1100 Corydon

Over a long period of decades Corydon from Confusion Corner to Wilton has become more commercial and has seen higher density residential units built along it. It has been fairly organic and neighbourhood pushback on things has only had a few flashpoints such as the drive-thru at Stafford or the long ago Days of Wine and Roses street festival.

The Italian restaurants and others that made the street walkable remains in place but the area but more businesses such as beauty shops, medical and dental clinics and law offices. More housing would also be welcome but that doesn't seem to be in the plans which is a shame.

What does seem to be happening is small sections of the street being transformed from single floor shops and restaurants to a mix of retail/restaurants and commercial tenants of up to three floors. This is happening a little bit at a time but changes in zoning means less setbacks from the sidewalk and more opportunity for balcony and rooftop stuff.

Corydon and Wentworth, just before Crescentwood Community Club, is the last stretch on commercial before angling into River Heights where commercial stretches are spotty at best. One such building at the corner aforementioned was Ralph Cantafio's Custom Tailors was a single floor shop that existed in River Heights since the 1950s. It has been rebuilt as a three floor, four commercial unit building that has no setbacks. It comes right to the curbside and extends to the end of its lot. It is an attractive building.

It is the two buildings next door that are now being redeveloped in much the same way as Cantafio's. The former comic book store and hair salon and a house next door that looks like it was used for offices are going to be demolished. In its place will go up a three storey building with three commercial units facing out to the street and two floors of offices including a rooftop terrace.

Put together with the Cantafio building next door, it is a continuous commercial curb side development. It has a street front profile. Anyone walking down the street has reason to window shop. The difference between Corydon and Osborne Street until recently was that almost no apartments existed directly on Osborne as it went through the Village. Corydon has always had apartments and houses on it and this should remain so.

If Covid has shown us anything it is that neighbourhoods that are all offices or all retail will suffer without people living close by. Neighbourhoods such as Bridgwater which are more mixed use and have transit within them tend to do much better. Corydon is mixed use for blocks but these occasional tweaks will make more a fuller neighbourhood experience.

The economy and growth rate in Manitoba is improving although it is still hard to see it. Population growth is up and GDP growth as well. Productivity is still in need of improvement. However, one of the ways to improve productivity is logistics. Try to ensure the every neighbourhood has what it needs to be sustainable makes it a more productive place to live. Not to mention move livable. No grocery stores or pharmacies means you have to leave to find those things.

The new building seen above features two floors of window facing the street on the second and third floors. The first floor will be the three shops which may include a restaurant. As seen in the pic, the building blends into the corner building. The highlight if the rooftop terrace.

There are still gaps in Corydon which could could use a re-fresh but organic growth means, it is a small piece at a time. Likewise, we are not likely to see a Day of Wine and Roses festival in full throated street party as in the past. Even Osborne has found that it can interfere with business as much as support it. What does work is a consistent organic upgrading. 

The city planner can help by not mandating setbacks from the sidewalk. It is uninviting to shopkeepers and a waste of space in general. There are a few other places along the street getting touchups but nothing so quick as to alarm. However, it is interesting to note that when people who have been away from the city from a year or two come back, they notice the changes. This is markedly different than when the city went through long periods with few changes to areas. In some cases, showing a bit of wear and tear. This is no longer the case for some streets such as Corydon.

Edit: A reader reminded me that the corner in question is Wilton, not Wentworth. She mentioned the shop next to Cantafio's was Sandy's, a candy store. The house in the picture was mentioned as Dr. Schwart's dentist office in the past.

Across the street was the Belgian Bakery and the opposite corner Sal's, Mclean's Tomboy Waugh's Annex General Store. Before it was Sal's it was the Purple Parrot. She recalls a soda shop and a small shop with hardware next door. Today massage therapy clinic and yoga places are on the corner.

Corydon Hardware further down Corydon which is closing is part of a bygone era. The only grocery further down is Foodfare.

Kenaston and St. James Bridge Reconstruction

The St. James Bridge is getting to the time where maintenance every year will not cut it. Much like the Arlington Bridge, it might reach a time where one if not both of the spans will be closed. Crumbling infrastructures closed the Civic Parkade and made the Public Safety Building a danger. It is a pattern with the city that something becomes completely broken and then it takes years to do something about.

The changes to the St. James Bridge alone are massive and will be in the tens of millions and likely take at least two or more years to do. It is difficult to see what the city has in mind, especially around Portage Avenue and the fire department structure. Some other work around the Viscount Gort and along Portage is a bit of a mystery as well.

As the St. James Bridge proceeds south into River Heights and Tuxedo, it actually curves west and hits a stretch where the speed drops to 50 kms. It is a narrow stretch right off the bridge and has houses on either side. A few have been bought by the city and removed but there many others that the plan calls for their removal. It appears all access roads to Kenaston from Academy to Willow will only be service roads with no turns at Route 90.

If this was the only work done for the bridge and the approaches, it would a huge job. However, the fear is that traffic would bottleneck further down Kenaston and especially as it gets to the more commercial areas further south. The Kapyong development probably has all of the planners nervous. It should. If any street looked in need of a transit corridor, it would be this one. Six lanes of traffic is what is being planned. It will be even wider at intersections further up. Moreover, it doesn't indicate what changes even further south will have to be contemplated.

There is an indication of what the cost benefit analysis shows for the road and it is pretty thin soup. It will be about only a few minutes in saved time but at $730 million plus that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. Moreover, the mayor says there is the Peguis extension that he says is also a priority. Both projects could cost $2 billion. It is hard to imagine where the money is going to come from. The federal government already commits money to the municipalities for infrastructure. The province has their own priorities which might not go to roads that cannot be sustained by the city after.

The city already spends about $100,000 a year to maintain Kenaston/Route 90. Fewer large trucks use it now that the Tuxedo Yards is no longer a container port. It is a busy stretch of road and can get bottlenecked. A big concern is that if the road is expanded that it encourages huge development just outside the perimeter. That is no idle concern. One of the last provincial government's objectives was turnpikes on the Perimeter Highway that was to facilitate exurban growth.

Part of the design as Kenaston heads south involves blocking road access except at major intersections like Corydon and Grant. At those intersections, there is considerable widening for turning lanes. Also part of the road will be berms and walls which we see in the Bridgwater section of Route 90. This has led to late night racing in past years since it seems no one is there to stop it.

Kenaston is indeed a mess the money spent might be a case of: if you build it, they will come. In other words, it could bottleneck even more and not get people to use other modes of transportation. There will be buses up and down Kenaston and in one year, the entire system of Transit will be changed. The goal is not to have to wait longer than four or five minutes for a bus. It is sure to be confusing at first and may require some adjustments along the way. However, the goal should be to increase density of residents along these routes. In other cities, use of a car is less of a need because of the consistency and safety of public transit. 

Most other cities, including American ones, are establishing light right, subways, trains and busy routes as it increasingly looks like roads cannot be expanded any further. Winnipeg has managed just one route for the Southwest Transit Corridor. The rest will probably come decades later. That's how slow the process is. It will be likely the federal government will wonder why huge amounts will be spent on roads in Winnipeg whereas Transit is low priority. 

Even before Kenaston is worked on, the First Nations will be working on the re-development of the now empty Kapyong site. It remains to be seen whether they leave one lane on either side open for road expansion while they build their hotel and conference centre. At some point road access will have to be considered. But will it be on a standard two lane road with some turning lanes. Once the development is built out to curb-side, the chance of having six lanes quickly fades.

As mentioned, there is no budget for anything to do with Kenaston or the St. James Bridge. The city will literally go cup in hand to the province and the feds and might come up empty. If they try to bear the costs themselves, they might not be able to afford anything after including repairing other falling bridges. As long as bridges like Arlington are permanently closed, it is hard to imagine not thinking about the costs of new infrastructure. 

The city is asking for a new Core Area Initiative from three levels of government for downtown but with all the requests for money being asked for by mayor and council, they seem to think tens of billions will flow to various projects. Big road projects are likely down on the list with the federal government. Even a new Conservative government next year is unlikely to be forking over billions to every municipal government with huge shopping lists. It seems unlikely the new NDP provincial government will be not so keen on two highways getting huge provincial funds either.

The only way of the above project gets money is if it is part of a public transportation component. Having a few bus stops doesn't seem to cut it. As Kapyong ramps up, the options on adding lanes might end. It may start to create some desperation at City Hall as buildings go up at the new development. However, with no budget and no fairy godmother, it is hard to see where they get the money for this.

New Condos to Replace Shell Station in Tuxedo Park

 The Tuxedo Park shopping mall was built in 1962 and has been anchored by Safeway for decades. It has has makeovers several times including this past year when Safeway was re-designed in the new configuration that removed their peaked entrance along major exterior changes.  Interior design changes also took place through 2021.

The mall itself had major overhaul of its look and a small expansion in 2016. Some stores like Salisbury House and Mac's didn't make the cut. A Liquor Mart and a Starbucks are among the newer tenants these last years.

One thing that has not changed ever is the Shell station at the corner of 2025 Corydon at Tuxedo. It has been in place for decades...unchanged.

That changed this year.

While the building is still there, the signs have been removed and fencing has gone up around the carwash, convenience store and gas pumps. 

It has always looked like a fairly busy station but increasingly, we have seen more supersites like Red River Co-Op Gas in Charleswood where they have 20 or pumps and larger convenience store in place along with a carwash.

A demolition is pending and then removal of tanks and remediation. Once the site is cleared in 2022, a 13 floor condo with three commercial units on the first floor will be built. The residential floors will have 84 units although size has not been indicated.

No parking spaces seems to be lost as the condo falls within the footprint of the Tuxedo Shopping Mall. Still, anyone going to Tuxedo Shopping Centre will tell you that the parking lot can be very filled with cars because of the grocery, pharmacy and especially, during the day, the multiple dentist offices on the second floor.

A number of high rises went up around the mall in the 1970s and 1980s and a low rise condo just went up on Tuxedo. The 13 floor addition on a gas station lot should not be out of the question. And keep in mind? Where will Tuxedo residents live when they downsize? Many neighbourhoods people love to live in make residents move out if they have no multi-unit places to rent or buy.

Swiss Chalet Closes Kenaston and Corydon Locations

Swiss Chalet quickly and pretty thoroughly has closed two of their locations in Winnipeg On Kenaston and at Corydon and Stafford.

The restaurant was built in 2011 and initially cost $1.6 million and employed 80 people. Yes Winnipeg helped attract the chain back after many years absence. 

The pandemic has been unkind to restaurants and the group that owns Swiss Chalet has been closing places across the country.

I came here a number of weeks past when restrictions were reduced and I could not get in at another place without a wait. Swiss Chalet was open and quiet. There was a time when it was so busy they turned people away.

A few years after Kenaston opened, we saw Swiss Chalet and Harvey's take over the old Chicken Delight location at Corydon and Stafford. It had a drive thru that was grandfathered in and was almost ended when in 2014 Swiss Chalet picked up the location.

Like Kenaston it seemed to be fairly busy but the pandemic seems to have hurt it. Or perhaps the arrival of Popeye's has hurt other chicken places. 

I do know the last time I was there I was not impressed. And probably wouldn't have gone there if other places were not packed to the rafters.

Ultimately, this might have been the most ultimate reason they closed these two locations.

One location remains at Portage Avenue near the university. We will keep a lookout on this one.

Corydon Avenue Construction 2021

It was scheduled for spring of 2020 but put over to this year. Why? Not sure. With the pandemic and everything closed and I mean everything, it seemed construction was the only thing running. But not in this case. Nothing happened till this year.

Corydon has always been an oddball. You have two autobody shops next to posh coffee places and barber shops. It has apartments on one side a lot of the time and commercial on the other side.

Sidewalk cafe at Cocoabeans might be a little dusty and noisy.

Corydon remains a street where you have to slow down even when construction isn't happening. Unlike some streets like Jubilee that banned parking, stopping, loading, Corydon by its nature can't be a speedway.

I didn't enquire about the boarded windows at Corydon Cycle but I have seen it a bit all over the city. Thom Bargen Coffee windows smashed for a bike inside, CPR Cellphone window smashed across from St. Vital Shopping Centre. So tough for small businesses.

We have had some arsons. Twice in one abandoned house recently.  Drug addiction, grinding poverty, lack of housing and the pandemic. And crime rising. We need to do better.

If we can see shop windows smashed on major commercial streets it suggests a desperation, a brazenness. It doesn't go away running to the suburbs. Or exurbs. Or cottage. It follows you around.

The end of the pandemic will help populate the outside. But will it stop the desperation? And sending people to prison here results in deaths that even U.S. prisons would find hard to match.

Corydon remains attractive for a lot of reasons that Osborne Village struggles with on the main strip. It has people living in higher densities right on the street. Now, the Village could make up for it with people of Stradbrook and River but there have been empty spaces for years as result of land hoarding.

And while it might seem like a lot of restaurants on Corydon, there are grocery stores, convenience stores and hardware stores on the street. Never underestimate what 7 Eleven is in a neighbourhood. It is a place to buy a paper, get a lottery ticket, Slurpee.

There are a few street killers that are more effective than front facing parking. No offence to these businesses. They do try with patios and have parking for their customers but is a big open area when you walk past. 

The service window for restaurants is something that should continue for pick-up and delivery for yeas to come even without a pandemic. Bar Italia here has one.

Another example of how front parking kind of kills the street vibe. It always will.

The King George Courts built in 1913 is the type of building now fought in neighbourhoods all over as not in characters with the area. It is gorgeous but resisted by many. However, it is what is needed for higher densities and for people starting out, downsizing and the like.

Character homes so close to Corydon at Jessie and Cockburn.

At Jessie/Cockburn with Corydon in background. This was a 1/ 1/2 size lot. Not sure what house condition was but as you can see already sold as it nears completion.

Not sure how it will look when complete. As houses age past 100 years, some will fall to wrecking ball.

River Heights/Sir John Franklin Walk March 29

A look down the back lane at Kingway and Lanark March 29 Friday. Several sunny days in a row and on off work since March 15. Working at my parent's every day and going for a walk to create a routine.

Along Lanark from Academy to Taylor are bays. There is only one street that does this from one end to the other in the neighbourhood. Above is Lanark bay between Kingsway and Academy.

Kids gravitate to the parks. Many have picnic tables, some parks have kids toys in them year round. In this bad it was not unusual for 50 or more kids playing in one of the largest of the Lanark bays.

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Heading south down Lanark towards Grosvenor, you reach the section that used to be Sir John Frankin School but had been a field from 1991 to 2018. The school itself was built in 1921 and served the surrounding area for Kindergarten to Grade 6.

Above are the 31 homes (some still being built) on the former school ground with a new cross street between Beaverbrook and Lanark called Greenlawn Street. Kind of messes the tradition of streets running north and south and avenues running east and west. Bottom photo is Greenlawn Street from Lanark.

A look down Greenlawn towards beaverbrook Street. The houses are expensive even compared to River Heights standards.

Greenlawn is designer homes that are completely different from each other in look. Only a few empty lots remain. Lots of families seem to have moved in so far.

A look back towards Lanark Street. They planted trees last year. Only a few years ago, there were 40 or 40 people a day or more taking their dogs here even though it was a school field not a park. The school division granted Sir John Franklin Community Club use of fields for soccer and other sports. Dog owners torn the fence to get inside and the fields were left in bad shape.

A look down Beaverbrook Street toward Grosvenor. Sir John Franklin elementary school used to face out this way and in the 1980s had a play structure built out front.

The school division held onto the land for years as surplus. Truth is that some schools come back like Sir William Osler whhen certain programs like French immersion take off.

Beaverbrook Street has some of the finest elms you will find in River Heights.

The corner of Beaverbook and Grosvenor.

Eventually, the school division sold the land. The city wanted no part of buy land at market value nor the upkeep of it. Dog owners took umbrage.

Looking back down Beaverbook.

Looking down Grosvenor. Westworth Church is on the right.

During the pandemic you can see many houses with kids drawings in the windows. This house on Grosvenor opposite Westworth Church.

Westworth was name that came from west River Heights and Dr. H.B. Duckworth, the first minister. It opened in 1954.

A look back down Grosvenor at the new houses on Sir John Frankin's old site.

Leo Mol did the stained glass windows here. They really are something to see from inside or out at night.

The roundabouts were added with no consultation, no study. The bike path along Grosvenor in much the same way. They are dangerous to cars, bikes, people and animals.

This controversial former fire hall should never have been the subject of land trades. The backroom self-dealing is poor governance. I wish we could say it has ended but even today we see one land holder as in the airport have sway of other landholders in Polo Park. If noise and height is truly a concern of the airport, should hotel development on airport land not be curtailed?

The north rink and satellite building are among the oldest components of Sir John Franklin Community Centre. The building has for decades been a wreck and the rink has been been through it as well.

The playground, slide and wading pool are pretty basic. The satellite building is not fit for any recreation facility.

The main building for Sir John Franklin and a urban basketball court right next to the dumpster.

The only entrance to the community centre fore decades used used to though the backlane. This entrance used to be smaller so when they built Sir John Frankin Road, it could only be used for pedestrians.

The urban basketball court and the main building. And addition in the late 1970s allowed for the community center to host hockey tournaments when my change areas were added as well as space to service the rinks. The two southern rinks became the focus of activity and have hosted as many as three rinks back there.

The main building in recent years had an active social rental business but the combination of three community clubs of Crecentwood and River Heights has meant more is done to keep only one of them active for that business.

Sir John Franklin has a little of every sport and recreation but it could stand to to replace and re-purpose some of the land. The absence of a dog park is perhaps the most obvious need in the area.

The two southern rinks for Sir John Franklin and the dressing room section that was built around the same time as Sir John Franklin Road was built in 1978/79. Prior, the dressing rooms were down some stairs and players had to walk down stairs to crowded space limited to two teams at a time. The entrance off the backlane on Lanark was closed.

The old Sir John Franklin Community Centre logo featuring Explorers. The building was a warming hut more than anything for in-between periods when rinks sometimes had to be shoveled off.

Sir John was the oldest of the community clubs in River Heights. It first started at Wellington Crescent in 1922 beside footbridge. It is now only a playground and tennis courts, It has been re-done so check it out if you haven't done so in a while. In 1940-46 a facility was built at Kingsway and Lindsay and in 1966, the current building was built.

River Heights (1946) and Crescentwood (1946) are babies compared to SJF as community centers, And yet in 2012, the Cardinals, Grizzlies and Explorers merged together as they all needed strength is shared services. The combined team is called the Comets. Go Comets.

Community clubs need some love. It is why I believe a dog park is a possible use of SJF land with a reconfiguration of the north part of the property.

Popping out of the alley at Lanark and walking down the street, you can see across at Renfrew a Circle K. Used to be Mac's. The award-winning Enoteco and Chinese food restaurant round out the tenants. For a long time River Heights used to be a food desert and people went to Kenaston just to go Grapes or Peppers.

In 1985, the old Safeway which closed in 1979 in favour of the newly re-done Tuxedo Safeway. It say empty till was converted to multiple shops. Bernstein's became an anchor Village Streetwear was another. The second building opened around 1993 when Royal Bank moved across the street. Just New Releases became an anchor as well as a video store.

In 1983, Domino's opened its first international location here on Corydon. It has been there ever since. Carellan Sewing Centre and Corydon Animal have been here even longer.

Safeway moved around a lot in River Heights with several locations but eventually moved out entirely in favour of the Tuxedo location.

Where Enteco is now used to be a Quiznos. However, many of them closed in Winnipeg with on St. James Street coming to mind as remaining.

The VQ Salon used to be Styx Comics for a while before a move to Academy Road as Comics America. Prior to that it was a Royal Bank until early 1990s when it moved across the street.

La Cantina portion of Mona Lisa used to be Nieman's Pharmacy. The middle section of Mona Lisa used to be Papa George's till 1982. Before that it was George's in the 1970s. The far end of Mona Lisa was Tony's barbers shop and beside the a women's hair salon.

Gatewest Coin used to also also house Styx Comics for a a number of years.

The nature of this mall since 1985 has been very local in nature. It has had very little in the way of big operators here. It is an important place for business who don't fit traditional mall, street location or big box business operations.

Corydon has been getting rehabilitation section by section. They are trying trees in the median again. I hope they can withstand salt and sand. Several have been struck too by speeding vehicles.

Lanark Gardens apartments have gone through upgrades the last few years. One thing that hasn't changed is there are more cars than parking spaces for residents.

The Anglican Christ Church was on Corydon at Lanark from 1956 to 2008 when it was sold to Diamond Gallery. The parish had grown too small for the church that was once home to a daycare and for decades sold plant seeds every year.

Heading back north on Lanark. This is another example of new housing going up in River Heights. Every street has an example of this. For years it was unheard of to see complete re-builds in the neighbourhood.

Westworth back in March offered assistance to those kept in by the pandemic. This is assistance is being offered all over the city by people.

And back to Greenlawn and Lanark. The trees that always lined the fence of Sir John Franklin Elementary remain today. Everyone insisted they stay.

So ended my walk from Sundasy, March 29, 2020