CKX Part Deux

It looks like CKX has a new owner in this high stakes game of chicken that cable is playing with regular broadcasters.

Shaw has bought CKX.

Shaw already owns Kenora's TV station which it runs at a small profit. Let's see if they can do the same for Brandon.



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Bar Streets

Picture of Sixth Street bar scene in Austin, Texas

It started off with a contribution to the Free Press. It garnered many responses including one from Gail Asper.

The gist of the article is why weren't there any "bar streets" in Winnipeg. Several streets around North America are mentioned.

One thing we can try to combat on this perception is that there is not much to do. If Winnipeg had a cool bar street there would always be something to do: "Let's go for a cruise down Kindersley Street" or Riel Avenue or Coast Street or whatever. This is our chance to create something that could draw people (say to the best party city in Canada) for a vacation; people may actually choose to come here. Young adults of rural Manitoba I'm sure would come to the city more often. We could have something great like Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, or Electric Avenue in Calgary, or like many of the great college towns in the U.S .and Europe.

Bar streets don't happen in a vacuum. They come as a result of a desire of certain businesses wanting to cluster together and zoning allowing that to happen.

But where can that happen in Winnipeg? Well, in a city dominated by cars, it has to be a place with a lot of parking. It also has to be in a place where each of the bars is in close proximity to one another and feed off the excitement that crowds generate. Lastly, it has to be in a place that has a central attraction that create a lot of foot traffic.

The only place I can think of is downtown Winnipeg, specifically Portage Avenue Here's why:

Lots of parking.
Lots of space for restaurants and bars.
The MTS Centre.

Despite the fact that the MTS Centre has been around for a few years, it really only has Moxies and Tavern United in close proximity. This despite the fact that on some weekends, it can attract 60,000 people if three large shows happen. Father down each end of Portage are a few more restaurants and bars but there is very little cohesiveness to it all. Blush Ultra Club has been a bar location for a year. At 19,000 square feet and capacity of 1000 people, it never has been able to attract a counterpart where real club competition might happen.

On the southside of Portage in 2008, the Rinkside Restaurant and Bar opened up. It is a fairly small location but does add something for the eatery and sports mad fans in the area.

The need for a few more sports bars would go a long way too attracting even more people to the area prior to hockey and curling events.

So what can be done to attract more businesses to the area to create a true bar street?

I think the answer lies with Centre Venture. It should target a few empty buildings along Portage Avenue and call for tenders for restaurants and bars. At the moment, they are trying to do an office/condo combo for some Portage Avenue buildings but it just hasn't taken off.

The store front aspect should be focused on first and then the upper floors are likely to attract businesses who would welcome the hustle and bustle.



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Berkshares

I was going to mention this back a while ago but this seems to be the first opportunity to do so. USA Today no longer comes to the city. Shortly after the paper started, USA Today boxes could be found throughout the city. Don't know how long they lasted but it was years. After they were removed, the paper was available at some 7/elevens as well as the major book stores. No more. Since March of 2009, you cannot find a USA Today in any of the traditional stores. I have not tried Dominion News but you can't get it at McNally or Chapters.

USA Today content on the web includes all their print material but it is not the same as sitting reading the paper with its bright photos and great illustrations. I still think their mapping of the Inaugural in Washington showed how superior a newspaper is for some things.

USA Today often writes stories others don't cover which makes it an interesting paper. Back in early April, they wrote a story on Berkshares, a plan were local communities print their own paper currency during hard times.

The principle of the idea is that businesses and individuals form a group whereby they pay for a local currency at a discounted level. Usually that is around 5%. In other words, a person pay .95 cents for a currency worth $1.00 in local stores.

Under the BerkShares system, a buyer goes to one of 12 banks and pays $95 for $100 worth of BerkShares, which can be spent in 370 local businesses. Since its start in 2006, the system, the largest of its kind in the country, has circulated $2.3 million worth of BerkShares. In Detroit, three business owners are printing $4,500 worth of Detroit Cheers, which they are handing out to customers to spend in one of 12 shops.

This has been advertised as a good thing for small towns but why not a city like Winnipeg?

The Downtown Biz already has the Blue Loony program but you only get a $1 coin after spending $20 worth of services. It is good for parking, transit or a number of businesses. I don't know if someone buys a dinner of over $100 whether they receive $10 coins. My understanding of it is no.

Interesting program for what it is worth. Would love to see it in Winnipeg.



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Roblin Boulevard 5

There have been a couple of business closing on Roblin as it passes through old Charleswood.

McIntyre's Meats went out of business suddenly in March. It is a shame. The business replaced Norman's Meats which went bankrupt about two years ago. McIntyre's showed well, the price was great, they had some great cuts of meat and some very yummy salads including Greek and pasta salads which I often mixed together.

Sangster's closed this April. It was a healthfood business and had been there a while.

Kel's Crease, a sporting goods place in the building that holds the 7/11 shut down at the end of last year. Something is about to move in as there is paper over the windows.

The Charleswood Hotel is coming down piece by piece. Kind of sad really.

One of the large open spaces that opened to a new business was at old Charleswood Daycare Center. That business went down when it was revealed that a pedophile was connected to it around 2005. The space stayed empty for a long time but is now occupied by a Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery center. I will reveal more about this in another update.

The former Books and Crannies on North Roblin is now Globosapiens. Still mean to get in there at some time.



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Post Office to become Cop Shop?

In a Free Press article, it was revealed that the Winnipeg Police are in formal talks to take over the Canada Post building on Graham.

The Public Safety Building, a Modernist design built in 1965 as part of the campus complex of the city that included the parkade and City Hall is literally falling apart. The price to renovate has escalated to the point that the city has decided it may be cheaper to buy a new facility than go through the hassle and inconvenience of finding temporary quarters for officers.

The Post Office was built in 1958 but has come available due to the fact the sorting plant and many other functions are being transferred to the airport and another downtown location in the year coming.

At the onset, it seems this decision is both a fiscally correct one and offers other intriguing possibilities for bringing some other police functions under one roof. The present post office covers a full city block and while there is some sense in moving its new location, it leaves a big hole in the downtown. The police headquarters could be the tonic.

So the big question is the Public Safety Building. Can it be saved? My view is that it might not be possible. The costs of fixing the problems might far too much compared to tearing it down.

And the question is: Who would want the building? There was Red River College musings but I can't imagine it would easy without someone footing the bill for repairs.

I've always found the building to be very modern and a little intimidating. Don't know how I'll feel about to being torn down but it is unacceptable to repair it for tens of million of dollars nor can it be left standing with pieces falling off of it.



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Plan for Nunavut-Manitoba road

CBC is reporting that a plan to build all weather road from Manitoba to Nunavut is almost complete.

The road would run from Gillam through to Churchill and then up to the Nunavut communities of Arviat, Whale Cove and Rankin Inlet.

The construction would go a long way to developing the north, affirming our sovereignty and employing local people in the region where construction is taking place.

The question is whether the various governments will greenlight this project.



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Random Notes

As noted in Rise and Sprawl, Apple is opening a store in Polo Park in October.

Curious to see what is moving out.

Sephora moved into Tommy Hilfger's location since they have a big store already on Kenaston.

This will help Polo Park hold onto its position as a destination mall.

Too bad their food court is still the pits.

***

The election in River Heights is today. I think that John Orlikow would be the better councillor and last check, I heard he was elected. My feeling is Currier would have been too much in the vein of Katz who goes by the seat of his pants and doesn't really have a plan.

As far as trustee goes, there are a few there that might have been interesting. I don't know who would be the best. I think that is why former trustee Rita Hildahl was elected again. Name recognition and experience helped.

***



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Roblin Boulevard Part 4

Between Lynbrook Drive and Elmhurst Road are two auto repair stores. On the south side is the large George Rempel Auto Centre and almost directly opposite is smaller Dale and Ron's Roblin Auto Service. At one time, both stations may have had gas pumps but no longer.

Both businesses are quite busy with cars from George Rempel sometimes stretching down Lynbrook Drive.

At one time, Papas Restaurant had the fine dining niche to themselves on Roblin but they now have competition from Asahi down the street. Papas is located right up Elmhurst with parking in a fair sized lot behind it.

In between George Rempel and Papas is a series of home decorating shops. Vi's Interiors is one of the businesses. Braun Carpet is the other.

Whereas, the south side of Roblin is bounded by Lynbrook and Elmhurst, the north side is bounded by Royalgate Road and Hendon Avenue. The Charleswood Technical Centre is the on the western corner at Royalgate Road.

Dale and Ron Auto Service follows as you move west. A strip mall or sort start after the service station. After renovations in 2008, Charleswood Rental was replaced by a pet food company called Paws and Go. Immediately beside it is Globosapiens Bookstore Cafe‎ which was Books and Crannies until 2009.

Alongside the bookstore is FJO, a supplier of autoparts.

Continuing west and you find Ceramic Plus Dental Lab.

Palmer and Badger Accountants occupy the space next door.

West of the accountant's office is Robert Lee Martial Arts school is located. One of the pictures above is from their website.

The last place on the block before Hendon is the Charleswood Eye Center. It is both a retailer of glasses and an optician shop. I must say though that my wife went to get her eyes tested there and when she didn't get her glasses there because her health plan only covered glasses from Sears, the optician got a little huffy.

The businesses along this section of street are part of the old Charleswood with each offering unique services.



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Ikea Part 2

The road construction plans were revealed last week by the city of Winnipeg.

The road plan indicates that both Kenaston and Sterling Lyon Parkway will be expanded to nine lanes in each direction. The cost will be around $22 million and the $400 million project will take it around $6 million in taxes.

The full report is here including the lay-out of the retail outlets.

The Free Press reported that public hearing would reveal this:

On March 11, the city will hold an open house about the IKEA development, which will see the Swedish-founded furniture giant serve as the 350,000-square-foot anchor tenant for a development that will also include a separate 200,000-square-foot big-box store, two stores in the 140,000 to 200,000- square-foot range, numerous smaller stores, a 500-unit condo development, a 100-room hotel, a 16-screen movie theatre and a 150,000-square-foot office park.

Fairweather, the developer of the IKEA property has said that they will pay $26.5 million to expand roads at Kenaston, Sterling Lyon and Shaftesbury. In the end, after the city pay the developer back, they will only have paid $4.5 million. That's a lot of road but then we are talking about and a lot development.

It can't be seen in a vacuum. Waverley West and the Kapyong Barracks along with everything else that is connected to Kenaston has to be looked at in terms of traffic, livability and how it affects surrounding areas.

I personally think Ikea will be a good thing for the city. Much like how Old Navy and Sephora are desination stores, IKEA is the premiere destination retailer. People will come from all over the province, northwest Ontario all the way to Thunder Bay, and from eastern Saskatchewan. It is hard to say if it will attract people from North Dakota but it might for those who think two hours to come to IKEA is better than five or more to Minneapolis.

There will be Manitobans who have been making special trips to Edmonton and Minneapolis who will now stay in Winnipeg to shop.

All of this is good for jobs, taxes and to attract tourists.

On the negative side is the fact that Kenaston (Route 90) is ill equipped to handle the traffic that is booming up and down its length. In some ways it is becoming as important as Portage Avenue. It connects several important destinations in Winnipeg. The Richardson International Airport, Polo Park, Kenaston at McGillivray and Waverley West all depend on this road. It is far too narrow to handle traffic now.

The traffic signal timers that Sam Katz trumpeted more than a year ago for Kenaston don't work as we learned in December when traffic was backed up for as long as an hour or more heading out at the end of the day.

It is not enough to study just what is happened from Academy Road to McGillivray. The entire blueprint of Route 90 needs to be looked at how it will affect the task of simply going to the airport or home at the end of the day.

I support Ikea and at the onset don't have a major problem with the location. I prefer it to the possibility of an industrial park. The city does have to get its ducks in a row though.

Not everyone will be happy. Some along Kenaston will not be happy for sure but the writing has been on the wall for houses alongside the road for some time. The Not in My Backyard syndrome is strong all over the city. Some others are against the development in principle. They seem upset by the whole idea of malls and the like and advocate for the smaller local retailer as part of the community. I have sympathy for that thinking but it only goes so far. The nostalgia for tight knit communities runs smack dab into the reality of life now which is that we are mobile, work unusual hours, have a variety of interests and are looking for selection that reflects our personal tastes and style.

In other words, something like Ikea is the equivalent of the big box department stores of the past except that they are in suburbs rather than downtown.

Ikea is where the people much in the same way Eaton's was. Modern life.



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Corydon Avenue Part 1

Corydon Avenue has become a remarkably vital street for retail and for restaurants.

As you move westward through River Heights, the commercial aspects are broken up by large swaths of residential homes. Between Lanark Street and Renfrew Street, there are about 25 businesses, mostly located in the old Safeway store on the south part of Corydon in a 40,000 square foot building called the Corydon Village Mall.

The Free Press reports that longtime retailer Diamond Gallery has decided to build a new building at 1735 Corydon where Anglican Christ Church stood. The old wooden structure has given way to a facility that will have parking in front and a two story retail complex at the back of the lot.

The new building will be 11,000 square feet and house both the Diamond Gallery and other retailers. Presently, the Diamond Gallery is across the street so this move will double their present space.

Across the street and closer to Renfrew, the old strip mall that house's a Mac's was renovated. Mac's stayed and a Quizno's moved in at the other end of the mall.

This whole section of Corydon is probably best known for the restaurant Mona Lisa. Many don't don't know that this was Papa George's original location was. Prior to Papa George's, it was Georgie's.

Mona Lisa expanded into the barber shop next door and also instigated a specialty food store on the other side of the restaurant. A Royal Bank was on the corner of the Mona Lisa block and was later a comic book store. It now houses Luxe Label, a fashionable clothing store.

All in all, things are happening in this area of Corydon.



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MPI's Purchase of cityplace

Photo of cityplace (formerly Eaton Place) by buflyer200. North of Cityplace is the MTS Centre.

There has been a lot of noise in regards to the purchase of Cityplace by Manitoba Public Insurance (Autopac).

The building where MPI has leased space for 28 years was owned by another Winnipeg company Huntington which a Arni Thorsteinson entity. As noted from the picture above, the building is nine stories tall and connected to the MTS Centre to the north. There is also an indoor parkade with 1250 spaces.

Conservatives are up in arms about the purchase. The problem is that MPI is mandated to invest money to help keep premiums down. It is allowed to own property under that mandate. Up to this point, it hasn't owned any property and even after this purchase, it will only account for 2.5% of its portfolio.

As some bloggers have pointed out, it is not unusual for pension funds or Crowns to hold investments.

There are a certain amount of risks involved in real estate but that certainly has to be mitigated by the fact the MPI rents 80% of the space already.



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The loss of CKX

A news story on February 19 indicated that CTV was looking to sell its CKX station in Brandon, Manitoba. The CBC agreement to broadcast its signal over CKX's tower ends in the summer.

The advent of digital programming and the costs associated with it means that CKX is not needed by the CBC to get it signal to the Brandon area. CTV appears to have no interest in the market for its own use despite the fact that it serves over 125,000 people at present.

CKX was founded in 1955 and employs about 40 people.

One wonders how WDAZ can operate in Grand Forks in North Dakota and broadcast in digital no less.

Smaller market stations are threatened all over Canada at the moment as debt laden companies look to cut costs. Winnipeg has already played the part of pawn with stations like Joytv and CityTV changing hands repeatedly.

We already know that Joytv constributes next to nothing to local content and Citytv got rid of its evening newscast.

Now it looks like Brandon will have to get its TV news from Winnipeg. That is, if we don't lose our local news ourselves.



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Portage Avenue Part 4 Boyd Building

On the day before Christmas, the Free Press reported that investors had bought the Boyd Building. The investors also bought the two adjacent properties.

The building was constructed in 1912 and stands 9 stories tall. From about 1913 on, the Boyd has housed medical and dental offices. This remains true today although the building has been in need of a little upgrading for some time. A list of some of the businesses that have occupied the tower is here.

The new owners are also the builders of the Canada Post sorting plant being built at the airport.

In the Free Press story said the owners have come up with a $30 million proposal to renovate the building but also construct a 420 parking stall on the two adjacent properties, one of which is a vacant lot. The parkade would be 12 stories tall, slightly lower than the Boyd building itself.

The picture in the Free Press indicates that a lab and pharmacy would occupy the first two floors of the building and the other 10 floors would be parking.

Given what we have seen with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority building on Main Street, I believe the city should be very cautious about how this parking lot will look relative to the the streetscape. Moreover, access to the parking lot has to be given careful consideration. I am curious to see where the parking entrances and exits will be for the parkade.

The renovation and new construction of the Boyd might be very good or very bad. City Hall needs to make sure that Portage doesn't become more of an eyesore with a dreary parkade facade and ill thought out entrances to the lot.



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Polo Park 5/ Sephora

Just a short time ago, the Winnipeg Free Press asked its readers to tell the paper which stores did they want to see come to Winnipeg next after Ikea announced its intentions. Sephora was one of the stores mentioned along with Target and Crate and Barrel.

I had never heard of Sephora and why not? Well, it is a cosmetics company based out of France. Little did I know that people from Winnipeg actually make trips to Toronto or Edmonton to shop at this exclusive store.

Now word comes out that Sephora is building a 6000 square foot retail space in Polo Park. It will be their 13th location in Canada and the first outside Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. The store is moving into the Tommy Hilfiger location in the mall.

Tommy Hilfiger already has a location at the Kenaston and McGillivray so the closing of the Polo Park location might be nothing more than consolidation to a site with a lower rent and better parking.

Sephora should be able to do well at Polo Park and will be one more reason for shoppers to stay in the province for their purchases.



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Development in Winnipeg

Picture from the Winnipeg Free Press of the McDermot Street buildings Manitoba Hydro had intended to gut

One development after another in the city has run into trouble. Even the no-brainers somehow become bogged down with competing interests to the point that work gets delayed or cancelled. Sometimes developers when they do get the go ahead do a sleight of hand and underdeliver on their promises such as what is happening with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authorities office on Main.

It all goes back to City Hall. Some say we should stick to Plan Winnipeg which I agree should be a major force in decisions in the city. However, we also need a better response to developments that require a more fleetfooted decision making process.

Mayor Sam Katz seems a little light in actually showing some direction and council also seems incapable of doing anything but reacting. We need better plans on transit, transportation, housing, commercial development and recreational areas and facilities.

Seems to me that a open conference on even one of those areas would do the city some good. If one looks back to the success of The Forks, it came as a result of public hearings. If only North Portage had some of the same public involvement.



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Parking Ban

Sign from Ottawa that goes up when they have planned snow removal.

The issue of a snow removal parking ban comes up every year and every year people grumble about having to take move their cars off the street to allow for snow removal.

This past winter tickets were issued when many drivers didn't move their cars. The mayor quashed all those tickets much to the dismay and anger of councilor Bill Clement.

Other cities have snow route bans in place such as Edmonton and Ottawa.

There are too many residents with garages who park their car on the streets even when they have a garage. There are many people who also say for socio-economic reasons that they cannot afford a place to park so they park on the street. That means that every snowfall, there are a lot of people with vehicles on the street.

It seems clear that the city needs to review its entire parking policy top to bottom so that many outstanding issues of handicapped parking, parking tickets, parking meters and parking restrictions become more transparent.

Some cities have had used alternative street parking during snow removal. How could this be done? Well, it would not be easy because the streets are not set up in every neighborhood as a grid system. However, if some accepted alternative parking plan was set up, it could address the issue of those who say that they need a place during snow removal.



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Last Post Charleswood Hotel

Although it has been closed since October 31, 2008, it looks like the deal to buy the hotel has been completed. The 44 year hotel built in 1964 has been bought by Co-Op Gas as reported in the Metro.

No official announcement was made but the Charleswood Department store owner Ike Kraut says the new owners came by to say hello. With 56 years in the neighborhood, the Charleswood Department store remains the old vet in the neighborhood.

The owners of the Park West Inn near the perimeter say they have noticed an increase in traffic.

That hotel is too far away to really count as a neighborhood watering hole.

It seems the local non-alcohol gathering spot is now the new Starbucks located in the former Robin's. On any given night, Ashahi restaurant, Subway and Starbucks have a full parking lot.



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Incompetence Killed the Story

Once again the Black Rod blunders in with his usual aplomb.

He gets the Superbug wrong by calling it HRSA. Sorry, it is MRSA.

As for his concern about how the infection is contained, he doesn't bother to research it. Isolation is usually handled with a curtained off bed. There are only so many isolation rooms.

The Black Rod is usually up on his high horse on healthcare and more often than not gets it wrong.



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Highway 75 Part 2

A mentioned in Part 1, the section of Highway 75 running through Morris has to about the worst part in terms of crumbling and heaving concrete.

It looks like a bypass around the town is not in the cards. However, it looks like re-building the road is being pushed back as well. In a Free Press story, word is out that there will be a one year delay to rebuild the 2 kiliometre stretch through town. The cost of the construction is about $9 million.

One wonders if Morris' $9 million is about to be spent in Winnipeg on a new stadium or road expansion for IKEA.

This is a busy stretch of road. $15 billion worth of trade passes through town. It would help if the province kept that in mind when budgeting this year.



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The Forks

The sections of the Forks considered for development Source: Winnipeg Free Press

Welcome to 2009!

The Forks North Portage Partnership has announced what their thoughts are on the remaining section of land south of Canwest Park. At the moment the land is a 6 acre parking lot.

There will be a public consultation but the The Forks CEO is angling for mixed use which includes housing. This has been rejected several times before in part because people seem to sense that as soon as people live at The Forks that they will have a "not in my backyard" attitude to things like fireworks.

There are a few smart things that The Forks people are considering:

A central piece of the development will be a European-style promenade, a one-kilometre public walkway featuring fountains and sitting areas that will stretch from Pioneer Avenue to The Forks Market.

The impetus for looking at the site alongside the rail line is the development of the Human Rights Museum. In the long term, it will mean the end of over 400 parking spots for The Forks.

Like or not, the main way for Winnipeggers to get to The Forks is by driving. The Human Rights Museum as well as The Forks needs parking.

The last major development at The Forks occurred in 1999 with the building of the Inn at the Forks. I was dubious about it because the pictures of the hotel looked awful. I was also concerned that the hotel blocked direct access to the concert bowl and that hotel patrons would complain about concerts and fireworks.

I was relieved about how attractive the hotel turned out to be. My fears about complaints about noise from hotel patrons was unfounded. I still have questions about the flow of pedestrian traffic but they're minor.

The construction of the skateboard park in 2007 was brilliant. It immediately became an attraction in both summer and winter. I don't know if it would have been possible if people lived nearby. The fear might have been about kids congregating in the area.

There have been so many missed when it comes to apartment building in the city. I will look at The Forks proposal on mixed use but it seems to me that the focus for housing should be just off the site rather than on it.



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