Winnipeg | Osborne Village & Corydon area - Page 157

borkborkbork · #**3121** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 8:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalf

"The Property offers an inherent value backstop through a feasible and
compelling multifamily redevelopment opportunity. The Vendor has
completed a feasibility study for future RMFL density options, buyers
will have access to the study for review in the data room"

That is modestly encouraging.

Still depressing.

Right now it's leased as a Bell MTS call centre. I can't imagine a situation where you'd displace a well-paying tenant and tear down a purpose-built facility to get into the (soft) high-density residential market on that site.

So, I'm guessing the redevelopment 'opportunity' is more like the backup plan if Bell MTS decides to close down the call centre and there's no replacement tenant for the space.

So to get multifamily residential on this site, I'm guessing what would need to occur is a giant mass layoff. Not great.

esquire · #**3122** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 8:20 PM**

I was actually wondering if the building is for sale because the lease is up, or getting close to it. There are probably lots of sites for Bell to choose from.

It would be great to see a proper redevelopment of that whole site, including the McDonalds and Co-op locations.

bomberjet · #**3123** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 8:43 PM**

Is Bell clearing it out and moving the jobs to Ontairo? Or are they moving elsewhere locally? If anyone knows.

blueandgoldguy · #**3124** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 8:47 PM**

How long ago was this building constructed?

bomberjet · #**3125** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 8:48 PM**

The white building at Confusion Corner. The white cladding looks good from far, but is far from good.

They put up a decent white screen on the very top corner that was unfinished. Not sure why they couldn't do that for the vertical area where they put the tin siding up.

OTA in Winnipeg · #**3126** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 8:58 PM**

I thought if anyone would want that property it would be Winnipeg Transit.

drew · #**3127** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 9:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

It would be great to see a proper redevelopment of that whole site, including the McDonalds and Co-op locations.

hey now...that Co-op and McD's are our go-to stop on the way out of town in the summer when we are heading east towards Kenora.

esquire · #**3128** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 9:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

How long ago was this building constructed?

I don't remember exactly when but I want to say around 2004 or 2005?

I cannot for the life of me remember what was there before, though... was it just an empty lot?

Quote:

Originally Posted by drew

hey now...that Co-op and McD's are our go-to stop on the way out of town in the summer when we are heading east towards Kenora.

I'm sure the Big Macs at the McDonald's on Fermor taste just as fine

borkborkbork · #**3129** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 9:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

I thought if anyone would want that property it would be Winnipeg Transit.

Transit already permanently ruined a stretch of South Osborne in the 70s with their concrete bunker garage, in the 00s with their strip mall service centre, and just last year (?) they added insult to injury by buying the Osborne-facing parcel just south of the garage with the plan to use it as employee parking.

Please, god, don't let them anywhere this site.

trueviking · #**3130** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 9:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

A mere $15M will buy you what may well be the worst development decision the city ever made for South Osborne

https://capitalgrp.ca/wp-content/upl...sborne-365.pdf

I use that site as an example of missed opportunities in our city, when I do public speaking.

I did a study for them a number of years ago...probably the one they are talking about. I have some hope that a developer will see the potential.....still a street killer without redevelopment of the gas station and mcdonald's

zalf · #**3131** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 10:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

So to get multifamily residential on this site, I'm guessing what would need to occur is a giant mass layoff. Not great.

The merits of working from home vs the office is a perennial discussion on this forum, but the debate seems to be mostly relevant to people with some level of creativity or collaboration in their jobs. For a call centre, work from home seems like an unalloyed good for both the employees and the company.

wags_in_the_peg · #**3132** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 10:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Is Bell clearing it out and moving the jobs to Ontairo? Or are they moving elsewhere locally? If anyone knows.

many i know WFH now.

borkborkbork · #**3133** Posted **Feb 7, 2023, 10:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by zalf

The merits of working from home vs the office is a perennial discussion on this forum, but the debate seems to be mostly relevant to people with some level of creativity or collaboration in their jobs. For a call centre, work from home seems like an unalloyed good for both the employees and the company.

Unalloyed good for the company, definitely. If you don't have a bunch of capital and equipment tying your phone centre to a physical location, you can send those calls to your employee's homes. Or to St. John's. Or to Hyderabad. Or Manilla.

Unalloyed good for the employee? Maybe, if you have some other form of job security like a union that keeps your employer from shifting their phone ops somewhere else cheaper at the push of a button.

Kinguni · #**3134** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 3:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

I cannot for the life of me remember what was there before, though... was it just an empty lot?

Empty lot left over from the days when the Forte Rouge yards occupied that area. CN owned it.

Kinguni · #**3135** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 3:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

Transit already permanently ruined a stretch of South Osborne in the 70s with their concrete bunker garage, in the 00s with their strip mall service centre, and just last year (?) they added insult to injury by buying the Osborne-facing parcel just south of the garage with the plan to use it as employee parking.

Please, god, don't let them anywhere this site.

The Transit garage replaced an abandoned section of the rail yards. They own the Esso gas bar site, and had planned to use it for parking, but it could be used for a Transit museum according to one source. I haven't heard a solid plan for it lately.

That strip mall doesn't belong to Transit, they just lease the space.

esquire · #**3136** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 3:27 PM**

^ Transit museum, eh? I wish one of our wealthy overlords would get behind the idea of a proper city museum. For all its faults, our fair city has an amazing story to tell. It would be awesome to have a city museum that gets into various aspects of it, including transit.

borkborkbork · #**3137** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 5:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinguni

They own the Esso gas bar site, and had planned to use it for parking

That's what I'm talking about. They bought that in 2021 (for $350k + about $1M in remediation liability).

They have an enormous concrete bunker killing off a major stretch of South Osborne. We can forgive that, because they did it when the area was basically just desolate rail yards.

But in 2021? There's no excuse. They're going to take a 200'+ lot, a full block of Osborne streetscape, from Woodward to Glasgow, and kill it off with a fucking parking lot. If any private company had proposed that use, the city planners would have laughed them out of the room. But the city does not hold itself to even the very low standard it applies to developers.

thebasketballgeek · #**3138** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 5:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

That's what I'm talking about. They bought that in 2021 (for $350k + about $1M in remediation liability).

They have an enormous concrete bunker killing off a major stretch of South Osborne. We can forgive that, because they did it when the area was basically just desolate rail yards.

But in 2021? There's no excuse. They're going to take a 200'+ lot, a full block of Osborne streetscape, from Woodward to Glasgow, and kill it off with a fucking parking lot. If any private company had proposed that use, the city planners would have laughed them out of the room. But the city does not hold itself to even the very low standard it applies to developers.

It’s truly ridiculous considering just how much parking they have, as well as the already existing transit access to the garage. There are so many better uses to the site. Like for example an actual AT path instead of having to cycle on that shitty sidewalk.

That’s probably why transit sucks so much. How much of the transit executives actually ride transit? I’d hedge to believe that number is closer to 0 then it is to even 25% if they’re trying to get all this parking.

trueviking · #**3139** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 6:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by borkborkbork

But in 2021? There's no excuse. They're going to take a 200'+ lot, a full block of Osborne streetscape, from Woodward to Glasgow, and kill it off with a fucking parking lot. If any private company had proposed that use, the city planners would have laughed them out of the room. But the city does not hold itself to even the very low standard it applies to developers.

do you have any link to this?.....that's unbelievable.

rivercity · #**3140** Posted **Feb 8, 2023, 6:34 PM**

https://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/Vie...5&isMobile=yes

I think this is it. 425 Osborne