Winnipeg | Gas Station Arts Centre | Proposed

[Tacheguy]

Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway

How about instead of playing Whac-A-Mole with drug dealers, we just legalize and regulate it, and use the tax proceeds for (gasp) projects just like this one!

Someday this will become reality. The so called war on drugs in the U.S. underlies much of the racial tensions there according to experts. A few states have let the genie out of the bottle with grass..

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway

How about instead of playing Whac-A-Mole with drug dealers, we just legalize and regulate it, and use the tax proceeds for (gasp) projects just like this one!

I'll take the (gasp} as sarcasm..

No. Have you ever been to a crack house? Meth Lab? Grow op? You have to bulldoze the propetry in question 9 times out of 10 in the end. Have you seen what heroin,crack and meth does to children, their mothers and families lives..and what they have to do to sustain their habits?

Your suggestion is to legalize this poison to benefit our tax coffers?

The weed thing is another discussion mentioned by another poster. It's debatable, I started a thread some where in the Canada section about it.

Anyway you can post your reply in the western expresso thread if you choose.
Discussions good, thread is off. Thanks.

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I see there are signs up in front of the Gas Station for the new building, so looks like hopefully fundraising is getting under way now.

Thanks for the update. Last one was in April.I quoted part of your post, not the portion on funding by the Federal government. Who knows what may happen......

[Cyro]

Lakeview Realty is requesting a one (1) year extension of time in order to complete financing of
the project and compliance with the necessary by-law requirements..

The Winnipeg Public Service has reviewed the request for the extension of time and is of the opinion that approval of the subject extension of time would be acceptable and circumstances leading to the original approval remain unchanged.

Executive Policy Committee -- ADDENDUM - #6
http://clkapps.winnipeg.ca/DMIS/View...onId=&InitUrl=

Capital Campaign -- (fundraising still required)...

[headhorse]

a couple of small bits of news in here, including speculation that construction could begin by the end of the year

[esquire]

^ Very impressive...sounds like it's moving along.

[Cyro]

Updating project thread...

Originally Posted by esquire

Maybe we spoke too soon about the Gas Station Theatre project... according to the Free Press, it's going to be downscaled due to lack of funding:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/loc...385639051.html

Anything is better than nothing, but I have to admit anything short of what was illustrated in the rendering would be a bit of a disappointment.

I'd agree, actually it's quite frustrating...

[trueviking]

I'm actually good with it going to six stories....I think that will fit the streetscape better....I would like this project so much more if it didn't look so odd.

[Cyro]

^ yeah, I here you on the (Busy nature of the renders), looked at your density charts for the Forks dev. 6- or 9? Don't think a 9 floor structure on this corner, (- 2 floors? for the theater is going to change the urban fabric of the neighbor hood to any degree, It's an ideal location for a little bit of height..just me though..

[esquire]

Downscaled again

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus...394230291.html

Housing is now gone entirely from the project... sounds like it will be just a new theatre and some commercial space.

A letdown for sure (weren't we just talking about the lack of development along Osborne over the last decade?), but at the very least it will give River and Osborne a bit of a facelift... the existing Gas Station Theatre complex is not very well designed.

[Urban recluse]

Pathetic.

[bomberjet]

That's terrible.. And then they're still looking for significant public funding. So lets just wait for it to be completely cancelled..

[esquire]

You kind of have to wonder what the point is if all they're doing now is just building a slightly newer version of what already exists...

Although I guess it can't be any worse than the current complex with the ugly square out front. I've never been a fan of how the Gas Station Theatre looks.

[buzzg]

I still find it insane that not getting the $1 million in funding from the city (they originally said $500k) for the residential component could completely collapse the other $20m component of the project. Something here is not adding up. I actually hope the city repeals their TIF to them with no residential component, or gets the low income funding program in place to make it go through (contingent on happening as planned).

I don't really see a reason for the city to chip in $500k to rebuild this theatre when it's still in good shape. Just building the theatre podium means nothing better can happen there for 30 years. What a waste. And I'm a huge arts supporter.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by buzzg

I don't really see a reason for the city to chip in $500k to rebuild this theatre when it's still in good shape. Just building the theatre podium means nothing better can happen there for 30 years. What a waste. And I'm a huge arts supporter.

Very good point. Maybe GST should just cancel the whole project altogether and leave the doors open to something better if economic circumstances improve. A half assed new theatre with new improved Subway out front locked in for the next several decades wouldn't be much of an improvement over what currently exists anyway.

[Urban recluse]

This corner needs a major facelift; if the design we were presented with was kept, and the residence portion removed, leaving just the bottom portion, that would contribute a lot.

[buzzg]

Something just doesn't add up here at all with the numbers, and the excuses GST is making. Either they're leaving something out, or they just don't really have a clue what they're doing.

It almost seems as if they're trying to pull a Sport For Life Centre trick and say "well it's this crappy version or nothing" ... only problem is SFLC was actually needed and had a finite deadline.

[bomberjet]

I just think they had these grand visions with nothing really on the table. They have zero money. Inexperienced? Naïve? I'm not sure.

[optimusREIM]

It could all be a ploy sort of a last ditch effort to get more money by playing the guilt card.

[Cyro]

Damn it, I have to stop creating threads, the projects seem to never reach start-up or or downgraded in some capacity.