Winnipeg | 300 Assiniboine Ave / Heritage Landing | 86M | 25F | Completed

[1ajs]

lol vike u updated ur image

anyhow

Committee clears plan for riverside apartments

By: Bartley Kives
11/06/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 7




HAROLD FUNK ARCHITECT INC. Enlarge Image
An artist’s rendering of the $45-million Heritage Landing on Assiniboine, scheduled to be completed by 2014.

City hall has approved downtown Winnipeg's first new residential highrise in more than two decades but the first residents aren't expected for another four years.
City council's downtown development committee voted unanimously Thursday morning to allow Crystal Developers to build a 25-storey apartment building on a riverfront parcel of Assiniboine Avenue, between the Midtown Bridge and Bonnycastle Park.
The $45-million project, dubbed Heritage Landing on Assiniboine, will include 19 townhouses along Assiniboine Avenue and a 25-storey tower with three floors of commercial space and 22 stories of apartments, with 190 residential units and 200 indoor parking spaces.
Crystal originally planned to build a similar tower at the northeast corner of Fort Street and Assiniboine Avenue, but backed away from a deal to purchase surplus city land in 2008, after the Friends of Upper Fort Garry successfully lobbied to reserve the entire block for a new provincial historical park.
The following year, the city reached a deal to sell Crystal surplus land south of Assiniboine Avenue for $1.8 million to allow the company to build downtown's first residential highrise since the completion of Fort Garry Place in 1990.
The project will create a total of 209 residential units and house approximately 300 people once it's completed in 2014.
"It's been a long time since there's been a residential project in the downtown as significant as this one," Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said Thursday.
Several setbacks in addition to the highly publicized Upper Fort Garry saga have plagued the project.
Soon after the city reached a deal to sell the land south of Assiniboine Avenue, a major hydro line -- forgotten following the sale of Winnipeg Hydro -- ran straight through the property. This forced the city to reduce the sale price by $200,000 and required architects to move the location of the tower.
Early versions of a site plan were rejected for not doing enough to respect the pedestrian-friendly character of Assiniboine Avenue.
But on Thursday, the downtown development committee praised the latest plan as being a good fit for the high-density Broadway-Assiniboine neighbourhood. Fort Rouge Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, who represents the area, said she's confident the design by Harold Funk Architect will protect public access to the Assiniboine river walk and Bonnycastle Park.
"We've worked very diligently with all the different city departments. That's why it was delayed over and over again, until we had all our ducks in a row," said Crystal Developers director Rubin Spletzer.
His company hopes to take possession by the end of the year, complete a detailed design in 2011 and get shovels in the ground in late 2011. Construction on the tower will take two years, Spletzer said.
Eight out of nine units on every floor will have river views, said architect Gareth Simons. The intention right now is for all of the units to be high-end rental apartments, though some may be sold as condominiums, he said.
St. Norbert Coun. Justin Swandel, who chairs the downtown development committee, encouraged Crystal to take advantage of city tax credits to allow some units to be more affordable. Gerbasi said Winnipeg must do more to stimulate the creation of affordable housing, but still praised Crystal for developing 300 apartments in a city with a severe shortage of rental units.
According to a city planning report, the project will destroy two trees and present geotechnical challenges for the tower's construction, due to its proximity to the Assiniboine River. But it will not require any traffic improvements on Assiniboine Avenue or the two-way bike boulevard slated to be built along the south side of the street this summer.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 11, 2010 B1

[drew]

^ looks pretty blah, but not awful. It's pretty much what I would have expected.

I hope the river side treatment along the base doesn't amount to the brutal, ugly, unacceptable standard set by the Edgewater condos along Wellington.

To be honest, this drawing doesn't look promising with that particular area.

[Only The Lonely..]

On a different note,

Can you imagine what this tower would look like if 123456 architects got the job?

Now that would be something to see!!

[trueviking]

^until it was budgeted.

buildings are only as good as their clients....funk is a good designer....this developer is not a good client...he is martin bergen for the 21st century....i think they might actually even be related.

[1ajs]

this otl?

[jmt18325]

My goodness....no development, and people complain. We have development, and people find something to complain about.

[Stormer]

Great to see a new tower downtown but it kinda looks like they dusted off some 40 year old designs. In fact the same building was built in Regina (and everwhere else) in 1972. Roberts Plaza:

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by Stormer

Great to see a new tower downtown but it kinda looks like they dusted off some 40 year old designs. In fact the same building was built in Regina (and everwhere else) in 1972. Roberts Plaza:

Not gonna lie, the purposed project is 25 stories, 5 stories higher than the one you posted (or anything else in Regina). Also, I doubt it will actually be orange and I think it will look much more "modern" than the Roberts Plaza. I also doubt it's going to look 40 years old when it's finished. I'm glad we're getting some development, and I'm sure it will look a lot better in a final rendering than some quick orange-and-yellow sketch up.

Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps it will be bright orange and yellow? It will match the old transit buses, that's for sure.

[The Jabroni]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

My goodness....no development, and people complain. We have development, and people find something to complain about.

Damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by The Jabroni

Damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

It's not as though the only two possibilities are no development and any development at all.

[Spocket]

The massing looks commie-blocky but I'll still take it . It's about time frankly .
Besides , it's just the massing not any sort of detailed rendering .
Now if , as TV said , we could just get about 30 more of these .

[Kinguni]

I'll take 3 of these on the Graham Ave. surface lots please!

[Biff]

I hardly believe that is anywhere near the actual design. My bet is that is some kind of massing model to get through zoning. Lets wait until and actual render with elevations is released before we pass judgment. I still have hope for this one.

[Boreal]

Not that my opinion means jack, but Regina is a fine town, and as far as bragging rights are concerned - outside of football - Regina is not our competition. For that, I'd argue you need to cast your view due west, and a couple hundred kilometres north, or way out east nearer to the mouth of mouth of the St. Lawrence. That is, if competition is the order of the day.

I swear, I'll never understand the Regina-penis-envy some Winnipeggers have. Regina goes erect for a moment and some Winnipeggers quickly look for their viagra.

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Boreal

Not that my opinion means jack, but Regina is a fine town, and as far as bragging rights are concerned - outside of football - Regina is not our competition. For that, I'd argue you need to cast your view due west, and a couple hundred kilometres north, or way out east nearer to the mouth of mouth of the St. Lawrence. That is, if competition is the order of the day.

Well, I'd actually say that Edmonton is more comparable to Ottawa and Calgary, given it's size (though, IMO, it doesn't necessarily do well in that comparison). Both of Winnipeg's peers are to the east, one next to Toronto, and the other on the St. Lawrence river, where you said.

[Winnipegger@Heart]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

Well, I'd actually say that Edmonton is more comparable to Ottawa and Calgary, given it's size (though, IMO, it doesn't necessarily do well in that comparison). Both of Winnipeg's peers are to the east, one next to Toronto, and the other on the St. Lawrence river, where you said.

Edmonton and Winnipeg are pretty much comparable; a difference of about 300,000 in metro is not a big difference really.

[jmt18325]

Originally Posted by Winnipegger@Heart

Edmonton and Winnipeg are pretty much comparable; a difference of about 300,000 in metro is not a big difference really.

The difference in metro is closer to 500K.

[RTD]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

The difference in metro is closer to 500K.

Regardless, we should be looking at Edmonton and Calgary for comparisons. They are closer than Quebec City and Hamilton, and have a much more direct impact on how we grow and evolve. Keeping up with them is more critical for the survival of Winnipeg as one of Canada's main city, rather than Hamilton and Quebec City.

Anyways, let's keep this thread on track, please.

[Winnipegger]

Originally Posted by Boreal

Not that my opinion means jack, but Regina is a fine town, and as far as bragging rights are concerned - outside of football - Regina is not our competition. For that, I'd argue you need to cast your view due west, and a couple hundred kilometres north, or way out east nearer to the mouth of mouth of the St. Lawrence. That is, if competition is the order of the day.

I swear, I'll never understand the Regina-penis-envy some Winnipeggers have. Regina goes erect for a moment and some Winnipeggers quickly look for their viagra.

Well of course your opinion is worth something. Of course, I have my own as well. I would argue that Regina is indeed a fine city and one with a great skyline as well! Especially for it's size. So when this undersized city that's about ~500 000 people smaller than ours is getting a bunch of 'scrapers and our own construction forum is discussing the fire in an antique home (not that there is anything wrong with that), you start feeling a little...left behind? So of course, as any person who loves something will do, I defend my home city and get jealous when proposals are popping up for other cities and not ours. And when they do pop up, make sure that everyone knows it.

In the end though, I should be happy for the development in both cities.

[Jeff]

i'll take three along broadway too! maybe one as tall as 55 nassau? thanks =)