Sherbrook Inn and Vendor Closed

The announcement that Sherbook Inn had closed their vendor and lounge in the last weeks has been met by stony silence from the owners. The pawnshop and other businesses located in the building have as much information as the public does. The Tallest Poppy closed sometime ago.

The hotel sits in an area that has seen some spark of business but for decades, it has been the proximity to violence and perhaps even the source of problems in the area. It remains a question of whether parts of the neighbourhood are the problem or the hotel is the problem. Perhaps they feed off each other.

In the 1990s the area was suffering over a good part of the west end. Arson was a major problem as was rooming house murders. The hotel itself was scene of a murder back then and the reputation was a rough one. Since then we have seen part of Sherbrook and Maryland have new housing built, assisted living by the hospital and some new restaurants and shops.

The last few years have seen a return of arsons and nearby there were four people killed in a shooting. In another recent murder, the victim's truck was found in the hotel parking lot. The possible killer died after a police interaction. Drugs and alcohol have always played havoc in Manitoba. The harder drugs are hurting the entire continent. 

The province has been very slow on supporting rehab programs and supportive housing. Mental health supports have been just as challenging. The one thing that people in the West End all seem to agree on is that the Sherbrook Hotel has been scary and despite the efforts of some in the community to put wrestling in and Tallest Poppy, it has gotten worse, not better. 

The Free Press article ripping Sherbrook was one of utter contempt and disgust. The big question is: Will this compel the owners to sell? And if they sold, would it be another hotel operator to own it? At this point, the building may not be worth anything whereas the land might be. There is potential to turn this site into something that might enhance retail on Sherbook as well as provide housing. There have already been a few hosing projects along Sherbrook as well as Maryland that show developers are interesting in investing.

One thing for certain is that each block of an area has to be part of the solution to a vital neighbourhood. If the hotel is a no go zone then whatever success you have near the hotel or across from it is blunted by the feeling of danger.  A hotel by itself doesn't have to be a bad thing. The Osborne Village had at times been a vital part of the business and culture of the area. It remains to be seen whether its demolition and what is coming will contribute to a real street life presence on Osborne. Perhaps with some of the developments down the street, we might see Osborne be reborn again. But the rent for commercial and residential people has to be more sensible.

The backlash against high costs has hit even McDonald's which has taken hits for $3 hash browns in the U.S. The company has declared they will be looking at the affordability issue. This was major news worldwide as the CEO said the complaints have the company looking at this issue. This can be said of so many industries where they have kept increasing prices.

It is always somewhat amazing sometimes that commercial space goes unrented for so long. One of those reasons often is that some owners refuse to sell or bring down the price or subdivide. It will be interesting to see if the owners of the hotel will sell it as a hotel or for the land. Or maybe the wait goes on forever as we sometimes see. 

As with the 1990s, Wolsely is on the edge on either a slide downward or a turn for the better. In the past, a revival of property values, people investing in property and security, a downturn in crime helped west of Maryland become a favoured community to own a house and some businesses thrived. The hotel closure and something new happening on the land might help change things extending down Sherbrook and spread to surrounding streets.

At the moment no one knows what's happening. It can be a slow burn of empty properties just siting and doing nothing. Even on major roads like Portage Avenue it is surprising how many places remain idle year after year. Former hotels have been converted at the Clarion and now the Balmoral for medical visits from the north. By all appearances they seem to be a practical solution for a need that is growing with an aging population. In Minneapolis, some older hotels have been converted for local income housing for those who have been homeless.

The mayor and the premier have both said they want faster solutions to the housing crisis in our region. An old hotel on Sherbrook might be what is needed.

Vimy Ridge Park Area at Portage Avenue

Right across from Vimy Ridge Park the Commissionaires have moved into their new office on Portage Avenue where Klinic was for years. Klinic has moved from their former locations here and on Broadway to Sherbrook to a building that recently housed a software company.

Both moves are good for both organizations.

Klinic gets a larger building along one of the most dynamic streets on Sherbrook and the Commissionaires get a larger headquarter fronting on the city's busiest street of Portage Avenue with enough parking for their fleet of vehicles.

The Commissionaires continue to retired military and police in their service and therefore play a major role in returning veterans to civilian service for good working years.

Over the last 60 years many office buildings along Portage Avenue have hosted provincial or federal government or non-governmental organizations in them. 

Even before the pandemic there was some indications that the city was about to take off. Doesn't mean it is without a problems. This stretch of retail across from The Commissionaires offices has had a few empty spots for some time. Still do. I generally believe at some point landlord either won't lower their leases or have let their place deteriorate so much that it lacks appeal.

Just past Commissionaires office are union offices. You can find several offices along Portage Avenue. This one also houses the Manitoba NDP headquarters which shows how close unions and NDP are.

Food Fare on Portage Avenue ensure this end of Wolseley and the West End are not a food desert. The foot traffic generated to the store means this bus station is also busy and a good draw for the bank. In short, they feed off each other's success.

A look east down Portage Avenue to downtown.

Vimy Ridge Memorial Park just off Portage Avenue was originally St. James Park from 1894 to 1926 when it was re-dedicated and the World War I memorial was added. Just goes to show name changes can happen in Winnipeg and do.

The park has received a lot of love recently after many years of neglect. Memorials have been upgraded, trails as well, garden beds and recreation. Parks and recreation as well as forestry always seems to take the brunt of cutbacks.

The street borders of Vimy Ridge are Portage Avenue and running down east side in Canora Street and on west side is Home Street. The south side if backed by Preston Avenue. It is mostly a park in the Wolseley residential area but the proximity to downtown and West End as well as the memorial nature of the park attracts and wider use.

Looking down Home Street.

Cherry blossom season seemed to last a long time this year whereas poof, you missed it last year.

First Presbyterian Church is a gorgeous stone church that overlooks Vimy Ridge Park. As with many churches nowadays, the congregations come from all over the city rather than just local residents.

Older homes along Picardy opposite the church so signs of families and restorations.

There is evidence of a lot of green thumbs as gardens proliferate.

In the 1990s the chance that Wolseley could be lost to creeping neglect migrating in from absent landlords, rooming houses and a decline in prices not seen since the Depression. Suffice to say that the area has had a 20 year sustained comeback. It is helping Sherbrook and Maryland transform every year.

As Broadway begins at Portage and curves its way east, it passed by the Gordon's Bell's newer field. It is worth noting that politicians only moved when the post office indicated they were going to build a sorting station there. Just an indication of the lack of foresight about the needs the high school had for a very long time with a concrete playground.

Local politicians were asleep at the wheel earlier when the care dealership across the street moved and made no attempt to grab the large site for a space that did not have to be pigeon-holed. Nevertheless, the new field attracts young people all the time. Even in a pandemic (as you can see here) during a no gathering mandate.

Don't want to point fingers at all. Experts are saying that young people are more resilient and suffering terribly from remote learning. But we also have 350 to 500 people a day getting infected, What a time. 

In non-pandemic times this field is filled all the time. And will be again. One wonders if there will ever be a school division fieldhouse and rink to support several school programs in the future. The money is not there now. But what if it could be? The University of Winnipeg could not imagine the fieldhouse it has now. Today it is top notch.

At Picardy and Broadway there are a series of small multi-unit apartments. This is the evolution of the area. On major bus routes, we will see density increase and this helps the vitality of the area using existing infrastructure.

Trees were planted on the property as it should be. I will explore this area a bit more in the future. There is a lot happening.

Across from Gordon Bell High is one of the numerous regional health offices. Provincial government offices are all over the place.

If I have complaint about government offices is that almost never have retail or other offices on the first floor. They can take up an entire block or more and nary a convenience store or coffee shop. Heck, some of them could go further and have apartments above them and retail on the first floor. Instead we always get non-descript, zero street presence anonymous government offices.

The pictures kind of speak for themselves. Gray or concrete. No life on them on evenings or weekends. Barely a name on them most of the time. Street killers.

The former Italian restaurant Paradise didn't remain empty for long. Garden House, East Indian restaurant took over even in a pandemic. The building beside it show classic mixed use. A longtime dental office with apartments above it. Street life. Just not enough of it with dead provincial government offices next door.

And yet another empty provincial government office with nary a sign on it. And their empty parking lot. I think this one at least has a daycare in it. Why do the bunkers get built?

When provincial government offices get too old they hand them to child and family services.

The East Portage Entrance of Vimy Ridge Memorial Park. Still awaiting their flowers. Notice the tree stump. Many never get replaced.

The memorials are worth stopping and looking. The sacrifices from this province's men and women have been painful.

Overall a beautiful park and residential area and worth looking at.

And if government wants to be helpful, more mixed development and less bunkers on Portage Avenue.

Misericordia Seniors Housing Opposed

Social media lit up in regards to Misericordia proposing seniors housing in its largely vacant education and resource center at 691 Wolseley, directly across from Misercordia Health Centre. The six story Misericordia Education and Resource Centre has been 80% empty ever since the Massage Therapy College of Manitoba decamped to the Clarion Hotel office spaces as Evolve Massage Therapy school. For many years three floors of what used to be the in-house training center for nurses were used by the school. Downstairs has been used by four non-profits, two of which have already found spaces. Health, family and seniors had been the focus of the organizations that operated in the building.

The proposed building seen above would be constructed once the old building is demolished some time in December once all the tenants have left. Thoughts on refurbishing the building were dismissed when the total started to climb northward in terms of bringing the building to code. Electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling as well as accessibility were far from ideal. A study done by Misericordia pegged costs at $7 million.

The 1962 built building is neither distinct nor well utilized for a 60 year old building and yet some people are advocating for its preservation and restoration. The argument for halting the demolition has to be taken in contrast to what will replace the mostly empty six storey building. What is being proposed is an assisted living seniors apartment that has 97 units that start at 20% below market rates for rent. Further, 29 units will be 30% below market rental rates.

Misericordia Corporation, a non-profit will plow all income back into the building. Moreover, it will be connected by skywalk to the hospital itself. The new building appears to attractive and unlike its old counterpart, seems to have a presence to Sherbrook Street. This is important because Sherbrook through fits and starts as been slowly becoming a more people oriented and likely street. Entrances to Sherbrook would go a long way to facilitating more activity.

It seems everything Misericordia does is resisted. The personal care home Misericordia Place was resisted in 2000 by many. Nearly 55 years ago Villa Rosa was opposed. The parkade has been opposed since 1985 but people parking anywhere near the hospital is opposed. The hospital has gone through many changes. The original 1971 construction of the Emergency and ICU was opposed. Later, its closure was opposed. The closure of the Urgent Care was opposed.

It is a very long list of resistance to change. However, a seniors home on an underused building site should not be opposed. One complaint was that climate change suffers when an old building is not revitalized. I am dubious on this as the building does not meet any codes now, is not dense enough and has huge problems on accessibility.

This city needs below market seniors housing in the Wolsely area. It is exactly what is needed and a brilliant addition to the neighbourhood. There are a lot of things to oppose in this city but inexpensive housing is not one of them.

Za Pizza Bistro Finally Coming to Osborne Village

It took 12 months. Yes, you read that right. From the time it was first talked about to the sign going up in the window, it took 12 months to say Za Pizza Bistro is coming to Osborne Village. Why? Who knows. But all of the buildings have problems borne of being many decades old. Electric, water, false ceilings, multiple layers of flooring, heating and cooling and the big one in the Village: landlords. Most of the landlords were once business operators themselves who transformed the community and led beloved stores and restaurants. Today, they own high rent assets that have seen little infrastructure improvement and newer entrepreneurs who look further down Osborne or Corydon or Sherbrook or Sargent.

A few things have happened though. Some landlords have sold their buildings and new landlords have arrived. Some new business people have come to revitalize once proud corners of Osborne Village with a new restaurant concept. A few gyms have opened in spaces deemed to big for stores but useful to a growing community where apartments and condos abound.

And then there is the cannabis stores. The deep pocketed cannabis stores have grabbed large retail spaces in the last year. That has left a few gaps where some new businesses see an opening. Some new immigrants have opened some ethnic restaurants that could be set to take off. Everyone you look there are opening soon signs.

However, where Second Cup once stood for many years, the first floor has been vacant and waiting for the the promise of a licensed pizza restaurant. Some said it would never come. And then the sign went up. Za Pizza Bistro Coming soon.

Osborne Village had a very successful Canada Day event. Moreover, since Assiniboine Park pretty much shut down at 7 PM on the big day, it left very few late night places to celebrate. The Forks did its job, of course, but Osborne felt like it was reaching a tipping point to being a busy, social and successful street once again.

At some point possibly in August, we might see very few vacancies for a few blocks. Some notable exceptions though...The Osborne Hotel remains closed and with no obvious work being done. What a waste for a place that lived on music, a busy beer vendor and restaurant and being the centerpoint to beer gardens to wrestling.

Yay for Za Pizza Bistro coming and hope it inspires a long overdue focus to do something with the hotel that doesn't feel like a real letdown of what looks to be a bright future.

Winnipeg Fire and Winter Cold

Winnipeg emergency services in deadly winters cold is a pretty miserable task. And a deadly one as well. Over the years Winnipeg firefighters have been hurt or killed trying to do their jobs. In recent weeks we have seen several residential apartment hit by fire and in some cases the damage looks greater than the structure can withstand. The heavy ice on a burnt out building is something to behold.

And so it was in 1987 when the Young United Church kitty corner to Broadway and Sherbrook Street burned down a few days after Christmas services on December 27. Most of the church was destroyed save for one tower which remains to this day.

In the 1980s many of the residential buildings in this areas had been converted to rooming houses. It was a tough area and on the verge of collapse as crime and arson plagued the area. Violence was common. Young United served this community as poverty and despair looked to move further west into Wolsely and down Sherbrook and Maryland towards Misericordia Hospital.

Alcohol was a huge factor but ritalin mixed with other things became a problem as a street drug. Police were up and down Furby and Young Street near the church not to mention ambulances and fire trucks. It was not difficult to see the entire city at the cusp of failure as the 1980 recession dragged.

In this time money was poured in from the Core Area Inititative, The Forks was just about to kick off as well as North Portage with Portage Place, Investors Group etc. Still, it was easy to feel like it was putting one finger in a dike only to have something else happen and not being able to stop the flood.

I walked past Young United Church regularly from 1983 to 1988 and again in the 1990s. If you missed the Academy bus, it was possible to walk from the The Bay and into River Heights before the next one came. Many times I just walked back from University of Winnipeg to home as a matter of course.

The church was a beautiful building. A few churches in the area were like that though. You just took it for granted. When I started back to school in January in my final year at U of W, the icy remains of the church looked incredible. However, the loss of the church itself struck me even though it was never one I attended.

One tower was preserved and the re-built but there was no way to restore the glory of the old building. I miss it. The above picture is from 1966. As you can see there has been a Shell station on the corner for decades. The top picture from 1987 shows gas was 39.9 cent a litre.

At least there were no human fatalities in the fire at Young United. In so many other cases in winter fires, firefighters and citizens have lost their lives.

Manitoba Clinic Building Opening Soon

Corner of Notre Dame and Sherbrook

It is hard not to be impressed with the construction of the new Manitoba Clinic at the Health Sciences Centre. For those that travel down Sherbrook or Notre Dame, it looms from a great distance but up close looks more attractive than renderings of what it would look like showed. At 10 floors. it fills up the space occupied by a Shell gas station completely. The basement and first floor house a variety of health related services while the the next three floors provide parking.

The floors from 5 to 10 will house the Manitoba Clinic doctors and specialists offices. The old yellow building built in 1955 was to be demolished for the CancerCare expansion but that appears to be on hold now. The Manitoba Clinic is one of the largest and oldest private health clinics in Canada with a variety of doctors and specialists working of that location. Latest numbers are around 75 physicians.

The Manitoba Clinic started as the MacCharles Surgical Clinic in 1936 and became the Manitoba Clinic in 1946. It moved to the present Health Sciences campus in 1955 and was hugely influential on the development of appointments at the hospital. The Manitoba Clinic along with other clinics in the city represented in many cases family dynasties in the healthcare field.

The entrance to the clinic will face back towards the hospital in part to assist in drop off and pick ups. Still, the building despite the lack of Notre Dame doors has an attractive street presence in part because of the windows and its design.

The views from those windows is a full city view looking east and an airport view looking west. It is nothing short of spectacular.

It is important to note that Manitoba Clinic is private and yet is an important part of the HSC campus which includes the University of Manitoba medical, dental, nursing and other heathcare schools connected to the various hospitals comprising the downtown space.

The old parking lot which raised its fees to cover the costs of the new building kicked off some controversy. However, unlike the other parking lots of the campus, this one is not a hospital lot and paid for by the doctors themselves.

Parking is always going to be an issue of one of the larger hospital campuses in Canada. This will always be the shortcoming of a central location. However, if transit options become more attractive, it could also make for an even busier hub in years to come.

No word on when the grand opening of the Manitoba Clinic will be but expect a big announcement soon with even more details about its history and function.