Owners Who Don't Give A Crap - Boyd Building

CBC pictures of Boyd Building LED billboard

What do you do about owners who never do what they say they are going to do and go ahead with stuff without even bothering to do it the legal way?

In 2009, the new owners of the Boyd Building made bold promises of renovations and a parkade in the old Merchant's Park space used by the Downtown Biz for entertaiment purposes until a buyer could be found.

Less than a year later the Downtown Biz felt burned.

The new ownership group, which includes lawyer Ken Carroll and Armik Babakhanians of Caspian Construction, also purchased the nearby Boyd Building -- a 97-year-old, nine-storey commercial tower -- and another property adjacent to the former park space.

After that, however, the space known as Merchants Park between Portage Avenue buildings -- once home to benches, art, paving stones and ashtrays for a public rest area and community gatherings -- became a makeshift parking lot following the owners' request that the BIZ remove the decorative amenities.

Grande said the BIZ gladly cleaned out the space because it thought construction was to occur. Then, he said, at least three large trees were pulled out of the lot -- by whom, the BIZ isn't certain -- and simply tossed in a nearby back lane.

The tree-dumping, Grande said, is as "mind-boggling" as the site's new use.

"We don't want more parking lots -- definitely not gravel parking lots," he said. "And cars are parked almost right up to the sidewalk. Everything we know about creating wonderful downtowns is contravened."

There is still no parkade there and I never heard any resolution to the issue of a surface parking lot.

Today the CBC reports that the Boyd Building owners have put up a LED sign on the side of the building as of October. I was curious as to when it got approved because there was no indication that it had gone before council.

Well, the answer to that question is that it never did go before council.

CBC News has learned the sign, installed on the 98-year-old Portage Avenue building in October, was put up illegally.

The city's historical buildings committee declined a request by the Boyd building's owner to erect the sign, and Coun. Harvey Smith said city inspectors have told the owners to get the sign approved.

"It has to go to the standing committee [on property and development], and I will appear there and oppose it," Smith said. "So, it's a good chance, you know, that we can put an end to this."

The sign is indeed bright and residents have been complaining about it even a full block away or more. It certainly draws the eye upward even when driving.

Complaints about the sign brightness aside, the owners of the building don't seem to be keeping their promise on the parkade and don't seem to consult or seek permission from council for what they do. What was done was illegal and shows the owners either didn't give a crap or figured council would cave on giving permission.

Menards - Delivery Options

A reader has indicated that his company also receives deliveries of Menards products that can be picked up at a Winnipeg warehouse.

KND Marketing makes deliveries every two to three weeks to their warehouse at 60 DeBaets Street. Their website is up now and you can probably find out more about the products they are already stocking and intend to stock in the city in the future, most likely April.

It seems that there might be a few choices out there to look for Menards products and delivery to Winnipeg. Check them out and see if they work for you.

IKEA 5 - Road Prep Work

This Wednesday the vote will be held on continued Ikea road prep work. If you drive in the area, you know that work was left in progress. Barrels and pylons were left in place and it is a wonder there hasn't been a major accident in the area due to the fact that there are no warning lights at all.

The asphalt used between Shaftesbury and Kenaston remains rough despite assurances from the contractor that it is fine. I called my city councillor about it but she didn't seem concerned.

I hope some of the councillors will ask some key questions about the roadwork and will at least drive down there before nodding there heads in agreement.

I disagree that there will be no cost to the city involved. Already, it is near impossible to tell what lane to drive in. The barrels and barricades that cause you to veer around back and forth will eventually cause an accident. The icy roads, multiple painted lines that are faded or scratched out and pylons and barricades with no warning lights are no way to travel a major route in winter.

Netflix and Television Downloads

The continued makeover of how people get their television and other entertainment is being re-written by Netflix. CBC has made available many of its programs for downloads to PCs, Macs, iPhones and iPads, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray players.

The rub is that companies like Rogers will do anything to cripple Netflix by raising Internet fees so that people will choose on demand and pay per view from cable. Essentially, Rogers wants to make Netflix more expensive.

It remains to be seen whether Shaw and MTS will jack up their rates as well.

A big fight is brewing but technology is changing so quickly. The first casualties in the States have been companies like Blockbuster but if companies like Rogers try to kill the new services by acting as gatekeeper, the federal government might not have any choice but to step in.

The New Winnipeg Stadium - Not

Work continues at the stadium this cold morning. I see a front end loader clearing earth and trucks hauling it out.

However, the deal that was supposed to be announced today appears to have hit a major roadblock according to the Free Press.

There has to be exasperation at this point. The private push for this is gone. It is a complete government financing deal for what will remain in all likelihood a community team.

The province looks to be on the hook for most of it and while supporters insist the deal pays for itself, this ignores the fact that it will be still taxes that end up paying for it all.

The fact that the total cost has still not been locked down or who will pay for what share is obviously the biggest point of contention.

A provincial election is less than a year away. Greg Selinger and the NDP know that whatever decision they make could end up hurting them.

I am starting to wonder if the government is beginning to think that no deal is the best deal.

The Rink

The RINK floor plan



The Rink off of Kenaston open since July of 2009

It has been just over a year that The Rink training facility has been open in Winnipeg. The 20,000 square foot facility on Lowson Crescent located in south Winnipeg just off Kenaston and close to where the future IKEA will be built is a locally dreamed of high performance center dedicated to hockey training. The management team of Brad and Tyler Rice along with Mike Keane and Tina Jones form the management team and have hired coaches and instructors that will likely see young athletes achieve their goals in ways not possible in past years without travelling outside the province.

As you can see from the diagram of the facility, there is training on a skating surface, in a gym, outdoor ground training and a host of dedicated services for hockey players.

The Rink is likely to see great hockey players emerge over the years. It is great to see this innovative business find success.

It has been rather remarkable that in the last year or so that we have seen the MTS Iceplex along with The Rink get built with such a large private commitment from local investors.

One wonders if this is a sign of more to come.

Manitoba 150 - Winnipeg 150

Science Museum of London, England

I just finished reading One Man Committee's idea of a city museum for Winnipeg's 150th birthday in 2024. I fully support the idea.

I'm glad he likes the idea I had for the Manitoba to have a dedicated science museum. I have been advocating it for a bit and I did notice in the last months that the Free Press mentioned it in passing as well.

The Manitoba Museum presently has the science gallery. I believe the province should have a full science museum rather than just the one gallery. The present science gallery's 6000 square feet was renovated in 2007 and is quite good but the merits of a full science museum cannot be denied. Just off the top of my head, there could be galleries on a variety of sciences and technologies that have been important to Manitoba historically.

I'd hate to lose the old science gallery but it certainly can be moved to a new building. The same cannot be said for the planetarium. If a new science museum is built with a connecting tunnel, the planetarium should be part its mandate. The 6000 square feet of the present science gallery could be used for other uses, not the least of which could be a full museum shop that replace the embarrassingly small shop in the lobby outside the Manitoba Museum.

The 4000 square foot Alloway Hall could be continued to be used for temporary exhibits of the Manitoba Museum.

As has been pointed out by the Free Press, the 22,000 square feet of MTS Exhibition Hall across from the MTS Centre is just the right size to attract big travelling science shows. However, it is temporary.

Any new science museum should have at least 20 to 25,000 feet of space to host these big touring events.

If Winnipeg is lucky, it might have a museum of the the same level that we see London or closer to home in Minneapolis.



Now, in terms of what we should see for a Winnipeg Museum, I open the hall to suggestions!

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition

The MTS people said that of Bodies was successful at their exhibition hall opposite the MTS Centre, they might have another event planned in the new year. Well, true to their word, there will be another use for the old A&B building in 2011.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will commence February 12. It is unclear how long it will run.

The Titanic has held a steady fascination for people around the world. It did have some prominent citizens from Manitoba who perished. On that day in April of 1912, thirteen Manitobans lost their lives.

The Manitoba Museum will feature their own concurrent exhibition related to the Manitoba angle of the story.

New video and photographs from the Titanic will be featured in this particular tour of the Titanic exhibition. With the recent news than an underwater bacteria is eating away at the ship at a much faster pace than previously seen, the imagery might be some of the last times people see the ship looking still like a ship.

There will be several new artifacts added for the Winnipeg tour.

It is possible that this Titanic exhibition will find even greater attendance that the Bodies tour.

Congrats to the MTS people for finding a new way to bring new life to an old building in the downtown. These exhibitions have brought more people downtown and it has been a boon for restaurants and shops in the area.

Attack Hydro Engineers

Blackberry Addicts attacks the engineers retired from Manitoba Hydro. Not much different that the Tories attacking the professional civil service in regards to the census, don't you think?

Some of what was said:

As readers digest the group letter published in today's Free Press, consider what Bipoles actually look like. They're huge swaths of destruction. They are inconsistent with the development of long-term economic opportunities like ecotourism and unlike an all weather road, it's impossible to transport milk via a high voltage transmission line.

Top further discredit the engineers, Blackberry Addicts links them to the Conservatives.

Hugh McFadyen and his Tories haven't met an engineer they haven't wanted to hug. If you believe, however, that there's more to good public policy than an engineer's formula book, take a serious look at what the NDP, First Nations like Poplar River, and local environmental groups are actually trying to do on the East Side. And if you ever wonder what happens when governments build things in communities where people don't want them, take a tour of Winnipeg's new roundabouts.

Wow.

Well, I have looked at the website against east side option and what the engineers say.

It seems to me that the idea that a road could run down the same right of way as a hydro line are addressed. Opponents of the east side say couldn't happen. The engineers say it could and that it would make sense.

Why is that a hydro line jeopardizes a UNESCO standing and a road won't? Have they tested their road idea with UNESCO because even their own website says that some roads have resulted in problems for getting approval.

The NDP and their supporters attacking engineers for addressing their criticisms point by point is not very convincing.

If the east side is to be protected for UNESCO, resistance to roads ought to be part of the plan, right? And if a road is okay, why not a hydro line that runs with it?

The huge costs of running down the west side are lowballed by opponents of the east side. Hydro has recently stated they believe the costs will be much higher. And the waste along the line west line:

The longer line will cause electricity worth about $300 million to be lost in transit, the equivalent of all wind energy generated annually in Manitoba, and equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 40,000 cars.

Yeesh, are we are not likely to see opposition by environmentalists for this?

Perhaps the NDP government should be in opposition to either side of the lake. There will be 400 kilometers of boreal forest on the west side that Bipole III will pass through, the same as the east side.

I can't be the only one who sees more environmental waste from the west side than the east side. However, the thing most Manitobans won't get is the complete financial hit that they will pay and will continue to pay by running down the west side.

I also can't be the only one who doesn't see pithy snarkiness in attacking the engineers as anything but a front for defensive NDP support on an issue that leaves more questions every time it is looked at.

Manitoba Will Not Meet Climate Reduction Target

Gary Doer in 2008 said the government should be defeated if it doesn't meet target. (CBC)

Hard to believe so many people have not taken the government to task about this promise that Gary Doer made in 2008 that the Auditor-General says will not be met.

The NDP government was adamant that the objective of reducing emissions 6% below 1990 levels would happen and that they'd achieve 17.5 megatonnes. Now we learn that there will be a 2.7 megatonnes gap.

Gary Doer said that the people of Manitoba would dump the NDP government based on this promise and that they should be defeated if they don't achieve it.

If we don't achieve it - I think the ultimate penalty [in] 2011 will be the defeat of the government.

The NDP was ducking the responsibility for that comment and are probably glad no one is continuing to ask them about it.

And where is Gary Doer now? He was in Cancun this past week sitting beside federal environment minister John Baird as the Canadian government said they were going to kill the climate deal if China was not going to more action. Doer was sitting right beside Baird when the comment was made.

I wonder if that is Gary Doer's views now... Manitoba doesn't have to meet the targets it set in 2008 until China takes more action?

So why is Manitoba falling behind? The answer is that the wasteful ethanol program is not working to produce the numbers the government said it was and that the geo-thermal is not being adopted as quickly. The latter is probably because the provincial government is too interested in being a developer and backed away from making Waverley West a showcase for geo-thermal subdivisions.

There is one thing that the NDP government did get right: They should be held to task for their failed promise.

Great Canadian Talk Show Live

Just a reminder that the Great Canadian Talk Show Live event occurs tonight at:

NORWOOD COMMUNITY CLUB
87 WALMER ( ST MARYS turn west to FERNDALE, turn left onto Walmer and it is just around the corner)
7.30 PM Start time
$20 at the door

Looking forward to hearing the show later on podcast.

Curve 94 And the Road Ahead

Can Don Percy be far behind?

It has been noted that Curve 94 radio station in Winnipeg which recently fired almost all its staff and began Christmas early with seasonal music is looking to change to an oldies format in the new year.

The name of the station will be FAB 94.3.

The one time superstar of pop music in Winnipeg has been in freefall for the last years.

This all reminds me of the various changes BOB FM tried in the years before it selected its present format.

The radio dial is crowded in Winnipeg and there is new competition from satellite radio and Ipods as well as onboard computers that will play your pre-selected favourites.

Perhaps the biggest competition for radio in recent years has been cell phone use. While the hand held devices are now banned, many people have switched to Bluetooth headsets and talk on those rather than listen to radio.

The one market that might still listen to free radio over the airwaves is the older audience. However, is this the audience that 94 wants to reach out to? Expect to hear a lot of commercials for audiologists and denture wearers.

And perhaps the growl of Don Percy will be there to tell those that killed the old oldies station: Told ya so.

Menards - Deliveries to Winnipeg

I contacted Menards about their delivery service to Winnipeg and got a reply today.

For Manitobans wishing to order from the U.S., the store is making a delivery through Canada Cartage of Winnipeg once a week. Not everything will available for order. They are not sending items that won't fit on a pallet such as drywall or lumber using this service.

However, if someone is ordering something such a windows, they are the perfect item for delivery. By way of example, four windows fit on one pallet and the charge will be $50 for the delivery plus whatever duties that might be on the items. And don't forget the costs of the windows themselves. Get your calculator out. Even after those costs, the discount Menards is known for might make it worthwhile.

Canada Cartage is at 47 Gomez Street. The products are shipped from Grand Forks, North Dakota to their terminal in Winnipeg. The warehouse in Winnipeg has white glove service as well that will deliver the product to your home or job site. The additional cost for that is about $55 and rises if the shipment is outside of Winnipeg. They deliver Monday through Friday from 8 to 5.

As many people have noticed, Menards is putting their flyers in Winnipeg papers. It notes right on the front page that they are making deliveries. It is best to speak to their store and delivery people direct to ensure that you know all the products and fees available.

The number to call is 701-795-4796.

I asked about Menards opening a store in Winnipeg and was told that the company is looking very closely at the demand from the city and it is not going unnoticed. Much like how Cabela's and IKEA saw the demand in the province, Menards could feasibly open a store in Winnipeg.

Note to Winnipeg's tall foreheads in business and government: Call the Menard family and invite them to the city pronto.

St. Charles Hotel

What a sad saga. Years and years of talk and all of it related to how success can only come from demolition. This is what we have seen from the St. Charles Hotel in the Exchange District.

The owner doesn't want to do anything now until an engineer's report is done. In the meantime, the building is empty. The city has had enough of owners who leave their buildings to deteriorate to the point that demolition is the only answer. As such, they have ordered broken windows replaced or to be boarded up. The owner doesn't want to do either.

I don't think the city is to blame for this boutique hotel idea taking so long to develop. Too many times owners have demolished buildings only to see the empty lot to remain forever. Perhaps the thought was that if the goal was to mimic the Hotel Donaldson in Fargo that it required a parking lot beside the hotel.



Hotel Donaldson in the top right and the parking lot beside it

If the issue is parking, look at what is across the street from the Royal Albert Hotel and the St. Charles Hotel. It is a nine story parkade capable of handling 800 cars. And this isn't the only parking in the area.



Meanwhile, this is behind the St. Charles Hotel.



So is the city really to blame for St. Charles taking so long to develop because they won't allow more buildings to be demolished?

Possible New Bar on Campus - University of Manitoba

Wise Guys on Campus was closed and Degrees has been under renovation in a torn up UMSU building for much of the fall.

There is a small 55 seat bistro on campus called Bistro Two-O-Five that is doing its duty for the 25,000 people on campus who might want to meet for a meal and a drink.

The student union is looking at setting up a pub at the old Wise Guys location.

I had cause to be at the university this week and while the bookstore remains one of the best campus bookstores in Canada, the student union building and student life resembles Iraq during the war. The place looks bombed out.

Thousands of people use the campus every day. It is time to start thinking like a small town and start using some of that space around campus to invite private developers to create the restaurants and yes, even a hotel on campus.

The time for thinking of just re-creating a student pub has to be expanded.

Student life at the University of Manitoba can be better, should be better.

Roisin Murphy - Ramalama Bang Bang

Possible theme song to Winnipeg's next zombie walk.

Tonight is the season finale for AMC's Walking Dead series.



From the concert.

Parking Lots

Winnipeg parking lot of the future?

Mary Agnes Welch in the Free Press is doing a four part series on parking in Winnipeg. There have been some good blog reports on this subject over the last several months but kudos to the big paper for a detailed look that includes locations and values on the land.

One thing from the article that Welch wrote:

Other lots are unofficially earmarked as sites for future development. The large Impark lot on Main Street north of the Manitoba Museum is seen as a location for the museum's expansion one day.

I've said it once before and I'll say it again: I believe the land by the museum should be reserved for Manitoba's first dedicated Science Museum.

I am seriously considering mounting some sort of campaign for the idea. What do others think?

In the mean time, I do think I see a few positive nibblings at some of the surface lots. However, we keep seeing things like the Shanghai restaurant crop up.

Good blogger articles on the parking issue here from West End Dumplings. And here from Rise and Sprawl.

As I've said, a few bloggers have covered this. I was rather surprised in the election that there was a lot of talk about surface lots and few answers.

I honestly think that the city has to make sure that they continue to resist demolitions of buildings for future plans that are non-existent.

At the same time, I think that on land set aside for things like the Manitoba Museum and the Convention Center that serious consideration be made to fulfill their expansions.

Manitoba and the Winnipeg will soon be 150 years old. To this day, the Museum remains one of the top Michelin attractions for the province. It is time to invigorate and expand that legacy.

As far as the Winnipeg Convention Centre goes, it is time to think big in the same way as the original building was thinking big. I know some focus on whether the facility earns back the money it cost to build and operate it but I'd argue that the numerous conventions hosted there have economic impacts far beyond the subsidy of $2 million it receives from the city.



Sam Katz and other rejected the expansion the Winnipeg Convention Centre announced in 2008.

I certainly don't think the project should go forward with only public financial backing. I personally think it is time to invite a private casino operators to make a bid for Winnipeg's first Las Vegas-style hotel, casino and sportsbook attached to an expanded Convention Center. A royalties agreement should be put in place to support the expansion and operating costs of the Convention Center within a timeframe that made its goal one of self-sufficiency.

It is time for innovative thinking that involves more private funding being brought to the table.

Update: I spoke to two clients yesterday about the Manitoba Moose game on New Year's Eve. Both expressed interest in attending this fun evening that is really geared to families but worried about parking. They said that they might not go because they weren't sure where to park or felt it was hard to find parking.

I realize this is exasperating for those who say there are 20,000 parking spaces in the downtown but it doesn't mean that people don't feel that way anyway.

Some people who do know about parking downtown resent paying for it and circle endlessly looking for free street parking.

In any event, I was able to convince both people I talked to that the Manitoba Moose game was too good to miss and that Portage Place (among other parking lots) was priced at $5 for the evening and that this was a great price for a family of four of five to manage on a night out.

I explained that the skywalk was was warm and safe for a family to navigate for the game and that Portage Place was a good place to store the car to melt some of that winter snow that accumulates at the wheel well. No sweeping or warming up the car after. The only thing I said was to be patient while exiting but that I had never had to wait more than 15 minutes or so while leaving the parking lot.

I think I convinced for certain one of the families I talked to. The other was giving it serious consideration.

These can't be the only families weighing out their evening out based on parking. Overall, I believe that many families when they hear what $5 pays for when going to a Moose game in terms of parking, they find it is a reasonable cost.

5198 Roblin Boulevard

5198 Roblin Boulevard as it looks now






5198 Roblin Boulevard and the plan for a gas station and store

The land has sat for a while. It looks like it will sit for longer. The plan was for a gas station and convenience store.

The developer has now asked for a two year extension because of environmental and economic reasons.

Two years for no development on the fenced site? Yikes.

It looks like the land was going to be home to a Esso station. I have no idea why it will two years to clean up the site and I hope council asks some detailed questions.

The End Of The Shanghai Restaurant?

228 King Street, home of the Shanghai Restaurant and the Robert/Coronation block

The owners of the block want to close their business, sell it to Chinatown Development Corp. and bulldoze the block and create a surface parking lot. At some point they might want to put up housing but there is no plan for it yet.

The Free Press reports:

Winnipeg's mayor and city council occupied the main floor from 1883 to 1886, when the first city hall was under construction. Shanghai Restaurant was established on the main floor in the 1940s and still sports some of its vintage decor.

The stone and brick building was rated a Grade III heritage structure -- the lowest form of heritage status -- by the city's historical buildings committee following an assessment in December 2009.

City Planners are saying that the council should ignore the suggestion that demolition not take place before a plan for development is in place.

No.

No, no, no.

I don't trust and no one else should trust the future plans that may or may not happen for the site. It is put up or shut up time.

Here is another property left to deteriorate and we're told the only plan for the short term is a gravel parking lot?

This full city block should not be torn down unless this is a plan other than parking.

I suspect there might be others who might be interested in development or buying the site a restoring it. This can't be the only choice contemplated.

Is the goal to tear down ever greater number of buildings with the hope that one day someone might have a plan?

Business Tax in Manitoba

The Manitoba government has been trumpeting the ending of the small business tax. In 1999, it was the second highest in Canada at 8%. Now it is the lowest.

Before the NDP government starts slapping its own back in congratulatory celebration, we have to think about where the government is going to get the $9.5 million that is the resulting shortfall. Does it mean an increase in other taxes for Manitobans? Is a tax cut really a tax cut if it is re-distributed to other taxpayers?

At the moment, Manitobans pay twice as much personal income tax as Ontario does. This has been identified time and time again by businesses, including small businesses as an impediment to business.

However, the biggest impediment to larger businesses since 1982 has been the payroll tax. If Manitoba hopes to attract head offices and large employers, the payroll tax has got to be reduced. Small businesses that benefit from the cut in the small business tax won't get to be big businesses that stay in Manitoba if the tax acts a job killer later on.

So what can the government do to cut the tax while not going into deficit? I think that the government has to get a handle on spending.

Greg Selinger doesn't seem to want to do that though in advance of an election. There are still some large spending announcements being made even today.

I have one idea to make up for the cut in the small business tax. Raise tobacco prices by another 2 cents per cigarette and it raises $18 million a year in Manitoba. This pays for the small business tax cut. Use the rest to apply to the deficit.

This is small potatoes compared to a $500 million deficit annually. However, the NDP government has to do something to pay for the promises they have made. They can increase other taxes or cut. It is unlikely that a big boom will bring in huge amounts of windfall revenues.

As far as cuts go, the government has no choice but reduce the size of the provincial civil service employee base, look at salaries and restrain or eliminate program spending.

It is a conundrum for the government to be sure. Sadly, in the last few years the The NDP seemed content to benefit from increased transfer payments while not addressing some of the issues of a large government and a weaker by comparison business community.

The tax discrepancy is only getting bigger and after more than 10 years in government, the NDP can do little but shrug and approve ever more spending. It can't and won't last.