Winnipeg | Osborne Village & Fort Rouge

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by sleepyeyed

Yuppie means young urban professional so i'm not sure what distinction you're trying to make between it and young/hip to justify what's happened to the neighbourhood retail. both streets are in rough shape, and some of the changes on Sherbrook recently haven't been for the better.

Condo buyers vs. counterculture hipsters, whatever you want to call it, the vibes on Osborne and Sherbrook are very different.

[buzzg]

Gentrification didn't push counterculture out of Village – the internet internet erased the very concept of counterculture. What exactly would constitute "counterculture" today when everyone can find their niche group on the internet or new places. What kind of "counterculture" business would even be viable these days? Even back then - what was that, bong shops, rock bars and clubs?

Unfortunately the change in the music business has shifted the music venue landscape (not gentrification), we have weed stores that can sell bongs, and nightclubs are dying because Gen Z drinks the least amount of any generation in 100 years and values experiences and dining over club life.

--

Also, when was Osborne some sort of coffee mecca? Before third wave everyone was serving the same shit coffee anyway. Fuel became Little Sister (via Noir), Starbucks opened, and yes we lost Second Cup (corporate problem) but we also added Small Mercies which I think might be the sweetest shop in Winnipeg.

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Gentrification didn't push counterculture out of Village – the internet internet erased the very concept of counterculture. What exactly would constitute "counterculture" today when everyone can find their niche group on the internet or new places. What kind of "counterculture" business would even be viable these days? Even back then - what was that, bong shops, rock bars and clubs?

Maybe counterculture is not the right word either, I'm just talking about that feeling of edgy, funky coolness that exists in the Exchange and Sherbrook and, as I understand, used to exist in Osborne Village, based on all the people lamenting that it's not what it once was.

I'm not making any claims about cause and effect, maybe the cool vibe shifted to the Exchange and Sherbrook first, and then the Village moved on to being a nice place for established professionals to buy a condo afterwards. My only real point is that the rapid transit line is definitely not the cause of any of this!!

[davequanbury]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Gentrification didn't push counterculture out of Village – the internet internet erased the very concept of counterculture. What exactly would constitute "counterculture" today when everyone can find their niche group on the internet or new places. What kind of "counterculture" business would even be viable these days? Even back then - what was that, bong shops, rock bars and clubs?

Unfortunately the change in the music business has shifted the music venue landscape (not gentrification), we have weed stores that can sell bongs, and nightclubs are dying because Gen Z drinks the least amount of any generation in 100 years and values experiences and dining over club life.

--

Also, when was Osborne some sort of coffee mecca? Before third wave everyone was serving the same shit coffee anyway. Fuel became Little Sister (via Noir), Starbucks opened, and yes we lost Second Cup (corporate problem) but we also added Small Mercies which I think might be the sweetest shop in Winnipeg.

I was talking about the Roasting House, and I never said the coffee was good.

As for live music, digital has indeed replaced album sales, but it is real estate that has forced most venues to close. just ask Vancouver....

[EdwardTH]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Gentrification didn't push counterculture out of Village – the internet internet erased the very concept of counterculture. What exactly would constitute "counterculture" today when everyone can find their niche group on the internet or new places. What kind of "counterculture" business would even be viable these days? Even back then - what was that, bong shops, rock bars and clubs?

Unfortunately the change in the music business has shifted the music venue landscape (not gentrification), we have weed stores that can sell bongs, and nightclubs are dying because Gen Z drinks the least amount of any generation in 100 years and values experiences and dining over club life.

Bingo. The Exchange also lost its counterculture when Mondragon closed. The closest West Broadway or the exchange have to counterculture now is just commercialized hipster culture ie Bear Face general store and the like selling internet meme stickers. I would argue the village is actually still subversive by being the only real walkable neighbourhood in a city where the car culture refuses to give an inch.

Originally Posted by GarryEllice

Condo buyers vs. counterculture hipsters, whatever you want to call it, the vibes on Osborne and Sherbrook are very different.

Yeah Osborne has a "pot shops and burger joints" vibe now whereas Sherbrook has more of a "guy gets brutally stabbed to death in the front door of your condo" vibe.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...dway-1.5167968
There were so many results for "sherbrook stabbing winnipeg" that I had to flip to the 2nd page to find the one I was looking for. But sure tell me again how all the cool kids wanna be in West Broadway now because the village is dead.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by EdwardTH

Bingo. The Exchange also lost its counterculture when Mondragon closed. The closest West Broadway or the exchange have to counterculture now is just commercialized hipster culture ie Bear Face general store and the like selling internet meme stickers. I would argue the village is actually still subversive by being the only real walkable neighbourhood in a city where the car culture refuses to give an inch.

Yeah Osborne has a "pot shops and burger joints" vibe now whereas Sherbrook has more of a "guy gets brutally stabbed to death in the front door of your condo" vibe.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...dway-1.5167968
There were so many results for "sherbrook stabbing winnipeg" that I had to flip to the 2nd page to find the one I was looking for. But sure tell me again how all the cool kids wanna be in West Broadway now because the village is dead.

That part of Sherbtook St. isnt bad, as long as you dont hang ariund te streets in the middle of te night. No reason to anyways.

Lived at the Casa Loma January 4, 2019- March 31, 2021. West facing (McD's oit my window) apartment. Drunk or violent men would smash the front entrance doors quite frequently. And when that was done last Fall, it took several weeks to get the glass replaced.

Sometimes rhere'd be crazy people screaming outside at 12:30 am. Probanly mad because McDonalds closed for the night.

Besides the Sara Ave and McDonalds parking lot nurders, most of the violence is on the side streets like Furby.

I got out of Casa Loma last April due to bedbugs, cockroaches and mice in my 3rd fl. suite.

Now I'm at the Westhaven in Assiniboia and no more bugs. Got far far far away from central Winnipeg due to safety issues, lack of good retail downtown,

[buzzg]

A friend of mine moved here from Ottawa 3 years ago and bought a condo in the Element on Sherbrook, not really knowing the area and just judging based on that couple blocks being nice in the daytime.

She said break-ins were a weekly occurrence and got so bad they had to replace a bunch of doors and make massive (costly) security upgrades. I believe they even disabled the intercom so every single person entering had to be let in directly by a person. The chain link fence of the bike storage got cut open so many times the building manager advised them to stop using it and keep bikes on their balconies. Several times a week she left to someone passed out in in the back or in the dumpster (seriously) with a needle in their hand or arm. One time she had to save someones life who seemingly tried to attempt suicide with a razor blade (luckily she's a resident at HSC and knew what to do). They had to build the fences right on the street because those windows got smashed so many times.

After not even 2 years she moved to an apartment in the Village. Tried to sell the condo but it wasn't going so eventually she got to the point where she had to just take the loss and sell it for less than she paid. Sad.

[GreyGarden]

^That's such a shame about your friend's experience. I was pretty mad when they put that fence up along Sherbrook but what can you do I guess - putting street level apartments along a commercial street was pretty dumb. Does anyone know how the experience has been at the Sherbrook Flats? It's even farther north so my thought would be about the same but who knows. I find the experience can really change street to street in West Broadway.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

A friend of mine moved here from Ottawa 3 years ago and bought a condo in the Element on Sherbrook, not really knowing the area and just judging based on that couple blocks being nice in the daytime.

She said break-ins were a weekly occurrence and got so bad they had to replace a bunch of doors and make massive (costly) security upgrades. I believe they even disabled the intercom so every single person entering had to be let in directly by a person. The chain link fence of the bike storage got cut open so many times the building manager advised them to stop using it and keep bikes on their balconies. Several times a week she left to someone passed out in in the back or in the dumpster (seriously) with a needle in their hand or arm. One time she had to save someones life who seemingly tried to attempt suicide with a razor blade (luckily she's a resident at HSC and knew what to do). They had to build the fences right on the street because those windows got smashed so many times.

After not even 2 years she moved to an apartment in the Village. Tried to sell the condo but it wasn't going so eventually she got to the point where she had to just take the loss and sell it for less than she paid. Sad.

This sounds like a terrible experience, but not exactly one that comes as a surprise either. For all that you hear about West Broadway's supposed gentrification, there is still a rough edge to the area. It is kind of sad because when the Element went up, it felt like a sign of better things to come for the neighbourhood.

[drew]

One large thing standing in the way of gentrifying West Broadway is the redevelopment of the Sherbrook Hotel.

Pawn shop, Vendor and Beverage Room. A trifecta of badness that encourages some of the undesirable behavior to congregate in that particular area.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by drew

One large thing standing in the way of gentrifying West Broadway is the redevelopment of the Sherbrook Hotel.

Pawn shop, Vendor and Beverage Room. A trifecta of badness that encourages some of the undesirable behavior to congregate in that particular area.

Exactly. Only the death of the crazy owner will see that shithole plowed under, and the sooner the better. It’s truly a heap of garbage and a magnet for dirtbags. And that’s coming from a somewhat-dirtbag.

[Wigglez]

Originally Posted by esquire

This sounds like a terrible experience, but not exactly one that comes as a surprise either. For all that you hear about West Broadway's supposed gentrification, there is still a rough edge to the area. It is kind of sad because when the Element went up, it felt like a sign of better things to come for the neighbourhood.

It was/is a good sign for the neighborhood. It's important to note that "Gentrification" doesn't mean "Gentrified", the same way "Developing" doesn't mean "Developed" or "Work in progress" doesn't mean "Complete". West Broadway is still very much a work in progress with new buildings going up and old garbage coming down. It still has a long way to go and these things take time!

It's always important to do your research on a neighborhood and know what you're getting yourself into when doing something major like a property purchase.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Wigglez

It's always important to do your research on a neighborhood and know what you're getting yourself into when doing something major like a property purchase.

Always true, but in most places you see a neighbourhood like West Broadway and it is generally safe to assume that it is as it appears... a nice, lively, liveable area near the centre of the city. It's a sad indictment of the city that there is a hard edge to this area with a considerable amount of riff raff that make it worse for everyone.

Now before I raise the ire of the woke gang, I am not slamming the poor or those with addictions. Rather, I am pointing the finger specifically at those who make life miserable for other people... the muggers, the thieves, the harassers, the vandals... the ones who don't keep to themselves but hurt others and take or destroy their things. They continue to be a real problem in large swaths of the city.

[GreyGarden]

This is partly why I asked about the Sherbrook flats. I live in West Broadway, south of Westminster, north of Wolseley, and while I often see someone down on their luck pushing a shopping cart or struggling, I've never had experiences like what Buzzg's friend experienced. Frankly, not even close. That being said, I never leave anything in the car (which has never been broken into in West Broadway) and usually when I'm out at night I'm with a friend.

I remember when I worked at a nearby bar I would often go past the Element on my way home from work and was always astounded by the sheer number of needles around it. You don't have to look hard for needles in West Broadway, but it was on a whole new level around that building. I also remember working the night someone got killed right around there too. It may have been wrong of me but I started to assume the building was some form of social housing.

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by GreyGarden

. I also remember working the night someone got killed right around there too. It may have been wrong of me but I started to assume the building was some form of social housing.

If you're talking about 167/267 Sherbrookj, all I'd usually see going in and out of it werre middle-class (suburban?) Generation Y/Millennials or young Gen Zers.

Its not the reidents leaving the needles. Its the riff raff who probab;y frequent the Sherbrook Imm, sleep under tge bridge and hung out at McDona;ds.

One interesting observation...when I moved into the Casa Loma in Jan. 2019 that McDonalds had a very unsafe vibe to it. Really really rough prople, homeless or not would hang around inside for hours.

Since COVID last year and perhaps since the parking lot murder McD's has one of their staff act as bouncer, so that's really helped a lot, and while the dining area was open late last yeart I felt comfortable enough to have a milkshake.

[Wigglez]

Originally Posted by esquire

Always true, but in most places you see a neighbourhood like West Broadway and it is generally safe to assume that it is as it appears... a nice, lively, liveable area near the centre of the city. It's a sad indictment of the city that there is a hard edge to this area with a considerable amount of riff raff that make it worse for everyone.

Now before I raise the ire of the woke gang, I am not slamming the poor or those with addictions. Rather, I am pointing the finger specifically at those who make life miserable for other people... the muggers, the thieves, the harassers, the vandals... the ones who don't keep to themselves but hurt others and take or destroy their things. They continue to be a real problem in large swaths of the city.

It does for sure look like a pretty decent street/neighborhood and would likely be more difficult for someone outside of Winnipeg to know what an area is like. Though there are some resources online (like this forum!!!!) you can use.

Though as someone that has lived here my whole life, moving a few blocks off of a street lovingly called "Gangside" was never gonna be high on my list.

[borkborkbork]

Back to the Village, it looks like the former Hush store will now be a middle eastern place called Zaytoon, soft opening this Saturday:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSVdU0PFh-m/

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

Back to the Village, it looks like the former Hush store will now be a middle eastern place called Zaytoon, soft opening this Saturday:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSVdU0PFh-m/

Nice!

[zalf]

Bad news:

A fire at the E-Mart on Scott damaged the store, the neighbouring house, and killed a lady. Fire dept is calling it 'suspicious'. I walked past, but have no sense of whether the two buildings are damaged beyond repair or not.

Good news:

Work continuing at the Zu site. Excavation is out to the property line on all four sides (Osborne St / back lane / 409 Wardlaw / Wardlaw Ave).

[borkborkbork]

Originally Posted by zalf

A fire at the E-Mart on Scott damaged the store, the neighbouring house, and killed a lady. Fire dept is calling it 'suspicious'. I walked past, but have no sense of whether the two buildings are damaged beyond repair or not.

Being investigated by the homicide unit:

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/mobile/h...lage-1.5548609