New Westin Tower for Winnipeg

Proposed design for new hotel, offices and condos

The Asper owned Creswin company has been working on the worst kept secret in the city: an office tower in the empty space beside their 201 Portage (formerly Canwest-TD building).  Like a lot of Portage and Main developments, the intent was to create more than one tower. Richardson was like that, Trizec was liked and the TD tower was like that.

Inevitably, in all of the cases mentioned, an economic cycle ended and plans for further expansion were shelved. In the case of 201 Portage though a huge gap tooth was left on Main Street where a once beloved building stood. The McIntyre building was actually town down in 1979 for a parking lot and not to support the later 1990 construction of 201 Portage Avenue in 1990 atop the CNCP telecommunications building.

A series of buildings got whacked in that block including one that used to house 13 CFRW's offices before they headed to Pembina Highway.

28 or 29 storeys

Winnipeg has not had a Westin Hotel since The Fairmont/Lombard rebranding of the Richardson-owned hotel took place. The company was looking for a way back for some time.

Filling a decades old gap

 

The plan for the hotel, offices and condos is contingent on access from Main Street and the use of an alley. The hang up could be the loading docks and garbage pick-up for surrounding buildings. I have no idea how complicated that process is but if people work together this seems to be a problem where solutions can be found.

The inevitable criticisms of placing a hotel downtown and how dangerous it is and that no one will stay there seems to ignore the continued success and longevity of The Fairmont, home to visiting execs and NHL players. As far as I know, it isn't a haunt for activities that scare people off and if the restaurant and lounge activity around the place is any indication with Hy's, Brooklyn's and Baily's, there seems to be a circle of activity surrounding the area.

Please put that clock in as seen in pic

The only gap now on the street if the project goes through will be the pull-in to the hotel along Main Street. I am curious how busy it will be and whether it is problematic for pedestrians.

A certain connectivity takes place when the gap is filled. Whiskey Dix and Fox and Fiddle will no longer have the separation they do from Portage and Main. And the west side of Main can continue the vitality that seems to be taking root with Red River's Paterson GlobalFoods Institute tower beside City Hall.

The one thing that will continue to haunt Portage and Main is the lack of crossings because of the Concourse.  That discussion remains for another day.

Construction should start in August if all ducks are in a row.

This looks like a good project though as a top line hotel at the biggest business corner over a long time parking lot seems like a no brainer and a game changer for that corner.

The design of the building is a lot of glass as per usual now for such towers. The colours create some uniqueness. I am no expert on energy use or design flaws inherent in glass. All I can say is what we have paid dearly for provincial and city built facilities that used limestone cladding. Could this be another example of design issues? Anyone remember glass flying out of the Delta parkade?

Not to throw stone at glass walls...

I still like it and hope that things proceed and that all the bugs are worked out.

Welcome back Westin Hotel.

The New Stadium Part 1

I have been pondering the question about the new stadium plans for Winnipeg. The latest twist in all this is David Asper's plan.

I think the first thing is for there to be honesty in the debate about a stadium. In the past, we have seen a lot of dishonesty in regards to sports and entertainment facilities. The MTS battle comes to mind. I changed my vote with Glen Murray based on what I thought was dishonesty regarding funding for the new arena.

I supported a downtown arena as a worthwhile replacement for the Eaton's building. Unlike some of the dreamers out there, I saw no viable private tenant who would take it over. I also didn't think much of the condo and commercial plans that some people proposed that would have gutted the building and required even more tri-government support than an arena required.

Picture of the old Eaton's building. Picture taken by skinlovr



It seems that when it comes to public facilities, the first casualty is complete openness in the process.

David Asper is a rich man who has had a passion for Blue Bombers for many years. He has wanted to buy the community owned team for some time and has indicated he is willing to pay a lot of money to do it as well as build a stadium. Leo Ledohowski is also a rich man who wants to build a stadium. Both men want a lot of government money to achieve their stadium dreams.

Apparently, the Blue Bombers wished to stay in their present Polo Park location. However, if they want a new facility, they are at the mercy of politicians and business people who have their own agendas.

The stadium site at Polo Park has become a valuable piece of land in the ever expanding retail sector. In some ways, the stadium has become more of an inconvenience than a draw in terms of retail.

Vic Toews, the Harper minister in charge of Manitoba affairs indicated early on that he was not going to be able to sell a deal to help build a new stadium at the present location to the cabinet.

For political reasons, eyes started to cast about towards the downtown.

Almost as an afterthought, Asper's Creswin real estate company added a stadium to a waterpark proposal that it was thinking about selling the city on. Once that stadium was tossed into the mix, excitement at various levels of government jumped immediately.

One problem: No one had asked Point Douglas residents what they thought...





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