Trizec - Commodity Exchange - Artis Tower
Many Winnipeggers still call
360 Main Street the
Trizec Building. Named after a long defunct development company and having a rather checkered past in terms of its origins, the building has always been a unloved addition to
Portage and Main.
The controversy over
360 Main Street is one that stands as example of what not to do for development. Built in 1979 and standing at 32 floors, the tower was completed just in time for some of the most brutal lay-offs in Winnipeg history and a humbling recession. For many years the tower was one where many floors stood unlit since they were unoccupied.
Over time, the building was filled with bank and lawyer offices and commodity brokers and exchange workers. Despite being officially named the
Commodity Exchange Tower, people insisted on calling the place the
Trizec Building. In all its years, there was no name atop the tower to signify a single entity that called the place home.
To add insult to injury, the
Concourse which was part of the development to connect the four corners of
Portage and Main, blocked people from walking across the most famous corner in the country. It was part of a plan to force pedestrians below ground to speed traffic through the corner but also to help monetize the mall at the back of the development.
The
Winnipeg Square Mall has
never had the size or draw to attract anything more than those who work nearby. Even to this day the mall specializes in services catering to those who work there every day.
The
Winnipeg Square Parkade was city owned until recently. It was the carrot that helped attract
Trizec at the beginning and became the jewel that the city tarnished by draining it of capital and selling at a fire sale price. Now, combined with
360 Main Street, it is a very likely super profitable component of the overall development.
Outwardly, the one change that people in the downtown may have noticed is that for the first time,
360 Main Street bares the name of
Artis on it. This is a reflection of the ownership change that happened last year. Winnipeg-based Artis bought the building and more recently took ownership of the
MTS Building across the street from an Israeli-based group. This is the first time the building has been locally owned since it was built.
Artis is the real estate investment trust that began publicly trading only seven years ago. It has become one of the largest companies in the city in short order. However, it would be wrong to think that the people there involved have not been in the business for decades. The
Marwest Group has been active for years in construction and development in Canada and the U.S. and has amassed a billion dollar portfolio. Its CEO
Armen Martens has become a big player in downtown development in recent years.
Even in the last days,
Artis has been named as a developer along aside the
Chipman family company
Longboat for the
MPIC lands near the
MTS Centre. It is becoming a familiar partnership for the the two companies. They are already involved in
Centrepoint, the development across from the
MTS Centre on
Portage Avenue.
The repatriation of much of
Portage and Main in the last year could be a good thing in that, it could lead to a development of empty pads atop
360 Main Street. The dream of an office won't proceed without commitment for space prior to construction. However, a hotel and condos in that block remains a distinct possibility.
Artis has the knowledge of the Winnipeg market to make that possible. It could be very significant that that
360 Main Street has the the
Artis logo on it.
How long before we might call it the
Artis Tower?
1 comment:
Maybe then people will go to The Shops Of Winnipeg Square. 'Cause man, that place is a ghost town.
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