Winnipeg | Osborne Place | 257 Osborne St. | 26M | 6F | U/C

[LilZebra]

Originally Posted by scryer

But I'm still a little underwhelmed by the project. For, I hate to over-use it, an iconic location in Winnipeg, couldn't they have designed something better or unique? It's called confusion corner for a reason, they could have had some funky designs going on and what we're getting is a white box that a three year old could come up with.

The design itself, with its small windows, is sort of "brutalist" in nature, though with a more "friendly" (non-concrete) skin.

As for a more "funky" design. I'm envisioning something on the main fl. Osborn St. side with some neon lights, similar to Plug-In. Or have MoneyMart move in and hang their bright yellow and black sign in the window.

A restaurant, but not a fast food one with a neon or bright sign.

That building needs presence at street level, something to liven it up visually.

[cutchemist42]

Id be very interested in the residential component, as I would think residential right beside that station would be a big deal for some.

And yeah, that little corner there was a really shabby spot so i dont mind this. Was basically a big dirt lot with overflow cars from the dealership. Wish the MoneyMart could be gone now from there....

[DancingDuck]

Some info in the Free Press today:
-Apparently three full floors have already been spoken for, with two other groups also interested
-Hoping to finish construction by the end of the year, and start the residential component early 2017
-Current plan for the residential (apartment) tower is 10-12 stories, but could go taller

link: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus....html#comments

[peg]

Originally Posted by DancingDuck

Some info in the Free Press today:
-Apparently three full floors have already been spoken for, with two other groups also interested
-Hoping to finish construction by the end of the year, and start the residential component early 2017
-Current plan for the residential (apartment) tower is 10-12 stories, but could go taller

link: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus....html#comments

Was the residential portion / tower cancelled? Was there any news on this?

[Cyro]

^ Thanks for that link. I'm glad to hear their will be retail units in the office complex now under construction. The residential/retail component proposed in the next phase is great news.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

confusion corner

Thx for this update, missed it in the construction thread some time back, moving quickly..

[buzzg]

Hopefully the fact that it is moving quickly means they they're serious when they mention the residential. I really like the fact they they were straight up in saying the first idea didn't go over well so they went back to the drawing board. Shows they're committed to making this/these project(s) work.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Hopefully the fact that it is moving quickly means they they're serious when they mention the residential. I really like the fact they they were straight up in saying the first idea didn't go over well so they went back to the drawing board. Shows they're committed to making this/these project(s) work.

A true TOD, it will be a welcome addition to this corner. At 12-14 fl..proposed 100+ units...

[scryer]

Originally Posted by Cyro

A true TOD...

Is it a real TOD if it's just being built 5 years later?

Food for thought.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by scryer

Is it a real TOD if it's just being built 5 years later?

Food for thought.

What does timing have to do with it? It could have been built 20 years from now, and if it's transit oriented it counts as transit oriented development.

[scryer]

Originally Posted by esquire

What does timing have to do with it? It could have been built 20 years from now, and if it's transit oriented it counts as transit oriented development.

The point that I was making was that the fact that it getting built 5 years later shows how effective the transit is/was for the last 5 years. In cities, TOD proposals are approved usually within the year around transit nodes. Ottawa has a few that are around major transit nodes on the new Confederation line. Developers are usually eager to develop around transit nodes as it's an easy way to make money. The fact that we aren't seeing any legit TOD action until now, showcases the ineffectiveness of our current "rapid" transit model.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by scryer

Is it a real TOD if it's just being built 5 years later?

Food for thought.

That's deep.. It's kinda like the what came first question, the chicken or the egg.

Mulled it over, sure, whatever the timleine entailed.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by scryer

Is it a real TOD if it's just being built 5 years later?

Food for thought.

I would say so. I live in a TOD in Calgary, which came 25 years after the LRT station it is next to was first built.

[Cyro]

Well, let's see if the phase II residential project comes to fruition in a timely manner. The office stage is progressing and hopefully we'll have a true TOD kitty corner to Osborne Station in the not too distant future.

[buzzg]

Aside from the fact that it's just good to have residential there, I'm really hoping if it goes ahead it'll be the catalyst to make the city start looking at rejigging Confusion Corner.

[buzzg]

And the second and fourth seem to be at large retail hubs so what's so bad about that? Polo Park here would be an excellent place for a RT station, it pretty much already is one.

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by windypeg

If those cars stay out in the suburbs instead of clogging up the downtown isn't that still a win?

Originally Posted by buzzg

And the second and fourth seem to be at large retail hubs so what's so bad about that? Polo Park here would be an excellent place for a RT station, it pretty much already is one.

When you compare it to how RT is sold (ie, "it pays for itself in property tax increases!".) then no, it's not a win. If your goal is to increase property value, using all of the high value land close to the stations strictly to park your car is not a win (just think of downtown Winnipeg). If your goal is just to increase ridership then this is a win.

Also, those downtown streets will always be clogged up, even with these RT stations. That's because traffic is a complex adaptive system; as conditions change the players in the game change their strategies. So, as RT took cars off the road to make driving easier, people will fill that void.

[windypeg]

Originally Posted by steveosnyder

When you compare it to how RT is sold (ie, "it pays for itself in property tax increases!".) then no, it's not a win. If your goal is to increase property value, using all of the high value land close to the stations strictly to park your car is not a win (just think of downtown Winnipeg). If your goal is just to increase ridership then this is a win.

Also, those downtown streets will always be clogged up, even with these RT stations. That's because traffic is a complex adaptive system; as conditions change the players in the game change their strategies. So, as RT took cars off the road to make driving easier, people will fill that void.

My thinking was that if it increases commuter ridership into the downtown then that could help free up parking lots downtown for development. Essentially swapping surface parking lots downtown with surface parking lots out at the Park and Ride stations. So while it might not increase density or property value at those stations it would still have that effect for downtown

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by windypeg

My thinking was that if it increases commuter ridership into the downtown then that could help free up parking lots downtown for development. Essentially swapping surface parking lots downtown with surface parking lots out at the Park and Ride stations. So while it might not increase density or property value at those stations it would still have that effect for downtown

Exactly, and property values downtown have much more potential to become even higher, meaning the tax value from an equal size lot can be much higher downtown.

[steveosnyder]

Originally Posted by windypeg

My thinking was that if it increases commuter ridership into the downtown then that could help free up parking lots downtown for development. Essentially swapping surface parking lots downtown with surface parking lots out at the Park and Ride stations. So while it might not increase density or property value at those stations it would still have that effect for downtown

It won't mean less cars in downtown.

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/...n-2015/422274/

Take a read of myth #2. It's been shown that increase transit viability doesn't decrease automobile traffic. Also, it doesn't really make living without a car any more viable, it just displaces the commute.