How Bad A Summer Will It Be?

More and more businesses are saying problems along Portage and into Wolseley are exploding. Rampant drug use, aggressive behaviour and fires set are out of control. The Free Press interviewed people about the new security rebate from the province and emerged with a scary story of how fast things are deteriorating. 

How bad is it? It is so bad that the block around north Portage by Sherbrook narrowly avoided being burned down. There are a number of businesses there begging for help from the government. They are not reactionary types with a hate for low income people. They are desperate not not be hurt through violence. They don't want their customers to be driven away. And they don't want to clean up people using their doorways as washrooms, sleeping stalls or spots to launch attacks.

These are not corporate tycoons. They are small businesses and ordinary people. Some have opened convenience stores and no one should feel they might subject to assault, fire or outright neglect. Blaming the people who are trying to make sure the area is not without bakeries, restaurants and stores is so unfair.

There are so many NDP MLAs and cabinet ministers in Winnipeg. Double the amount of councillors. They seem to be content fighting in the Legislature. Wab Kinew and Obby Khan just call each other names in Question Period. The NDP government is saying they are doing something but one building after another burns down. The NDP MLAs are invisible.

This is an election year in Winnipeg. They councillors and mayor could be vulnerable to defeat but the voter turnout is very low. No sitting mayor has been defeated since the 1950s. Very rarely does a sitting councillor get defeated. Unless a new system like ballot selection is chosen, there may be no fix for the same people in office. Ditto the MLAs who are just not visible.

This is not to say that some areas of improvement are helpful. The downtown safety patrols that are in part funded by True North are being trusted enough to get people on the path to some care routine. The spike in HIV and other diseases is an indication of some of the accelerated breakdown in health, especially in preventable diseases. Drug addiction, mental health are running rampant. Hepatitis A is running out of control. This suggests a complete failure in care. People are only being revived by paramedics just to suffer treatable diseases the rest of their lives.

It is clear that some on the streets have no impulse control and even placing them in homes is not enough support for the toxicity of the drugs. In fact, seniors who have had drug addiction folks placed in their buildings are saying they are under siege. Where are the wraparound supports? What we've been hearing is support staff won't go in buildings because it is too dangerous. This is outrageous. 

Every citizen will have the misfortune to use a hospital for their own use or family and friends in the next years and one by one, they are all being listed as unsafe by the very nurses who have to work there. This is considered acceptable? The amount of assaults on staff inside and outside hospitals is at critical levels.

Gordon Bell High School is in the middle of meth and fentanyl overdoses in the middle of the day as student walk through discarded needles. Security guards specializing in hard reduction are planned for next school term but the problem grows every day until then.

The fire department is reporting ever rising cases of places being brought down by arson. The city can barely keep up with vacant buildings and demolished buildings. A building that is closes could face arson only days after being boarded up. Fire services can be out multiple times a night. Paramedics are out at even great rates.

As far as Transit goes, the new route system sometimes leaves people feeling vulnerable during transfers. Many shelters might be filled with needles and occupied permanently. Inside the buses, the drivers want to shut off from the passengers. This may help the drivers while the passengers don't have any protections. 

An interesting story about San Francisco Democratic mayor Daniel Lurie appeared in the the Washington Post in the past days. He has done been cited even by Donald Trump about his crime fighting in the city. Using both public and private partnerships, he has made progress in the city that went through a terrible downtown following Covid and crime that seemed to have little regard for enforcement. Using technology and backfilling shortages of police has helped as well as various strategies to help people from falling into harmful behaviour.

So the question remains, how bad could it get for Winnipeg and Manitoba? While we may not have police shortages in Winnipeg, the RCMP is short very many officers. This does not help in terms of drug and human trafficking or episodes of school violence where response time is terrible. It seems unbelievable we have rising unemployment with a shortage of thousands of RCMP. Why are these positions unfilled?

Things have been moving so quickly that something terrible is going to happen and then it will be all reactive. It is hard to say what that might be. Homicide, arson, encampments along Portage Avenue, major city parks, multiple deaths from Hep A, overdoses and deaths? I don't know but things are moving painfully slow and the government and opposition seem only interested in calling each other names in the Legislature. City Hall seems overwhelmed and more focused on road construction and trying to get the Feds to pay for their sewer.

The election is in November and the situation with crime and drugs isn't going to go away. If it is a horrific summer, it will surely goad various governments to act. Finger pointing won't cut it although we are likely to see a lot of it. Winnipeg will need to surge all out. Simply swapping out needles and testing drugs won't cut it if violence and property crime escalate beyond the pale. If even the support workers fear going to work, you have already lost the battle.

Summer is when a lot of politicians in Manitoba like to take time off but it is unlikely that they will be able to escape scrutiny. Last years the province was on fire and there was no break. This year the drug and crime issue will do the same. There will be no hiding from it.

The Ten Commandments Returns to Assiniboine Park

 

Many of the things we associate with the greatest contributors to North American social and community well being comes from fraternal organizations or religious lay organizations. The Fraternal Order of Eagles in Winnipeg contributed a large monument of the Ten Commandments in 1965. The Eagles had been doing this all over the U.S. and this was the only one in Canada. They had been doing things like this since the 1940s but it really took off when the Hollywood film The Ten Commandments came out in 1956.

This was not unusual for the time and the Eagles were people who advocated for the creation of Mother's Day and proponents of social security in the U.S. In other words, they considered to be supporters of the common good. At the time, the majority of the population was Christian. And the Ten Commandments was the basis of many a constitution as a basic set of rules.

The separation of church and state is a complicated thing. In Quebec, the government tries to eradicate  

The Eagles started off with a close relation to the arts in 1898. The were the ones that pushed for Mother's Day and were huge supporters of social security. Some of the most prominent citizens in the U.S. and Canada were or are Eagles. It was back at a state legislature that a big deal was made about Ten Commandments monument donated many years before by the Eagles. It took a Supreme Court decision to get the monument put back.

In Winnipeg, it took a prominent Jewish philanthropist Gail Asper to make a plea for the return. It was quietly put back when the Eagles declined the return. And why should they have? Likely they were community builders from the greatest generation, undoubtedly World War II vets among them who wished only the best in their community. In that vein, the Eagles donated Ten Commandments monuments in the U.S. and Canada.

For years the monument sat in the northwest corner of the park without much controversy. The construction of The Leaf entailed storing it and herein lay the problem. The Assiniboine Park didn't know if they should just re-position it. This created way too much controversy whereby they asked the Eagles if they wanted the monument back which they didn't. Adding to the awkwardness is the fact that Kildonan Park also had a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Knights of Columbus.

At this point, leading citizens like Gail Asper stepped in to give clarity. There are some who probably will like a cleansing of religious symbols in public but then it can go so far as banning of religious symbol on your person as we see in Quebec. In that province, crosses and turbans are banned. The only way to do that has been to invoke the notwithstanding clause in the constitution. To go against freedom of religion and freedom of expression is a heavy price to pay. And it raises the question if atheism is itself a belief system.

Assiniboine Park did the right thing when they returned the monument. Quebec as turned atheism itself into a belief system so that it scrubs all religion away even when it is someone's personal body.  Surely, we should be able some flexibility going forward. Manitoba is generally a tolerant place. We have churches and synagogues across from one another. Religious schools everywhere. 

I understand re-naming some things and removing some things is the way of the world. But an old names or item can also be used for education. For example, a re-thinking about re-naming Wolseley is being considered. And this is by the Metis themselves. Does washing the name away teach anyone about history? Was destruction of statue of Queen Victoria meaningful over long term? Would moving it have been a more educational. One thing is certain and that is the occupation of the Legislature has turned it into an armed enclosure. It is unlikely anyone will ever damage, vandalize or otherwise engage monuments except in the most closely monitored protests there ever again.

As opposed to the Ten Commandments, which should live on peacefully in the park as before.

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.

Drop in Dance Winnipeg Open

The former location of Loewen Piano House on north Portage had sat empty for a while very close to Rae And Jerry's at 1381 Portage. This area has always been a vital commercial area marked by music stores such as St. John's and Quest as well as dog, cat and fish shops and pizza restaurants sitting side by side. It was sad to see Loewen close. The days of boutique family piano stores in the vein of J.J.H McLean seem to be on the wane.

I had seen the windows papered over some time ago and new something was coming but last night while driving to a meeting, the lights were blazing and the sign stood out as Drop In Dance. And inside a busy hive of people in studio beyond in silhouette. On a very cold February with an army of snow clearing equipment on the streets, people were dropping in and dancing.

The concept of this business is in its name. It is a place that people can drop in for classes or renting the studio for dance. And clearly people in Winnipeg love to dance. There are dance schools throughout the city and performances and competitions constantly. Many of these schools and studios are in the suburbs. It would seem that a drop in studio is just perfect for Portage Avenue being on a major route with bus service, parking and residential neighbourhoods in proximity.

On a dark and cold night in the city, Drop In Dance radiated warmth and activity. And what more could want want for Portage Avenue?

Thom Bargen Downtown Opens

It looks like after months of renovations that Thom Bargen Downtown has opened at 250 Kennedy Street. Two years after successfully opening on Sherbrook and being part of a rejuvenated Wolsley, the popular coffee house has taken over an optical store kitty corner to Starbucks . This is not a bad thing for either quite honestly. People attract other people and this growth seems organic as a few places have opened and there appears to be a desire to connect. Perhaps in a wired world, the street has a new appeal.

Community restoration goes building by building, street by street. Sometimes there are a few stumbles but it would seem that there is some steady progress in a few key areas of the downtown that are undeniable.

Thom Bargen is likely to a very welcome addition to the downtown area.

The Changes in Wolseley/West Broadway 5

Woodrow Place in Wolseley --- Priced at $595,00 to $695,000


Brother can you spare a dime? 


The first brownstone in Winnipeg and without doubt, the most expensive condos ever in to be built in Wolseley. Construction will start off Maryland along the Assiniboine River on Woodrow Place once pre-sales targets are met. Mulvey School sits across from the site. 

At the moment, five rental bungalow's sit on the site.


Fresh Projects Design Builders are the developers of the site and they say that there is demand for higher end condos in established neighbourhoods. Undoubtedly, this is true. I can imagine that someone selling a large riverside house in the Wolseley area might seriously consider such a condo rather than moving out of the area.


Some of the higher end prices we are seeing in Wolseley for homes are reaching $500,000., some up to $600,000. Thoughts that the granola belt was all lower priced homes, rooming houses and rentals should be dismissed out of hand.


There are some people deeply concerned with wealthy people moving into the neighbourhood. They shouldn't be. The best neighbourhoods are a mix of people and a mix of uses. A condo complex along this street raises the density over single family dwellings. It is a shame rental houses are lost but at the same time, it is important to constantly rehabilitate housing stock. We have seen what long term absentee ownership has done to some rental houses over time and it isn't pretty.


Ten years ago, we were very close to seeing some parts of the Sherbrook and Maryland Street areas becoming completely undesirable for housing or business. Some fires left gaps where houses once stood. There were rooming houses, rentals and massage parlours all along both streets. Violence was happening along the street around the hotel and some businesses. The prospects felt grim.


In 2007, a fire at Westminster and Sherbrook took out an older apartment block with some small businesses on the ground floor. It was rather sad and many thought the block would remain empty. It now has Stellla's and other restaurants on the site and that corner. 

Additional condos are all going up all along the street.

There is a new excitement in the area and it has built steadily over the last five or six years. 

No one be surprised if this area starts to bubble up and surpass Osborne Village in the next years. It is happening before our eyes.