Winnipeg Construction X

[buzzg]

Yeah. If the Portage Place redevelopment goes through, that could have a huge positive impact on Central Park and Centennial neighbourhoods. Right now it really acts as a big divider separating downtown from the "sketchy" side. Like a mini railyard haha. Opening up PP physically, making it more porous, and adding a bunch more residential area there could transform Central Park's connection to downtown.

On that note I was told by PP management that announcement was supposed to be made in October. Not sure what's still holding this up but they did sound fairly confident it was still happening.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Also, is there an English version somewhere? Haha

Saint-Boniface: new hope for real estate development on Provencher Boulevard
Posted Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 7:46 p.m.

What future for the vacant lot located between 155 and 165 boulevard Provencher in the Saint-Boniface district of Winnipeg? Developers want to build a mixed-use building there. A virtual public consultation is underway.

The wasteland to which passers-by on Boulevard Provencher have been accustomed for years could well be replaced by an eight-story building. This is what the two promoters of the project are proposing: Darren Desrochers and Colin Spark.

We have always wanted to develop something. Saint-Boniface is a special place for me, because my family has a story there, explains Darren Desrochers. I was there at school, my dad had a grocery store there, and my grandma even worked on one of the sites we bought so I'm attached to this place.

According to drawings by Verne Reimer Architecture, the building includes shops on the first 2 floors and 96 apartments for rent above.

We want to create something rather modern, a contemporary French-Canadian building , explains Verne Reimer, architect of the project.

The design of the building was also thought out so that the old town hall of Saint-Boniface remains visible from the Provencher bridge.

The architect is now awaiting opinions from residents of the neighborhood.

We will take them into consideration and we will take them into account for the building , he says.

Entreprises Riel says yes

The cost of the project is estimated at over $ 30 million. The buildings at 155 and 157 boulevard Provencher will have to be demolished when construction begins.

The promoters of the project bought the land from Entreprises Riel, which had acquired several properties in the past with the aim of increasing the density of the neighborhood with larger constructions.

We consider this project to be a great success , says the CEO of Entreprises Riel, Normand Gousseau.

According to him, this new project could play an important role in the development of Boulevard Provencher.

I think Boulevard Provencher needs other commercial spaces to meet demand. So a project that affects both, densifying in terms of the population, but also the number of square feet reserved for the commercial, is also important , he notes.

In an email, Saint-Boniface city councilor Mathieu Allard says he is happy to see a community consultation. He said he was eager to assess the promoters' proposal.

Start-up in spring 2022
The consultation runs until November 23. The developers plan to file their zoning change request next week.

According to Darren Desrochers, discussions are underway with possible tenants for the commercial premises.

Despite the delay caused by the pandemic, the developers hope to be able to start construction within a year and a half.

There is a need to have something new, exciting in Saint-Boniface. I think Boulevard Provencher is the right place for that , says Darren Desrochers.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by buzzg

On that note I was told by PP management that announcement was supposed to be made in October. Not sure what's still holding this up but they did sound fairly confident it was still happening.

I haven't seen/heard any media reports, but PP Mall seems to be ridding itself of businesses (perhaps someone here can corroborate?). Wouldn't this be a necessary step before some pretty major re-development?

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Originally Posted by BlackDog204

Gentrifying the Centennial area of Winnipeg, especially between Logan and Notre Dame, and between RRC Campus and Isabel would be ideal, but unfortunately, I can't see it happening anytime soon, without major investment by the community.

That area would be ideal for students from U of W and RRC. It would also be great for people who work downtown.

There have been projects run in the area before. e.g. This was a five year project coordinated by the Winnipeg Foundation:

http://www.centennialneighbourhood.c...271/ccia_2.pdf

Perhaps time for another one post-virus.

If interested, more general info here:

http://www.centennialneighbourhood.com/

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Yeah. If the Portage Place redevelopment goes through, that could have a huge positive impact on Central Park and Centennial neighbourhoods. Right now it really acts as a big divider separating downtown from the "sketchy" side. Like a mini railyard haha. Opening up PP physically, making it more porous, and adding a bunch more residential area there could transform Central Park's connection to downtown.

On that note I was told by PP management that announcement was supposed to be made in October. Not sure what's still holding this up but they did sound fairly confident it was still happening.

aren't they still looking for federal money?

[buzzg]

^Interesting that Enterprise Riel supports this one at 8 storeys. Aren't they usually the driving force against all development in the area? Do they only want to see development on land they own(ed)? Seems fishy.

[esquire]

Love the Provencher project, what a great way to fill that gap. I like the bold design... especially the main level CRU spaces which have more presence than the usual low-ceiling first floor units that you'd typically see in a building like that. I just hope it actually happens!

[Kris22]

From the article:

The buildings at 155 and 157 boulevard Provencher will have to be demolished when construction begins.

Not sure how I feel about losing two aesthetically pleasing, properly scaled and occupied buildings for these condos. These are the buildings to be demolished: https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.89188...7i13312!8i6656

Even tho there is an empty lot and this one-story auto shop on the land next to it: https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.89206...7i13312!8i6656

Not the best trade off in my opinion. These smaller buildings contribute to a nicer, more diverse streetscape than two larger condo complexes side by side. I think a smaller condo beside these buildings would be ideal.

[trueviking]

I agree.

not only aesthetically pleasing, the little old buildings create low rent opportunity for small business like restaurants....the new class A space will have high rents that only things like chiropractors and lawyers can afford.

[Wigglez]

Originally Posted by buzzg

^Interesting that Enterprise Riel supports this one at 8 storeys. Aren't they usually the driving force against all development in the area? Do they only want to see development on land they own(ed)? Seems fishy.

They're not really a development agency - they're an attempted monopoly.

[ue]

Originally Posted by BlackDog204

Gentrifying the Centennial area of Winnipeg, especially between Logan and Notre Dame, and between RRC Campus and Isabel would be ideal, but unfortunately, I can't see it happening anytime soon, without major investment by the community.

That area would be ideal for students from U of W and RRC. It would also be great for people who work downtown.

Why would a community 'invest' in its own displacement?

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by ue

Why would a community 'invest' in its own displacement?

Who said you have to displace people to make an area safer and more desirable?

[Biff]

Originally Posted by trueviking

I agree.

not only aesthetically pleasing, the little old buildings create low rent opportunity for small business like restaurants....the new class A space will have high rents that only things like chiropractors and lawyers can afford.

The scary part is there were similar buildings next to the two in question and they were demolished with the promise of building a new residential building that failed. I know it is all on the properties you acquire and we are making decisions with other peoples money but it seems a shame to demo these perfectly fine buildings when there is an empty burned out lot directly east.

[bomberjet]

I dislike losing those 2 buildings on Provencher. But will be great to fill up that dead space! Overall that project looks nice though. Vern Reimer does nice work.

Does that project include the car shop that burned down recently?

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I dislike losing those 2 buildings on Provencher. But will be great to fill up that dead space! Overall that project looks nice though. Vern Reimer does nice work.

Does that project include the car shop that burned down recently?

Doesnt seem like it, hence the losing of the two smaller buildings, which is too bad, since a prime lot opened up next door to shift everything over. Oh well, maybe we'll get a boutique hotel or something on that lot one day, if the glorious nimby coalition will allow it of course. Perhaps we should start sacrificing livestock to them in an effort to appease them, as apparently nothing else will.

[bomberjet]

haha this new build is 8 storeys. So that's awesome. Anyone know if there's any zoning or other opportunities for the NIMBY's to come out?

[esquire]

In a perfect world I'd like to see those two small commercial buildings on Provencher get retained but practically speaking I have no problem with them coming down. It's not like they are some kind of essential part of an otherwise intact strip, and there are still plenty of other buildings like them on and around Provencher.

I get the Jane Jacobs arguments for those kinds of buildings but at the same time I would not want to see substantial developments that could really help lift up the area get blocked on account of them. You need more than just the small, old commercial buildings... otherwise Selkirk Avenue would be the most vibrant street in Winnipeg.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by esquire

In a perfect world I'd like to see those two small commercial buildings on Provencher get retained but practically speaking I have no problem with them coming down. It's not like they are some kind of essential part of an otherwise intact strip, and there are still plenty of other buildings like them on and around Provencher.

I get the Jane Jacobs arguments for those kinds of buildings but at the same time I would not want to see substantial developments that could really help lift up the area get blocked on account of them. You need more than just the small, old commercial buildings... otherwise Selkirk Avenue would be the most vibrant street in Winnipeg.

Totally understand the argument. I think the thing that gets me is that it's not like there's a lack of land available in the vicinity.

I guess all we can do is hope that this will be a catalyst for other developments on the strip.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

Totally understand the argument. I think the thing that gets me is that it's not like there's a lack of land available in the vicinity.

Ha, yes I understand the frustration. Years ago I described this as the golden commandment of Winnipeg development: Thou shalt never build anything, anywhere without demolishing something else first. There could have been a ten acre field with a small building, and you could bet that any new development would have involved demolishing the small building first.

Fortunately there have been some projects in recent years that put the lie to my theory. But it is still all too common for new builds to involve demolishing something else first.

[ue]

Originally Posted by optimusREIM

Who said you have to displace people to make an area safer and more desirable?

Well, that's literally what gentrification means.

But, also, you don't have to, but you generally do due to the way land and housing is made into a commodity in a country like Canada. So, you have the dilemma of a poorer community needing new sidewalks, or street furniture, or a new park, or densification, but all of these things inevitably draw attraction to first wave gentrifiers (usually artists, low level professionals, etc) who are interested in the working class 'character', who will then make the area 'trendy' to a more bourgeois clientele. At each stage, the previously existing population gets displaced due to higher costs as well as alienation. Revitalization inevitably displaces poor people who end up in the same neighbourhoods with lacking infrastructure because the middle and upper classes will eat up any neighbourhood deemed desirable.