The Downtown Condo Surge Part 1

110 James Avenue Qualico Condo Project. Building to rebuilt is center

The first of a number of new condos begins shortly at 110 James Avenue by Qualico. The developer has indicated that they are committed to building just under 300 condo units in the Exchange District.



133 Market Avenue waiting in the wings to be developed next. Building to rebuilt is on the right

A lot of the building booms is attributed to the $20 million in grants being waved at developer. It has triggered 670 condos and 130 apartments to go into development. I have no idea of what the private to public ratio of spending is but it would appear that Qualico alone is prepared to spend $40 to $50 million to put units in the area.

The objective of bringing more people to the downtown area, increasing the density, adding groundfloor retail and seeing the tax base rise might all be achieved with this tax program. The continuation of it for the near term seems a sound policy.

The major consideration now will be to ensure accessibility to the entertainment and cultural sites exclusive to the area. If a strong residential component is to work in the area, it can't be choked off by events at the Concert Hall, Pantages, The Warehouse and MTC all on the same nights making life miserable for all.

Some accommodation has to be made for everyone and that will have to include a parking plan which the city woefully lacks. Cars endlessly circling the block looking for an elusive parking spot and the city trying to discourage this by making one way streets, no turn signs and the like will infuriate visitors and residents alike.

We have to ensure that someone who visits from Brandon, Manitoba to see the museum that their tax dollars paid for is dumbfounded about how to access the place. Smugly telling them to park 10 blocks away and take a city bus doesn't cut it. A local parkade does seem to be the order of the day.

As Winnipeg's condo alley develops, it will be a balance issue about keeping the area vital without having drunken brawls from nightclubs spill out into the streets creating disturbances. With that in mind, it is probably good to ensure zoning issues deal with problems before they happen.

Some exciting things look to be occurring in the Exchange area. After just a hiccup of development in the 1980s, it looks like residential building is happening in earnest.

One wonders that in say 2020, we look back at this time and find ourselves saying "wow" about how much of Winnipeg's commercial warehouse district became a residential and mixed used district and how that look was preserved for posterity.

Metro and Sunday Xtra

It has been a couple of days of Metro papers in Winnipeg and a couple of days after the debut of the Winnipeg Free Press Sunday Xtra paper. I have read the papers cover to cover.

The Metro is a paper published in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax and is available free daily in distinctive green boxes. In Winnipeg those boxes are often found around bus stops or other high traffic areas.

Most of the stories in the Metro are bite sized and can be read in about a minute or two. The paper is meant as a quick coffee shop read or a bus ride to your destination. It is very light on news, entertainment and sport.

Despite this, the paper does cover local stories albeit in short form. For example, the closing of Gisele's beauty school is buried in the business section of the Free Press whereas the story in the Metro is more front and center and features one of the displaced students. I have no problem of two different media groups covering the story differently.

Tuesday's Metro made a huge error in one of its interviews of a former premier. Edward Schreyer was being interviewed and the reporter wrote that his name was Shrayer. Yikes. I have no idea how the mistake was made but perhaps it is because the staff is so new to the city or to the profession or whatever. Schreyer probably has suits older than the reporter which doesn't help.

The Metro relies on a lot of newswire services and from the rest of its media empire to fill its pages. This isn't all a bad thing but it is noticeable and sometimes the lack of original takes on a subject can make people look elsewhere for that information.

Lack of local original content is not limited to the Metro. The Free Press Sunday Xtra is filled to the rafters with wire service stories. This isn't entirely a bad thing but local and original content for a weekly paper would be extremely welcome. They had two blogger stories which I think is excellent and would like to see more of that for sure. I would also like to see more original and local columnists.

This is an improvement over the On7 tabloid format that the Free Press tried. That paper proved to be too light on news updates from Saturday and too fluffy elsewhere to make the average reader want to pay more and seek out their boxes in the city.

I am still waiting a few weeks to fully decide on the Sunday Xtra. As far as the Metro goes, I think the Winnipeg Sun needs to look over its shoulder. If it comes down to a free paper versus The Sun, there might be a problem. Over the years The Sun has shed workers, local coverage and some important original coverage. This could be a problem as ultimately, it is doubtful whether people will pay just for the Sun girl.

Overall, I think the print media got more interesting this week.

Now, if we could only get new boxes across the city for all the college newspapers.

Winnipeg South Centre - The Problems of Joyce Bateman

The Conservatives have coveted Winnipeg South Centre for a long time. It is therefore surprising that they manage to screw up in the process of finding a candidate for the area time and time again.

It seems that in the lead up to this present election that the Tories had set up a nomination process, had a fair election and chosen a candidate to run in Raymond Hall. By all appearances, the candidate had set up offices and advertising and was ready to go.

Not so fast though. Many local Conservatives sniped from the sidelines. Obviously not happy with the choice that resulted from an election, some members grumbled and complained and in the end undermined their candidate to the point that he resigned with the election writ only days away.

Many local Tories were rubbing their hands with glee thinking it was too late for a regular nomination and election process for the riding. Several names were tossed out as possible direct appointees of Harper for the candidacy. When an election did in fact happen, Winnipeg South Centre Conservatives jostled unseemly to be appointed.

Now, I'll be the first to say that parties can choose any process they want to select their candidates. However, I think it is important to remind political parties that local members of the party might feel anger in regards to interference from the central office in their ability to select their own person. We have seen that across many political parties over the years.

In the end, the Conservatives have chosen Winnipeg No. 1 School Trustee Joyce Bateman as their appointed candidate to face against Liberal MP Anita Neville.

Until very recently, Bateman was a Liberal party member and strongly associated with the federal and provincial party. She says she was disaffected by Liberal financial spending ideas. It is certainly her right to quit a party, join another and run under that banner. However, the reasons for decision and when she made that decision to part from the Liberals remains a little unclear. Also unclear is when she joined the federal Conservative party. Was it more than 21 days ago? If it wasn't, she wouldn't have even been eligible to vote in a nomination fight let alone run according to what I know of the Tory rules.

Indeed, it is all very puzzling why Bateman was chosen. Are local Tory members and supporters happy about it? Will local Liberal members and supporters be happy with about what happened?

Is this all about strategy? The way the Tories think they can win by selecting someone long associated with the Liberal party?

I don't believe that Bateman will be able to run without answering some key questions about why she is a federal Tory candidate. I can't be the only one confused by her candidacy. However, it is possible that the Tories will keep her well away from the media or unscripted moments just as they did for their candidate in Winnipeg North's byelecton. Whether this works is anyone's idea although it certainly didn't work a few months ago in the city.

I suppose as voters it will be for Winnipeg South Centre to decide whether the federal Tories have done right by the riding by choosing Joyce Bateman.

Harper Talks About Pulling Out

(CP) Concepcion, Newfoundland - In a surprising unscripted moment, Stephen Harper talked about pulling out. While addressing the students at Sister Freda Groper School in Concepcion in Newfoundland, Harper answered a question in regards to pulling out. He told seven year old Max Rider that he sometimes thought about the hardship his wife and children went through and had contemplated pulling out.

In Ontario, Michael Ignatieff responded by saying that he had never pulled out of anything in his life. During a lunchbreak at Organic Smoothies in London, Ontario, Ignatieff said that from the time he was a youth, he was determined to stick in. "At Upper Canada College, I never wanted to let down the boys. Once in, I was never out."

Jack Layton, swinging through his own riding in Toronto, said that it has been a hard number of months. "It is difficult to maintain it," he said in a conciliatory tone. "It isn't a question of pulling out but of sustaining it." Staff suggested that health issues have affected his flagging campaign.

On the west coast, Elizabeth May was in Barren Valley, B.C. and took a harsher line on the subject. She said that "it isn't a question of pulling out but never having the opportunity to push in."

Not to be left out, Gilles Duceppe suggested the only thing he wanted to pull out of was Canada. However, he said he would not campaign on the issue and would instead do as he has done in the past which is try for partial withdrawal.

IKEA Opens 2012

The future IKEA site

IKEA has finally announced that year that its store in Winnipeg will open in 2012. Originally, the date was given as between 2011 and 2013.

One only has to drive down Kenaston a few times to realize work has continued all winter on dismantling the rail tracks, the Clarke trucking depot and the Zirino's truck building are mostly dismantled. Other works has proceeded all around the proposed IKEA site.

There has been no indication of what building techniques will be used for the store when it goes up but their location going up in Denver, Colorado will be using geo-thermal and is aiming for zero emissions. It would be great if the store here makes that their same goal.

The CBC story mentions that a 16 screen movie theatre is a possible tenant for the site as well. The number mentioned seems to be very specific. One wonders if all we are waiting for there is an actual announcement.

Swiss Chalet Returns to Winnipeg

Update October 26. Swiss Chalet is now open Swiss Chalet is a large Canadian restaurant chain founded in Toronto in 1954. The store is ubiquitous in Ontario along with its sister restaurant Harvey's, a hamburger joint. Just over 12 years ago, Swiss Chalet and Harvey's retreated from the scene in Winnipeg save for an express location at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport for both restaurants. That location is slated to close when airport functions shift to the new terminal. 

There doesn't seem to be a plan to open the concept when the move happens. I have pointed out in this blog that development agencies should be looking for shops and restaurants that draw people. I am not sure why Swiss Chalet withdrew from the Winnipeg market years ago. Their location on Pembina Highway seemed to be well used. I can't say the same about their Harvey's location on the same street or the Home Depot locations. The restaurant chain never seemed to catch on in Manitoba.

The Yes! Winnipeg agency is taking credit for the $1.6 million Swiss Chalet restaurant coming to the city at the Kenaston Common location near Costco. The restaurant will employ about 80 people. Further city locations are hinted at. The Yes agency has been around for three months and is taking credit for about there or four companies finding contacts, financing and the like to open in the city or expand operations. While some of the initial announcements are good, a really big fish is still to be caught.

After a year, it will be interesting to see if a $50 to $100 million initiative lands in the city. Too often we have lost some of these projects to other cities. I should point out that the worst meal I have had in the last several years was a Swiss Chalet dinner at the Toronto airport. Other family members says they weren't impressed by a mean at Swiss Chalet at Winnipeg's airport. I certainly hope that a full scale restaurant proves to be a more satisfactory food choice for people in the Kenaston area. It would appear the restaurant opening at Kenaston Common will fill the last available space in that area. All eyes now turn to the Ikea site.

Shopper's Drug Mart Osborne Village

Shopper's Drug Mart in the Osborne Village

There was a brief mention in the newspaper and a blog post about this application by Shopper's Drug Mart and their expansion of their Osborne Village location on Roslyn Road.

The plan is to add 8,522 square feet to the present 10,048 square feet. This will change the store to a two floor format with few parking slots and a pedestrian access to the businesses behind it.

It is a good plan for a busy corner and a 24 hour store. Many people going to Shopper's now actually live close to the store and walk or bike to it. To this end, the store has said it will include bike racks for patrons.

More parking spaces is not always welcome. In this case, the increased commercial density and tips of the hat to pedestrians and people using bikes is a preferred option.

While the store expansion is a good thing, I hope the design is a little better than what is present now. By this I refer to the frosted windows. I believe the store should be much more open to the busy street than it is now. While I respect the need for privacy for the pharmacy, some of the rest of the store could stand to be visible through clear windows. I think this is an important feature for safety within the store as well as outside it. And given that the Osborne Village is increasingly a busy place 24 hours a day, it is good to show there is life in the building. Walking by the windows now is like walking past a blank wall.

Still, congratulations are in order to Shopper's for an approach that will make sense for the area. It will make the area even more attractive for people to live there.

Forever 21 Open in Winnipeg

One of my posts consistently sees traffic. It is the one where I talked about Forever 21 coming to Winnipeg months ago. It continues to see traffic now. As many with young kids know, the store finally opened on March 12 in Polo Park. At 38,000 feet, it is the largest of the chain's Canadian stores and only slightly smaller than its largest U.S. cousin. For Polo Park, the store's arrival has been a Godsend in that it must have seemed daunting about how they were going to fill Safeway's space after the store de-camped to Madison Square.

The store's early morning opening drew the largest crowd in Polo Park's history. Hundreds and hundreds lined up to get into the store.

Now, to be clear, Forever 21 is just a store. It isn't the second coming. However, like Ikea, Forever 21 is a highly sought out store by shoppers. It becomes a "destination" store capable of attracting people from a larger region than just the city where the store is located.

This should not be a mystery to anyone about how this happens. Most people know that when Upper Fort Garry was set up, it became a destination for trade.

And yet some who works in the halls of power seem mystified about this and other stores that can draw a crowd. We can't rely strictly on mall managers to seek out top retailers or restaurants to set up shop in the city. It is a business like any other and development agencies within the province should be going to them and making a case for their opening a store in the city. In this it is no different than when the agencies seeks out manufacturers or head offices to locate to the city and province.

Cabela's started off as a purchase of S.I.R. in Winnipeg. It is now the head office, warehouse and first store for the company in Canada.

Winnipeg has not been all to successful attracting head offices or big manufacturers in the last years. Or if they have, it certainly has been below the radar.

City and provincial officials should be making a shopping list of restaurants and stores and seek to bring them to to city. Menards would be a good start. To that end, they should find people who don't look bewildered when you say Forever 21.

Parking Rate Increases in Winnipeg

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small
That we can never get away from the sprawl
Living in the sprawl
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains

Arcade Fire

The announcement that the city will be increasing parking fees as well as the timeframe that payment will be required to be paid is likely to stir debate. The city has used the Winnipeg Parking Authority as a piggy bank for years and has not really put the money into upkeeping their parking infrastructure. And so it went with the Winnipeg Square parkade. The facility was not kept up as well as it as it should have been and was sold for a lesser value than it could have if it had been kept up. They money from the sale has been held in limbo ever since with the vague promise it will be spent downtown.

In a nutshell, the plan for the parking authority is to earn more money, reduce administrative costs and charge more for high traffic areas such as Broadway while increasing the time that payment is required. For Broadway this would mean that rates would double from $1 to $2 and the coverage would be from 8 AM to 8:30 pm. rather than 9 AM to 5:30 PM.

In a car obsessed world, many are unhappy with the state of parking. I have been hearing it pretty much when anyone mentions the downtown. They don't like paying. They don't like the parkades because they are afraid of driving in them. They don't parallel park because they aren't good at it. They don't like parking anywhere except close to where they are shopping or eating or visiting.

In districts where people are endlessly circling looking for a street parking space, it demonstrates the problem. The thought is that increasing the parking rates will make more people consider surface or parkade parking. Many economists argue against allowing free parking with one point being it hurts poor people.

People are going to react negatively to any increase in parking prices. However, removing any restrictions or price for on street parking creates a host of problems.

So what to do?

First is the recognize that regulating transportation is something that municipalities have to take some responsibility for. Even if everyone rides bikes, it can cause traffic jams and parking problems. See Utrect, Netherlands for an example.

If there were no parking restrictions of any kind around some of the hospitals, it is unlikely that there would be any parking available for kilometres.

So, is placing a price on parking the right solution for Winnipeg when it comes to the street? Well, according to some who live here, it is a surefire way to kill an area off. If we measure the exodus to the suburban mall world over the decades, it is hard not to agree. In a society where you live by the car, you die by the car.

Would it be possible for a city like Winnipeg to simply pull the parking meters and go to posted signs that listed timeframes for free on street parking? Well, the answer is yes. If the signs were well posted, unambiguous and part of a city-wide strategy that involved ticketing, towing and fines, it is possible that all the revenue lost from the meters would be recovered from allowing it to be "free."

Realistic parking times of three hours for some areas would be good. On street parking passes for overnight parking might be a revenue generator as well.

There are a few people who dislike the Winnipeg Parking Authority. Parking meters that don't work and confusion about the signs, meters or paying in general all add up to the resistance to the department.

It is probably time that a serious debate about the future of cars, parking and the city of Winnipeg was properly discussed. The discussion crosses into zoning, policing and culture and as such, needs the proper thought. We have not taken the time to do this and we should.

The city has shown that it will talk about issues from time to time. We saw that with the debate on dog breeds in recent weeks. Not everyone might have liked the conclusion that came from that debate but it was a topic well worth re-visiting.

Bring on the talk on parking in Winnipeg.

The Sports and Entertainment District

There has been good coverage of CentreVenture's continued push on the sports and entertainment district surrounding the MTS Centre in the newspapers and blogs.

Too few projects in the downtown are devoid of any public financial help. This, of course, is the bane of not just Winnipeg but a lot of cities. A larger debate about how to get the private sector to be the the driving force and take complete financial responsibility would be a worthwhile one. However, it would appear to be that after years of neglect of our downtown and private sector alike, a public agency has to pick its targets and draw increased private investment.

The idea of a sports and entertainment district is a sound one. It is easy to see that CentreVenture has eyed what has happened in Toronto and other cities carefully. Around the Air Canada Centre, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment built Maple Leaf Square. Ultimately, it was a huge project that cost upwards of $500 million and had everything from hotels, to condos, a sports bar and daycare.

The Real Sports bar as in short order since it opened last year and ESPN has named it best sports bar in North America. Best place for women to pick up men in Toronto and wear heels and not step on peanut shells. In short, sporty but classy.

The MTS Centre has already attracted a big sports bar in 4Play Sports. At 19,000 square feet, it is not exactly small. By comparison, the Toronto sports bar is 27,000 square feet. The big question that has to be asked is whether the True North people, owners of the MTS Centre and the Manitoba Moose, want to own and operate their own sports bar. On the face of it, it could be a winning idea. It is possible for a city to have more than on sports bar. In addition to the Real Sports bar in Toronto, there is Wayne Gretky's and Wendall Clark's sports bars.

So back to the public plaza idea. Aside from the Maple Leaf Square mentioned above, there is the L.A. Live in Los Angeles and the Victory Park plaza in Dallas as examples. Both projects cost a few billion dollars.

CentreVenture figures the cost of their project will be around $40 million and mentions a boutique hotel, offices and plaza as part of the mix. What is missing is housing. This was a major component of Maple Leaf Square and it should be part of what happens in the immediate area around the MTS Centre. If between $40 and $50 million in condos and apartments go up with the project, the total would be about $100 million in investment for the area, mostly private. That is about 1/5 of the total of Toronto's square which makes sense given the population of Winnipeg.

What the city doesn't need is windswept plaza with few people using it. A population that lives nearby will be more likely to find a use for the space especially if it is safe and has things that make it vital and useful. Note to CentreVenture: Maple Leaf Square has a daycare. Want to build a community, gathering space and general fun place to be? Make sure people live nearby, make it safe, make it useful, make it exciting.

This isn't brain surgery. Winnipeg does get things right a number of times. The Forks has been mostly done right. It is a gathering spot, it is safe, it is useful and it is exciting. Instinctively though, Winnipeggers know that people should not live there lest it make the area less inclusive of all residents. This is not the case for the area around the MTS Centre. People living there would be most welcome. In fact, it will be necessary for the area to survive and support a host of businesses that don't hang up the "closed" sign art 5 pm.

The Avenue residential units down Portage Avenue shows with effort and some public seed money that housing can be built where it has historically not existed. However, we need a condo alley such as Toronto's to give the district greater vitality. Rental apartments are needed as well but actual home ownership along Portage Avenue could and should help transform the street from simply being a commercial and office strip.

Winnipeg needs businesses who build downtown to think in terms of a residential component to any project. Imagine if Manitoba Hydro had done what Telus is doing for Vancouver this week. They are not only building their 22 story office building. They are building 44 story condo as part of a $750 million investment in Vancouver.

There are a number of prepared pads awaiting office towers that have never come. Perhaps developers needs to create Winnipeg's own condo alley such as we have seen in Toronto. It certainly might help create the downtown population base that could make use of variety of public spaces already available in the area. By the way, those pads that could use a condo are both ends of Portage Place and the Trizec building atop Winnipeg Square.

In the end, let's keep the ideas coming but remember it would help to have a population living in one of these developments.

New Hotels On West Portage Avenue

In the last year, as noted in these pages, there has been a flurry of private businesses upgrading or building hotels from the ground up. West Portage Avenue is the latest to see some big changes.

Unlike the U.S, where national hotel brand names proliferate in select areas, Winnipeg has been known for regional city hotels. While these hotels might be affiliated with major reservations systems, they have retained their unique name and design status. The examples in Winnipeg abound: Norwood Hotel, Assiniboine Gordon Hotel and the Viscount Gort.

The Downs Motor Inn was one such regional hotel. In the last years, it has taken on the name-brand of Howard Johnson Express hotel. The 43 room hotel now has some new owners who seek to expand the hotel and take advantage of the attractions in the west of the city.

For years the main attraction was Assiniboia Downs Racetrack and the John Blumberg Golf Course. Hence, the old name Downs Motor Inn. The list of attractions has increased quite a bit. The Red River Ex, Adrenaline Adventures and the new MTS Iceplex are all drawing increasing numbers of people.

The sense that the area is a destination point has been recognized by others. Two other hotel projects are presently underway. A 70 room Motel 6 is nearing completion in Headingley close to the very busy Flying J gas station. The Motel 6 looks a little lonely where it presently sits but the whole stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway is being transformed by a divided road that will help commercial development. Also, being built is a 110 room Best Western hotel in that section of road.

Alongside the Howard Johnson Express inside the Perimeter Highway is a Canada 1 Hotel. If the name seems confusing, it is because it was a Super 8 Hotel until recently. I can't even find a listing of the hotel online but there it is: rebranded.

Just off the top of my head, I'd say the greatest influence on hotels in the area has to be the MTS Iceplex. It will be hosting large tournaments for years to come and teams will need places to stay. I expect we may not have seen the last of hotels being built in the area.

More Local Content on 1290 Sports Radio

I complained about how little local content there was when the station started and it has slowly started to carve out a niche in that area in the last months. 1290 Sports Radio first picked up the Illegal Curve radio program from Kick FM for a weekend show. Next, they brought In Leah Hextall for a program called Amateur Hour featuring the unsung heroes in sport.

However, the best was yet to come: Winnipeg Free Press sports columnist Gary Lawless and co-host Andrew (Hustler) Paterson jumped from their evening timeslot on CJOB to the same timeframe on 1290 Sports Radio.

CJOB has moved quickly to fill the spot with Bob Irving, one of the most respected people in Winnipeg sports.

It is going to be interesting comparing the two sports shows over the next months.

It is a lot of content for one man to fill on CJOB given the rest of the responsibilities on his shoulders. Bob Irving is quite good but it one heck of a lot work that he will be doing. Of course, the same can be said for Gary Lawless who in addition to the Free Press puts in huge hours on radio.

Is this a battle of stamina now?

At the very least CJOB should seek a co-host for the Irving show.

Sports radio has gotten very hot all the sudden.

Charlie Sheen's Manitoba Website

"I'm an exciting client."

A Winnipeg website is getting big attention because it uses Charlie Sheen quotes as a source of amusement.

You too can Live The Sheen Dream.

The End of the Music Store

Winnipeg never really had the competitive next door music stores like Toronto did.

The retreat of the music store happened even before the advent of downloading. I worked at A&A Records at Madison Square during school in 1988. By 1993, the national chain collapsed. At the time, the company's demise could hardly be blamed on the Internet, Walmart (which entered Canada in 1994) or any of the factors facing today's music stores.

It is with sadness that CD Plus has announced that they are closing their last Manitoba stores. The company has existed in one form or another since 1962 in Winnipeg and was headquartered here.

Aside from the mall-based HMV stores and some specialized regional music stores, the days of the music chain are gone. The acceleration to online downloading has spelled the demise of the brick and mortar stores.

I can remember for a time from the very late 1980s into the 1990s when HMV and Musiplex on Portage along with A&B Music created for a time the sense of excitement that Toronto had with Sam's and A&A Records.

The music industry has been under siege for a long while now. In some cases, it is hard to have sympathy since people felt thoroughly gouged when CDs came out and they industry charged over $20 for those looking to update their library. It is easy to see why many figured the industry could go to hell when the Internet made it possible to download for free.

However, everywhere the industry and way of doing things gets more complicated. The Internet Service Providers are looking to charge heavily for those who download. Apple Computer with their Apps store is making subscription services for music even more expensive.

One wonders if the Internet will make it worthwhile to go a store again. However, if all access points to the Internet are going to be cash cows for cable and telephone companies, the stores might not be able to use the technology to allow for people to download in stores without paying just as much. At some point, as some experts have indicated, there may be a case for taking certain gatekeepers to various world-wide monopolies commissions.

For decades, the music store has been a gathering place for people, especially the young. The mall might be a lot of things but if bookstores and music places continue to disappear even there, many will stop going. We have already seen for the downtown that a lot of the compelling reasons for going such as music stores and bookstores have slowly disappeared (although some used book stores have helped ensure that culture hasn't completely disappeared).

So, here is a tip of the hat to Sam's, the Record Baron, A&A Records, CD Plus, Mother's and all the others that have fallen.

Dressing Up The Coffee Shop

Everywhere you go there is a line-up for coffee. It doesn't matter it is the local 7-11, McDonald's or cafeteria in a hospital. Canadians are addicted to it.

In recent years the announcement of a drive-thru or coffee-based restaurant is often viewed through the lens of traffic it can create. Obviously some love to drive in and pick up their double double but the prospect a Tim's on the street of those that use the restaurant is probably going to be regarded with angst.

The recent announcement of a Tim Horton's stand alone location with no drive-thru at the corner of Corydon Avenue and Stafford Street in River Heights should be cause for concern. The location will feature no drive-thru but that doesn't mean there won't be traffic issues.

Tim's will be joining Second Cup and Starbucks, long time rivals on Corydon Avenue.

There are only 15 parking spots that service the corner lot. If people don't think that is a problem, they should check out the Starbucks at Lanark Street and Academy Road. It is a gong show any time of the day getting around that area.

The Business Improvement Zone of Corydon hopes streetscraping will add 200 spots of parking to the area. However, will it really help with the Tim Horton's where people will be coming and going at all times?

Winnipeg is not alone is lining up for coffee but it is amazing how many places are choking themselves off with car traffic in proximity to coffee places.

It is fairly easy to see that a Tim Horton's at Stafford and Corydon will be popular. It will be busy. It will be a gong show.

Re-Branding of Hotel on Portage

One Holiday Inn hotel coming, one Holiday Inn leaving.

I saw a little while back that the Holiday Inn and Suites hotel suddenly had its named stripped from the exterior. I wondered then if the University of Winnipeg was about to announce another acquisition. Alas, the hotel temporarily re-named Red River Hotel and Suites.

Unlike the Sheraton Hotel that rebranded as York, The Hotel, and later was coverted back to apartments, the hotel on Colony Street seems intent on coming back better than ever.

The move of the bus terminal to the airport, the continuing expansion of the university and the Manitoba Hydro building are all compelling reasons for the hotel to take advantage of their proximity to all.

There was a time when the old Mall Hotel was about the roughest place in the city you could go. The Relax Hotel that went up following the demolition of the scary looking Mall in the 1980s was cheered by many.

The area around the University of Winnipeg is changing rapidly. It is being transformed and Portage Avenue is benefiting greatly.

Holiday Inn On Ellice

The new Holiday Inn on Ellice Avenue.

I wrote back sometime in this blog about how appalling it was that the Howard Johnson Hotel had become on Ellice Avenue in the Polo Park area.

It was a shameful presence in the city and an embarrassment.

Now, there is news that the Paletta family of hoteliers is going to transform the building into a Holiday Inn, the city's fourth for this brand.

The building which originally was the Airliner Inn before it became a Howard Johnson. It was always a little less that its other airport counterparts and hosted a strip club and vendor.

All that has been swept aside with the new design. The main features now will be a conference center and themed pool area. All 150 rooms have been gutted and re-done.

Airport hotels are a hot commodity. The 100 room MainStay Suites has just opened at King Edward/Rt. 90 alongside the Comfort Inn at Sargent Avenue.

Winnipeg's first Fairfield Inn is slated to open in Ellice Avenue near Polo Park.

This is a huge improvement for the city and a big bravo should go to the Palettas for removing the awfulness that inhabited that prominent corner for so long.

Also, isn't interesting that all this airport hotel construction is being done with no government money.

Bed, Bath Beyond Comes To Winnipeg

Bed, Bath and Beyond is coming to Winnipeg. The design goes before the Assiniboia Community Committee tomorrow.

The building will be located in one of the last spots left in the Kenaston Common shopping area near Costco.

The departure of Linens and Things a few years ago from the Canadian market gives this U.S. competitor a fair chance of success with its main challenger coming from Canadian store Home Outfitters.

The wish list for U.S. and international stores to set up shop in the city is getting shorter and shorter.

Winnipeg Fire Department - 24 Hour Shifts?

Winnipeg firefighters are advocating for 24 hours rather than the 10-14 shift pattern they have now. Western Canada stands apart from the east where many of the large cities have turned to 24 hours shifts. Ottawa is the latest city to switch to the schedule on January 1st.

Firefighter unions have liked the idea for some time as some members live far outside of the area and commute. In Vancouver, for instance, some firefighters commute up to 2 hours each way.

Several years ago there was a report on where police, fire and paramedics lived and the answer was that many lived outside the city of Winnipeg, sometimes quite far.

The chief of the Toronto Airport Fire Department Mike Figliola has said that moving to a 24 hour shift makes firefighting a "well paid part-time job." His comment is probably referring to the fact that with a 24 hour shift, firefighters will work 7 days days of 28 each month.

It has long been known that even with the present schedule that, Winnipeg firefighters are hard workers and sometimes have other jobs. Some big residential developments in Winnipeg have a firefighter behind them.

On December 9, 2010, the Globe and Mail had an article about how full-time firefighters were behind a large business called Fireman Movers.

Firefighting is a hard, life shortening job. However, the taxpayer might have some serious considerations if the schedule set up lends itself to firefighting appearing to be part-time work.

The evidence that the 24 schedule is better is pretty thin. Moreover, since with Winnipeg has a combined Fire and Paramedic service, will it be a wholly complete different animal compared to its eastern counterparts? In other words, will our 24 schedule be far too much work for anyone to stand? If 60% of the calls are paramedic first response as they are in Vancouver, will it be too much to expect that after 21 hours that people will be as sharp as they were in the first hours? Big differences between the eastern and western fire departments on this issue alone.

If there will be support for the 24 shifts, the fire department union head Alex Forrest has to stop making outrageous comments that firefighters don't sleep on their shift. Really? You want to stick to that comment? On a 14 hour shift overnight and no major calls, the firefighters are not asleep? And in 24 hours, he expects no sleep as well? Maybe to verify that no sleep happens, the beds should be removed from the fire houses.

The empirical evidence is that where 24 hour shifts have been introduced in the east there has been a corresponding increase in retirements, sick time and overtime.

The 24 hour shift should not be adopted if the result is extra costs to the city and a mass of retirements of older staff who can't stand the longer shifts.

The taxpayers of Winnipeg will be expecting some honesty about what the merits of the program. It won't help if the union chief talks about how firefighters won't sleep at all during the 24 hours. It won't help if city officials talk about doing what is best for firefighters if the cost and productivity is compromised. Actual realistic assessment is needed and serious thought done about why such a schedule is good for Winnipeg.

The Flood Part 2 - Sump Pump and Pits

As with all things government, the sump pump and pit program is likely to run into problems. Don't get me wrong: The sump pump and pit and back water valve program is a good idea. It should have been done years ago and it would have probably saved a lot of hardship for homeowners and the city and province alike. However, the retroactive nature of the funding is probably going to drain the funding quickly.

You have to wonder if the reason the province has never thought about it till now is because Greg Selinger has never had a flooded basement nor has a sump pump and pit.

Sam Katz had a sump pump and pit installed in his house a number of years ago. It is too bad he didn't push for this program earlier on.

In fact, I'd like to know who came up with the idea because it made sense to do it for many years now.

There are some people who have called the program a boondoggle. The same was said about the floodway.

This is a program that could save property owners hundreds of thousands every year.

There are a few things that the city and province should think about as the program proceeds:

- Make sure it is not underfunded.
- Make sure that inspections are not delayed.
- Expedite work. If a company such as Sturgeon Constuction was suitable in the past for work like sump pump installation, they are probably suitable now too.
- Think about extending the program to cover everyone who wants to be covered in existing homes.

There is no sense ending the program when danger will continue for existing home for years to come.

Sometimes the city and the province cause chaos with their expiration dates. I think the low flush toilet problem is a case in point.

This is going to save people money. It will benefit the city and the province in the end. Please monitor the program carefully and consider extending it.