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  #21  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 6:53 PM
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^ Can't the civic committee that handles downtown development send it back to the architect? I remember that the Hampton Inn (now Humphry Inn) on Main was originally designed with a parking lot in the forecourt, just like you'd see out by the airport. That committee told them to redo it by bringing the building to the lot line and putting the parking in the back. They did, and the end result was much improved.

I agree, that side entrance looks like ass and it's something you'd expect on Pembina south, not in the heart of downtown. If they demand a little parking area then so be it, but at least force them to orient the entrance to the street and the not the parking lot. And to buzz's point, surely the handicapped ramp could be accommodated without having to put the entrance at the side of the building?!

I might just have to put my CONCERNED CITIZEN hat on and e-mail my councillor about this.
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  #22  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 7:55 PM
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I imagine the small addition to the east will house all new elevators and possibly a stairwell. I don't think it would make sense to keep the entrance on the street if the new infrastructure is going to be located so far away.

I am OK with the side entrance. Keeping the main entrance intact on the street would require some gawd awful ugly ramp, considering the lack of space available on the sidewalk.
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  #23  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 8:00 PM
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^ Good point. Seems like you can't win when it comes to the entrance... it's either ugly and anti-urbanist side entrance or ugly front entrance.
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  #24  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 8:10 PM
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I don't see why you can't use the existing entrance and just put a secondary entrance on the side for accessibility and loading from the parking lot. Many hotels here have two entrances to the lobby, if not more.

Elevator proximity to entrance is pretty irrelevant, it's very common for elevators not to be right by the front desk.

And who knows, maybe they will keep the main entrance open and just add this second one – hopefully at least the new door faces the street and not the lot.

Side note – It's going to be hilarious to me when the lot Donald eventually gets developed and the Best Western's main entrance is literally in a dingy back lane. Goes to show why you should always follow the (un)written urban design rules.
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  #25  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 8:18 PM
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^ Do you know for sure that the lot on Donald doesn't have the same owners as the Best Western? The hotel itself is getting old and outdated, and it wasn't really anything special to begin with...if the owners want to redevelop the site I'd expect the hotel to come down to make way for whatever would be next.
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  #26  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 8:25 PM
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I believe it's either True North or MPI that owns that lot.
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  #27  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 8:38 PM
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There are 3 lots in a row on the west side of Donald. The Impark managed one directly south from the City Place loading dock is MPI owned and was offered for sale at the same time as the lot off Carlton that TNS bought into. The other half of that block is a lot managed by Indigo parking and owned by somebody else (maybe the office tower to the west) and then there is the one off Donald in front of the Best Western.
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  #28  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 9:07 PM
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Originally Posted by buzzg View Post
I don't see why you can't use the existing entrance and just put a secondary entrance on the side for accessibility and loading from the parking lot. Many hotels here have two entrances to the lobby, if not more.

Elevator proximity to entrance is pretty irrelevant, it's very common for elevators not to be right by the front desk.

And who knows, maybe they will keep the main entrance open and just add this second one – hopefully at least the new door faces the street and not the lot.

Side note – It's going to be hilarious to me when the lot Donald eventually gets developed and the Best Western's main entrance is literally in a dingy back lane. Goes to show why you should always follow the (un)written urban design rules.
"welcome to our hotel!" Yeah, your friend in the wheelchair needs to wheel down the sidewalk, around the corner, and come in out where we keep the garbage bins."
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  #29  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 9:34 PM
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Well that's super ambitious with that old building.... I hope they pull it off. It should do a great job bringing more people to the core!
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  #30  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 9:47 PM
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What was the building used for previously?
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  #31  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2018, 10:30 PM
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Originally Posted by drew View Post
"welcome to our hotel!" Yeah, your friend in the wheelchair needs to wheel down the sidewalk, around the corner, and come in out where we keep the garbage bins."
There's a difference between having a second entrance, and having a back door. It's almost a 109 year old building – only so much you can do. Fairchild Lofts has a secondary door for accessible access, 78 Princess has multiple doors with only some accessible... so many examples.

It's still going to have an atrium-type feel and presumably big open lobby space – don't think it's a big deal at all, especially since they're gutting the whole building and starting with an almost clean slate.
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  #32  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2018, 1:36 AM
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This one has been in the works for a while now (circa 2017), and around that time they wanted to close the building's main entrance and have the new hotel entrance be set back from the street, closer to the surface parking lot on the east side of the building (and isn't going anywhere). So, not very appropriate for the urban environment based on what we know about urbanism this side of, say, 1975. And it goes without saying anyone proposing this kind of car-oriented site design would be laughed out of the permits office in New York or Chicago, or even Minneapolis.

I really hope they are planning to at least keep the street-oriented entrance, though it doesn't look like it from the renderings.

Of course this project's architect will point to the lack of pedestrians and good precedents nearby as a reason why they should re-orient the building to cars. Like existing bad conditions are an excuse for new bad conditions.
This is off topic Wardlow. But I was riding by the Wardlow and noticed engraved into the facade is the address spelled Wardlow. But the current street name is Wardlaw. Any idea when or why that changed?
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  #33  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2018, 2:34 AM
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Originally Posted by trueviking View Post
This is off topic Wardlow. But I was riding by the Wardlow and noticed engraved into the facade is the address spelled Wardlow. But the current street name is Wardlaw. Any idea when or why that changed?
Around the First World War sometime, I believe. I would imagine that they discovered that they’d misspelled the honouree’s name, but that’s just a guess.
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  #34  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2018, 3:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Riverman View Post
What was the building used for previously?
The history of the building is in the link below. It was apparently built in 1909 by a real estate development company, the Notre Dame Investment Company. Early tenants included architects, insurance companies, chemical company, cigar company and Austria-Hungary consulate.

The building was given an historical designation by the city in February 2017. It's hard t believe the Hyatt proposal, as currently proposed, would meet an historic designation requirement.


http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/keewaydenbuilding.shtml
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  #35  
Old Posted Jun 14, 2018, 7:13 PM
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Originally Posted by trueviking View Post
This is off topic Wardlow. But I was riding by the Wardlow and noticed engraved into the facade is the address spelled Wardlow. But the current street name is Wardlaw. Any idea when or why that changed?
I don't know when that changed, but Wardlow is a name of Scottish origin, assumed to originate from Wardlaw.

Perhaps just someone with a penchant for historical accuracy had the street name changed?
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  #36  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2018, 5:29 PM
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Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy View Post
Nice edition to downtown. Refurbished medium highrise on the edge of the East Exchange District and The Forks and a hop, skip and a jump to the ballpark. Will this be a 3* or 4* hotel?
According to my travel pal in California and from what I know, anything Hyatt including Hyatt Place hotels are always first rate in the category they are placed in no matter the star rating.... It would be perhaps 3.5 * to 4 * It will be nothing like 5 * Park Hyatt or 5 * Hyatt Regency since they are larger with banquet rooms, more dining options and a true full serve hotel like our Fairmont etc.. Still a great add to our under served need for hotels downtown. Over the years we have lost some like Sheraton, PLR etc...With the expansion of the RBC convention centre and closures of near 300 rooms @ PLR plus with the Marlborough not so much a top choice and a couple others no longer rated as 3.5 or better, we are in need for a couple more. Glad that Sutton will be added and hope for a couple more. I would say one high end like Mariott or Westin, Hilton and then a moderate priced one like Courtyard by Marriott 4 points Sheraton, Clarion.

Last edited by BAKGUY; Jun 17, 2018 at 6:26 PM. Reason: edit
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  #37  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2018, 5:47 PM
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This will be great! I wish that they would build the addition only to one side of the building instead ov enveloping it on the side and over the top. But beggars can’t be choosers.

Same here. It could be done easily with a mechanical parking system. You could even have your car parked inside your hotel room so you know it won't be stolen.


Two entrances would work as long as the street entrance was not the main entrance. Maybe it could be a coffee shop entrance.

Last edited by robertocarlos; Jun 17, 2018 at 6:41 PM.
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  #38  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2018, 5:53 PM
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Originally Posted by esquire View Post
^ The hotel itself is getting old and outdated, and it wasn't really anything special to begin with...if the owners want to redevelop the site I'd expect the hotel to come down to make way for whatever would be next.

There's a nice swimming pool somewhere under those parking lots. I remember a guest jumping into the pool from one of the third floor balconies along Hargrave. We tried to talk him out of it.
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  #39  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2018, 5:57 PM
robertocarlos robertocarlos is offline
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Originally Posted by drew View Post
"welcome to our hotel!" Yeah, your friend in the wheelchair needs to wheel down the sidewalk, around the corner, and come in out where we keep the garbage bins."

When I was young we could only dream of an entrance through the garbage room and then the kitchen. And it was up a very steep ramp in both directions.
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  #40  
Old Posted Jun 17, 2018, 9:15 PM
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Originally Posted by robertocarlos View Post
There's a nice swimming pool somewhere under those parking lots. I remember a guest jumping into the pool from one of the third floor balconies along Hargrave. We tried to talk him out of it.
Not under a parking lot but under a new wing on the west side.

You can see a picture of the old pool on this postcard for sale

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Manitoba-Pos...75.c100623.m-1

And a different card's view

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1970s-CHARTE...-/141448635277
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