bit faster than Quebec city. Can we not find the will & investors to pull off something similar here? We need to show the world who we are. There must be some investors willing to do this here.
https://globalnews.ca/news/1837013/quebe...stment%20project,Groupe%20Dallaire%20Inc 65 floor tower surrounded by several about 1/2 that height. Yes, TNS is fine but we need something like this next.

Did you see the date of this article? It's from 2015. The project was supposed to start in 2016. It never happened.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by cheswick

Did you see the date of this article? It's from 2015. The project was supposed to start in 2016. It never happened.

Yes, I am less agitated now. lol. A friend of mine rustled my tailfeathers when he sent me a photo of it with no text not article to accompany it.
Now I researched it and see what you mean.
However, even if it takes a few years, something like that needs to be our next TNS etc...Timeline of Our large complexes City Centre have been....
Late 1960's - Centennial Centre
Late 1960's - Lombard Place
Early- mid 1970's - Lakeview/Holiday Square
Late 1970's - Winnipeg Square stalled at phase 1/phase II - 2019
Mid to Late 1980's - Fort Garry Place
Mid/Late 1980's -Portage Place + Promenade residential
Late 1980's - The Forks Phase 1
2015-2016 - Centrepoint
2018 - Present - True North Square

[🌳🌱🌿🌴🍁]

Originally Posted by BAKGUY

So, Winnipeg is a bit larger, population growing a bit faster than Quebec city. Can we not find the will & investors to pull off something similar here? We need to show the world who we are. There must be some investors willing to do this here.
https://globalnews.ca/news/1837013/quebe...stment%20project,Groupe%20Dallaire%20Inc 65 floor tower surrounded by several about 1/2 that height. Yes, TNS is fine but we need something like this next.

I currently live in the Paris area, and can confirm that the world could not care less. And putting aside the fact that it is apparently an old proposal, I actually do not see why a tower like that would show what the city is. I guess I am in the height does not necessarily make right camp.

WPG should focus on its public realm – street level – and the things that make it unique, including its priceless urban forest which most of the big, world-leading cities do not have. Also, whenever I have shown images like the makeover of the Forks site, the CMHR, and now there will be the Inuit Art Centre, etc., to people here or in other places, that is what has impressed them the most. There is a lot of beauty in a place like WPG, but it is different than that found in other cities. If Paris wanted, it could surely have 50 gleaming towers intramuros proposed and financed in short order, but it has other priorities.

Personally speaking, I feel like sprinkling the kind of infill mini-midrise proposal shown below throughout WPG (and other Canadian urban centres) as much as possible would have way more positive impact in a tangible sense than some pie-in-the-sky tower surrounded by windswept, barren concrete. It would presumably be much more doable as well. In the meantime, if someone came along with a nice tower project, great. Wawanesa, TNS, etc., look very nice, although the new tallest seems very mediocre and that other proposal was awful.


- https://twitter.com/naama_blonder/status/1388117109306269697/photo/1

[Ando]

Originally Posted by pspeid

This is the best news I've heard in days. I can't praise the Pollard's enough for initiating this fantastic project. Based on what i've read it's exactly what homeless people in the city need. Let's hope other public-spirited Winnipeggers step forward with similar projects.

I think Pollard is doing great work and this is a great project. But it makes me wonder why our governments aren’t providing these types of facilities without needing a private sector individual to step in.

[Ando]

Originally Posted by 🌳🌱🌿🌴🍁

I currently live in the Paris area, and can confirm that the world could not care less. And putting aside the fact that it is apparently an old proposal, I actually do not see why a tower like that would show what the city is. I guess I am in the height does not necessarily make right camp.

WPG should focus on its public realm – street level – and the things that make it unique, including its priceless urban forest which most of the big, world-leading cities do not have. Also, whenever I have shown images like the makeover of the Forks site, the CMHR, and now there will be the Inuit Art Centre, etc., to people here or in other places, that is what has impressed them the most. There is a lot of beauty in a place like WPG, but it is different than that found in other cities. If Paris wanted, it could surely have 50 gleaming towers intramuros proposed and financed in short order, but it has other priorities.

Personally speaking, I feel like sprinkling the kind of infill mini-midrise proposal shown below throughout WPG (and other Canadian urban centres) as much as possible would have way more positive impact in a tangible sense than some pie-in-the-sky tower surrounded by windswept, barren concrete. It would presumably be much more doable as well. In the meantime, if someone came along with a nice tower project, great. Wawanesa, TNS, etc., look very nice, although the new tallest seems very mediocre and that other proposal was awful.


- https://twitter.com/naama_blonder/status/1388117109306269697/photo/1

Great post. I totally agree.

[🌳🌱🌿🌴🍁]

Originally Posted by Ando

Great post. I totally agree.

Glad to hear it, as I have always appreciated your comments on this forum.

[EndoftheBeginning]

According to the City Centre Community agenda, the 109 Mayfair proponent is asking for a time extension as the City is requesting 10 m easement along the river for a 3-4 m active transportation pathway. Wasn't aware they were looking at building a river walk / AT system on the south side of the Assiniboine.

Originally Posted by EndoftheBeginning

^ 109 Mayfair - the 3 level parkade creates a rather large looking podium, but it will definitely stand out in that area height-wise.

[esquire]

Great news...first I've heard of that. A path on both sides of the river would be wonderful.

[Peggerino]

Totally agree. As it is now there's not really a super safe route for cyclists trying to get to Osborne Village, this plus the bridge over the river would go a long way in mitigating that challenge.