Assiniboine Avenue

The artist drawing of Heritage Landing.



Outline of the new Crystal Developments property.



Blueprints of Heritage Landing.

It is no easy task being a developer when it comes to downtown development. If you express and interest in building some place, you have to jump through numerous hoops. And so it went with Crystal Developments who at first wanted to build at Fort and Assiniboine in 2008 but backed off when prominent citizens lobbied to have the land set aside for a historical park.

I felt it was a real shame that the only time that a group got together to protect the site is when someone expressed interest in it.

I had no problem with the idea of a historical park to represent Winnipeg's history from its origins at Upper Fort Garry. What is did have a problem with is how slapdash and late to the party it was.

Thankfully, Crystal Developers wasn't completely chased away but two years to be able find a project to replace what was lost is a little much.

The announcement of the a new highrise between the Midtown Bridge and Bonnycastle Park and bordering the Assiniboine Avenue is the first 20 story plus building built in the downtown in two decades.

The new project called Heritage Landing will rise 22 stories above the Assiniboine River. It will have eventually have around 300 people calling its 209 residential units home.

The project probably won't see any major work done till late 2011 based on some of the challenges presented by hydro lines and river location.

Let's hope that the every other project to bring residents downtown doesn't take just as long.



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Xcelsior Bus

I saw the Xcelsior bus on the Corydon route this Friday evening. It is a smart looking vehicle and the colour is fairly cool.

The bus is supposed to represent the future in bus travel as it is quieter and features lightweight materials and LED lights.

I don't know how quiet it is based on this video.

The bus apparently comes in a hybrid as well.

I don't know what to think on the LRT versus BRT debate other than the city approved a plan and now seems to have doubts. Welch's Gripe Juice details what some of those issues are.

I know one thing. Any public transit coming my way doesn't have a lot of density to work with to make it frequent enough. And then there is the issue that I travel from suburb to suburb in terms of work. The bus doesn't start early enough or run late enough for me to drop my car.

Now, I know that I could change jobs, move to a higher density area and live on a busier street but it is worth noting that people work in areas of city where there are jobs in their chosen field, live in neighbourhoods that they can afford and on the best routes possible to traverse the distances to school, work, shops and the like. It isn't always easy.

In short, planning makes it possible to consider diversity, density and distance in terms of how people live and work. The city needs to work on that.

A snazzy bus might be sexy but in practicality, I would benefit if the city went ahead and improved transit corridors so that they were attractive to employers and home and apartment builders. This would not end the use of a car in a city as spread out as Winnipeg but it would help create a new dynamic where it might be possible for me to catch public transit seven days a week.



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The Bay/Portage Avenue Part 9

We knew it was coming. There had been indications that The Bay was looking to downsize their downtown location for sometime.

It will be sad to see some elements of the store to be closed down. I once worked at the downtown Bay and had the pleasure of seeing a full store at Christmas and eating at the Paddlewheel restaurant.

The sixth floor has been vacant now for more than a year and some observers saw this past Christmas that the store was spreading merchandise over its huge floorspace. In other words, there was just too much space for the lines that The Bay presently caries.

The good news in all this is that groceteria in the basement will not be closing. At 25,000 square feet, it occupies a good chunk of space and serves a dedicated customer base that could grow with a continued commitment to see more people live downtown as we have seen in the Avenue Building. The other good news is that the Paddlewheel restaurant on the sixth floor will remain open.

The groceteria will share its space with the first downtown location of Zellers. This is a good combination as Zellers has its own merchandising and target market and it will fill the basement with product in a way that The Bay has not been able to do for some time.

In the end, The Bay and Zellers will retain the basement, first floor, second floor, the fourth floor and part of the sixth floor. I am mystified why The Bay will be keeping the fourth floor and giving up the third floor. The other floor to be vacated will be the fifth floor.

There is talk that The Bay may find new tenants for the large spaces it will be leaving. Manitoba Lotteries has been a longtime resident of the Polo Park area. I'm unaware of their office needs but they appear to occupy Empress and Arena Road locations presently and appear to look at consolidating or moving from what is largely a retail sector now.

I believe that the three levels of government should generally consider locating in central areas when making their decision on offices and by all accounts, we are seeing more evidence that they are. However, we have plenty of examples of large government offices in the suburbs from decades past. Many, such as the Manitoba Hydro location on Taylor, defied sense since they existed on poorly served transit routes that practically dictated owning a car to get there.

The other prospective tenant is the University of Winnipeg although it is hard to guess what they might have in store for the site with so much of their own new and frenetic infrastructure going up in multiple locations.

One thing is clear and that the province needs to consider the new open spaces first since they are so close to the present hub of provincial offices and agencies along Broadway.

As mentioned, planners for the city have to stop thinking about finding retail to fill large empty retail spaces. They need to think about mixed uses for some of the historic buildings. Fingers crossed that they don't wait forever to do it as in the case of the Eaton's building.



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Portage Avenue Part 8...

The Halpern Building



The Avenue Building

The Avenue Building has been vacant for the last ten years. At one time, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet called it home before moving to Graham Avenue.

CentreVenture has made the building a project for rehabilitation for a number of years. The six story building at 265 Portage is located between Smith and Garry streets was built in 1904. It isn't a particularly handsome building but neither was the Big Four Sales building before it was converted into the appealing Crocus Building on Main Street.

So how did this project come together? Well, it required two levels of government and a company with a proven record of turning around a downtown building. Thankfully, the development won't simply try and create more office space. It is keeping the street level retail but the upper floors will become apartments.

As most observers have already indicated, the downtown needs more people who are residents. Chasing after the office market has proven a major obstacle. Many developers were tripping over themselves to make a bid for the 42,000 feet that the Manitoba government was thinking about for Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT) department. In the end, the government made no decision.

Downtown is only going to recover one building at a time. One can only hope that the Hofers who are renovating the Avenue, will be able to tackle other buildings along the way. Perhaps that might be the Halpern building next door.



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Black and White Police Cars

The super smart Brandon Police black and white cars. Thanks to Mike who pointed this out. I really like them.



The new look of Victoria Police black and white. I like this one.



The classic LAPD black and white.





The two choices for Winnipeg Police cars.

There was a time when Winnipeg Police cars were black and white. Many police forces in North America and around the world have used those colours because they have been very easy to identify. That changed in 1989 when both uniforms and police cars changed colour. At that time, the police in Winnipeg were looking to change their public persona and the look of the cars and officer uniforms were part and parcel of that change.

Now, it looks like Winnipeg is going back to that. A police email has asked officers to select their choice. My view is that the general public should also be asked since they are the ones who most need to identify police from a distance.

It looks again as if like we are following the Ontario Provincial Police who dropped black and white in 1989 only to change back in 2007.

I thought the old Winnipeg Police cars were distinctive and think that many Winnipeggers would support reverting back to that look with a few flourishes. I can't say that either of the two cars shown inspire so far.



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The Colour Orange

There has been debate recently about the new blog started by someone in opposition to the Black Rod.

By all accounts even NDP supporters are having a hard time with the blinkered support for the NDP and the targeting of the Black Rod. The new blog goes by the title Orange Rod.

Now, let me be the first to say that I have criticized the Black Rod for some of the articles that have been written. I wrote what I think in regards to his comments on the Taman Inquiry. The Black Rod also jumps to conclusions where there is no evidence to back up the claim. I specifically refer to a recent death in Shamattawa.

I have no idea why the NDP would want to draw any more attention to the blog. You always have to take it with a grain of salt since it is an anonymous writer who doesn't allow any countering commentary.

The Orange Blog has mimicked that approach and is also anonymous and doesn't allow commentary. If one didn't know better, some might think this is a game played by a person whose only intent is mischief. However, the earnestness of the Orange Rod seems to indicate it is truly an NDP partisan.

The NDP must be fairly alarmed at the string of polls that indicate their support is less than what it was. I expect them to lash out with increasing ferocity.



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Portage Avenue Part 7....

Mountain Equipment Co-Op's bike racks on Portage Avenue



Back of Mountain Equipment Co-op.



Front of Mountain Equipment Co-op.



4Play Sports Bar inside.

As mentioned in part Portage Part 6, the conversion of a part time nightclub across from the MTS Centre into 4Play Sports Bar is evidence that private businesses along North Portage are starting to capitalize on the many people that the arena attract.

However, building a restaurant or club near the MTS Centre is no guarantee of success. The Rinkside Restaurant & Bar went belly up just as 4Play was getting ready to open. Perhaps the long wait for the Manitoba Hydro building to open was the nail that eventually caused it to go under. The south side Portage location of the Rinkside restaurant seems a good location. It remains to be seen whether someone else will take up the mantle of operating there.

Closer to the MTS Centre, another restaurant Samurai has opened in the Newport building on the south side. We'll see if this particular restaurant and its style is of greater success.

However, back to North Portage...

The 4Play sports bar across the street from the MTS Centre is a good start to change Portage away from full on retail at the street level to entertainment and hospitality. Certainly, there will always be room for an exclusive retailer such as Mountain Equipment Co-op to set up shop but the days of expecting such businesses to do so is long gone.

There has been talk about an entertainment district for a few decades now. Many of the announcements regarding the old movie theater such as the Metropolitan have been merely teases. The Capitol theater is no longer around, the Garrick theater has been converted into facilities and venues in support of its new owner The Marlborough Hotel. The Garrick's conversion looks good but I have not stayed at the Marlborough or used the Garrick Centre. Some of the reviews of the hotel though are enough to give many people pause.

And let's not forget about the Metropolitan theatre. It remains an open question what will happen there.

Still, the idea of an entertainment district is a sound one if the private sector is the main backer. At present, it looks like the Chipman family through its Longboat Development Corporation is in talks to create that district from the properties on North Portage that were formerly the Mitchell-Copp building, the A & B Sound building and the Wild Planet building.

A hotel is one of the things that is being proposed for the site.

At the moment CentreVenture Development Corporation is gathering the properties together to make this happen.

The idea is intriguing and one hopes that is has traction where so many other projects have failed before.

More in Part 8...



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Portage Avenue Part 6

1950 picture of Mitchell Copp building and former A & B Sound building



Mitchell Copp Building




Avenue Building

Downtown Winnipeg covers such a large area compared to other cities. Subsequently, this has meant that development has taken place in a scatter-gun approach where one moment there is a focus on Main Street and then that focus shifts and then shifts again.

There were no geographic blocks such as the Red River and Assiniboine River that limited the downtown from spreading north and west. Retailing along Portage Avenue essentially stretched to the city limits. The Bay and Eaton's were separated by a couple of blocks walking. From very early on, Winnipeg lacked a Herald Square such as New York where Macy's and Gimbels faced off across the street from one another in New York.

South Portage Avenue managed to have a fairly vital retail sector even through the 1980s while alarm was being raised much earlier on about how the northside seemed to be struggling and in fact, had a few properties that were either vacant or had been demolished altogether. To be sure there were a few areas which were bright spots such as Kennedy Street where StageWest Dinner Theatre did well. The Free Press building was still very active and most people still went to downtown movie theatres such as the Capitol and the Garrick.

North Portage though remained a seedier and emptier counterpart to the southside and was one of the main factors in the tri-partite effort of the three levels of governments to change the dynamic.

Portage Place was deemed the answer and while it had some good aspects such an Imax Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exchange and some movie theatres, the retail component turned inwards rather than outwards to Portage. Aside from having more stores open to the street, it appears that there is little to do about mall now. It will remain a challenge barring any major renovation.

It is hoped that the Manitoba Hydro building will help the mall and surrounding area. It is hard to say just how much that will happen during working hours. It probably won't hurt. It is something that will have to be judged over the next year.

At the moment though, now that the Hydro building has been completed, the attention is now on private investors and what they might do along Portage. The announcement on the Boyd Building which came in very late 2008 and still not been fully realized. While the investors in the Boyd indicated that they had fully leased it, they have fallen short of their million dollar renovation that was to include a parking lot.

It is not the first time that private investors have announced plans for Portage and then backed off. For a time, a hotel was planned for atop Portage Place and some prep work begun before the whole process fell apart.

In recent months, a few announcements have been made a few tangible investments made on the northside of Portage. Probably the most welcome addition is a sports bar across the street in the old Blush Ultra Club location. Unlike the old nightclub, 4play Sports Bar and Entertainment Zone is open every day at of the week from lunch till late.

At 19,000 feet of space, 4play is well suited to attract a good number of people who might gather for MTS events. It is also well positioned to be an attractive destination for World Cup soccer or any other sports such as NHL games and play-offs.

More in Part 7....



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City Election

The upcoming election this fall looked like it was mostly going to be same old, same old.

Now, it looks like there will be change in terms of city councillors. Some of that has come has a result of retirements as in the case of Lillian Thomas who appears to be leaving after 21 years in council. Her ward, Elmwood-East Kildonan, which she has held since 1989 looks to be highly sough after.

In Old Kildonan ward Mike O'Shaughnessy is retiring as well. He was the longest serving councillor with nearly 30 years on and off as a representative at City Hall. It is not hard to imagine that his riding won't be fought for my multiple candidates.

One unexpected loss has been Bill Clement. His sudden death as a result of a long battle with cancer and a weakened immune system, throws open Tuxedo-Charleswood that has not had any real challengers since Clement was elected in 1983. The 27 year run that Clement looked to stretch to 30 years with the coming election. For many residents of the ward, they have never known another representative.

Another long time representative Harry Smith faced a challenge from the NDP who seemed to want to remove him from Daniel McIntyre after 18 years in city politics. He chose retirement rather than running as an independent.

It is hard to know the future of Harry Lazarenko. He remains hospitalized.

In terms of mayor, there is a credible challenger in Judy Wasylycia-Leis moving from federal politics to city politics. It remains to be seen whether there is any way a sitting mayor in Winnipeg can be defeated. As with city councillors, the mayor's incumbency has played a strong factor in past re-elections. Add the impediment of a city councillor actually having to decide to quit his ward to run as mayor and you remove possible challengers.

The rules don't allow for other politicians to run for office unless they quit 42 days before the civic election. To put that into perspective, John McCain and Barack Obama would not have been able to run in the last U.S. presidential election unless they quit their Senate seats first if Winnipeg rules applied.

You gotta figure that if the U.S. allows for such things that Winnipeg might be able to do it as well.



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Polo Park CJOB's Move

The plans have finally been revealed for the old CTV building north of Polo Park.

I have always wondered how CJOB managed in the building they have occupied all these years at 930 Portage Avenue. It had no parking and three radio stations operating out of it. Those were: CJOB, Power 97 and Groove FM. Logic alone would dictate a permanent studio space for Charles Adler.

The location at Portage was used as a post office until 1962 when CJOB moved in. Other radio stations have moved frequently over the years. KY58 and 92 Citi FM used to occupy the old CTV/CKY TV building themselves until Moffat Communications sold them off.

For 48 years, CJOB has has used the 930 Portage site to be the number 1 radio station in Canada. Now, they and their sister stations will occupy entire second floor of their formal AM rival's building at Polo Park. A total of 17,000 square feet will house the three radio stations and The tower and dishes atop the old CKY building will now be used bu Corus Entertainment to broadcast its three signals.

The move to the Polo Park location triggers further work on the old arena site as well. A 85,000 square foot retail expansion will take place on the the footprint north of the CKY building.

The big question now is whether the developments on the old arena site accelerate the Canad Inns Stadium redevelopment.

~~~

Sorry for the delay in posts. Holidays needed to be taken.



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Youth for Christ Building

It is almost guaranteed that City Hall will come up with an idea that will cost lots of money, appear to have to no planning behind it and that requires an instant decision. And so it goes with the Youth For Christ building that is planned for Higgins and Main.

There has been some debate about all of this in the last days but I have to agree with what many people have said: Where is the process? Quite honestly, there isn't one. Expect to see more of these sudden announcements because there is in plan ay City Hall.

Now...on to the design of the building. Ew. It looks like a new victim for taggers to paint their names on. It is not in the least friendly to Main Street. A mugging can happen outside the fortress walls and no one would know since the building is inward looking rather than outward looking.



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Garbage Day

The garbage bin issue was bound to explode as soon it was announced. If the bins had been placed in River Heights, Sam Katz would not have had a chance of being re-elected.

Almost instantly the problems of families and garbage surpassing the bin's capacity came up.

Is there any way they can mess up more on programs? It is like their bins in other areas serving multiple homes. They just become dumping grounds for contractors a day after they are emptied.

As I said, they don't try this in River Heights or they'd pay a price at the ballot box.



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University of Winnipeg Part 2

Leave it to Lloyd Axworthy. He seems to be able to shake major donors of cash by the ankles to cough up for major projects.

The latest money extracted from a donor comes from the Buhlers. The $4 million donated by them for the new building at the site of the United Army Navy Surplus location is the largest private donation in the university's history.

The Buhler Centre is the future location of the continuing education department and the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art.

Continuing Education has moved around the downtown multiple times, six at last count. This should finally give them the permanent home they deserve.

While all the building has been a good thing, I hope the university doesn't forget the need to keep programs running at a high level and watch for deficits in keeping the university running. Some of those deficits can be from not getting a handle on pensions, salaries and benefits.

Still, I don't want this post to be a downer. The University of Winnipeg has made an number of announcements in regards to expansion, programming and the like which deserve kudos.



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Two Spans for Disraeli Freeway

The city is already warning that the costs could escalate from $195 million for the reconstruction of the Disraeli Freeway. Today it was announced that two spans would take the place of the old bridges.

West End Dumplings gave a good historical overview of Disraeli's past building problems. It may prove a bit of a shock that the crossings have been talked about since 1913.

The present spans were put in place by 1960 and paved in 1971. Since then the bridges have served the city well but they are getting old and a choke point for traffic.

The proposal that the provincial NDP government had a hand in shaping was reconstruction that caused very little disruption. Since there are NDP ridings north of the spans, it is easy to see that the government did not want a two year closure with an election going on.

The result of keeping the old spans while constructing news ones is a price that will be tens of millions more and there are already warnings that the costs could rise.

Construction will likely start in 2011 and will include a pedestrian and bicycle span using the old span's infrastructure. Completion might be some time in 2013.

I think the costs in this time of deficit is going to be a tough pill no matter how necessary the project. And if the costs soar past $200 million, I expect that there could be pushback from the electorate if taxes rise or cuts occur elsewhere.

And this is just one bridge project. Wait till the St. James Bridge project comes up.



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Two-Way Streets

It is a discussion that needs to happen: The issue of converting one way streets to two way streets. West End Dumplings did an article on how Winnipeg started making the move to one way streets.

Winnipeg went the one way route in 1956. The downtown is now almost entirely one way streets now. From a traffic engineering perspective, the decision to this was based on speed and efficiently. I think we can say "mission accomplished."

However, the result seems to have been a mass exodus from the downtown. Speed of getting in and getting out has been the major consideration but never was the idea of vitality considered.

It is an idea worth considering. A few cities are beginning to reverse some of there one way streets to two way. The initial results are encouraging.

Vancouver, Washington according to businesses on their Main Street said the turnaround even in a recession was almost instantaneous. Minneapolis is now experimenting with the change on Hennepin Avenue and 1st Avenue. It remains to be seen if the same success occurs for the streets there as it did in Vancouver but the trend to making the change should be able to give a good indication about the benefits and detriments.

There has been talk about two way streets in Winnipeg but never seriously debated in council. It is likely to be a few years before it even registers.

I expect we will have to fight city planners all the way on making changes. Joseph Dumas, a professor at the University of Tennessee, argued a few years ago that...

...the primary purpose of roads is to move traffic efficiently and safely, not to encourage or discourage business or rebuild parts of town . . . . Streets are tools for traffic engineering.

That sort of thinking leads to empty downtowns.



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Shamattawa

I wonder how long the Black Rod will push the suicide angle before he pulls the story.

http://blackrod.blogspot.com/

Shamattawa fire deaths may be linked to suicide

The second body found in a house destroyed by fire early Saturday morning on the Shamattawa Indian reserve will likely be identified as the mother of the missing 11-year-old boy who has already been named as the other victim.

RCMP and band residents know this but are apparently withholding the information because her death may be a suicide which preceded the fire, according to evidence provided in separate news stories from the community.

There is certainly a tragic story here but the speculation without any evidence is hardly helpful.

The entire line of thinking regarding the daughter has been blown up by the RCMP indicating the second body in the house was an animal.

Several lines of investigation are needed in regards to this death but making up a story to suit a political agenda is not the way to go.



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Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Part 4

A couple of new developments in the last weeks in regards to the airport. The forecast is still that it will open in 2010 but I have not heard a drop dead date yet on when.

The demise of McNally Robinson at Polo Park has also put a damper on their plan for an outlet at the airport. The Winnipeg Airport Authority has still not made the change on their map though.

Interesting to note that in the departures area, there are two T.G.I. Friday's listed.

Just before New Year, the go ahead for the new shuttle from the airport to city hotels got the go ahead. Understandably, taxi drivers are not happy but it isn't like the service is going to kill them. The initial purchase for the shuttle runs is only three vans capable of holding 9 people.

Taxi drivers have said the shuttle will hurt their business but it is hard to sympathize when the sale of taxi licenses have shot through the roof in price. There is obviously some big money there somewhere.

The shuttle will help create a regular schedule for city hotels to have access to the airport. Some may drop their own shuttle vans in favour of the new service but with only three vans to start in the airport fleet, I wonder if some of the hotels will keep their vans on the road to ensure direct access to their hotel only.

For the most part the shuttle is convenience for out of town visitors to use. For many of the rest of us in the city who do not wish to leave a car in long term parking not rely on family and friends for a drop off, a taxi remains the top choice.



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Advice Dog

With a tip of the hat to Winnipeg cat.



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Hudson Bay Company

The CBC was only one to report it.

I have not been in the store this year. I once worked in toys, records and books in the 1980s and it was a busy place on every floor.

If the story is true, it looks like The Bay was giving up even before Christmas. Can it be that we see a story in the next days that they are shuttering the whole place? Four floors?

We keep hearing that the owners are looking to unload some of the space to whoever will take it. I haven't heard a recent update on that matter but the writing seems to be on the wall.

Unlike the old Eaton's building, I don't think The Bay will face the wrecker but it is a large space to fill and it seems unlikely any retailer will be interested in anything except the first two floors and the basement if that.

Deficits

I'm sure they announced it so that many people would not notice it just before Christmas but Manitoba's deficit is now around $600 million.

It is going to increasingly hard to ignore deficit numbers in the new year because they are not going to disappear unless the economy turns around and there is a serious increase in revenue. What is likely to add some salt to the wound is the possibility that the Feds will decrease transfer payments to help end their own deficits.

Rosann Wowchuk in her new job as head of Manitoba's finances will have to either consider cuts or a tax to help stem the shortfall.

It is possible that Greg Selinger might try and call and election to nip this all in the bud. He is probably not looking forward to delivering a budget that either increases the present deficit or that comes with new taxes or cuts. If at all possibly, the NDP government might try and obscure how bad things are, deliver a good news budget and then call a snap a election.

It is an idea that even the Harper Tories might consider for themselves.



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