Winnipeg Construction X

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by city_slicker

285 Smith received site prep permits for the 44 storey project.

44 floors?? Not bad at all, it will be similar height to 300 Main. Any early renders floating around?

[bomberjet]

There are renderings somewhere on SSP. Seems like the design has changed, hopefully for the better.

But anyways, yes will be great to have more people living downtown of course. I wonder if there's been any progress with the lot next door. It was sold sometime recently, IIRC.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Luisito

44 floors?? Not bad at all, it will be similar height to 300 Main. Any early renders floating around?

This proposal is not new, there were renderings floating around in early 2021 IIRC.

Here's one of them, not sure which iteration of the project this was (it's strange how it looks like it's in the middle of a forest, ha):

[Luisito]

Ok yeah I remember that one. Thanks Esquire.

[dmacc]

Will this be close to the height of 300 Main?

[optimusREIM]

I hope they've improved the massing of it a little bit if it is still going ahead. That just feels very heavy and imposing. Wonder if they'd consider going slightly taller and slightly more slender. Maybe clean up the podium a bit. I'm no expert in projects, but would making slight changes like that really make the economics of a project like this unworkable?

[Luisito]

Yeah I didn't want to be negative about the design but it is not the prettiest building out there. It would have been nice to get something a bit nicer specially since it will be going up in a really good location that will be visible from pretty much every where.

[Gravity Wins]

Let's call it what it is - it's a soviet style apartment block with a silly hat.

[Sheepish]

^ You're being generous. It's just UGLY...from the front...from the back and the sides. Atrocious even. Wrong building in the wrong location. Unfortunately taste and design standards cannot be legislated.

[esquire]

I like nice designs as much as anyone, but at the same time I don't get too upset about ugly apartment buildings. One of the most amazing urban environments I've ever visited in my life, Hong Kong, is chock full of objectively ugly highrise apartment towers. But together they add up to way, way more than the sum of their parts. This is also the case in many other cities.

I don't get it, every day there is some piece of steaming dogshit being built in the suburbs that will actively hurt the city's urban environment. Yet the downtown highrise apartment tower is what people want to rage on?

[Gravity Wins]

Originally Posted by esquire

I like nice designs as much as anyone, but at the same time I don't get too upset about ugly apartment buildings. One of the most amazing urban environments I've ever visited in my life, Hong Kong, is chock full of objectively ugly highrise apartment towers. But together they add up to way, way more than the sum of their parts. This is also the case in many other cities.

For sure, I agree with you. The same could be said about Vancouver, where the skyline is full of rather bland beige and green towers. On their own they are pretty ugly but when there's dozens of them mixed into a vibrant downtown core it works.

But you've got to admit that Winnipeg is in a different situation. This tower will dominate the city skyline for at least 20-30 years, which you can't really say about any ugly tower in Hong Kong or Van City. I personally won't lose any sleep if this one is built, and it may even be an important turning point in the densification of downtown. But that doesn't mean criticism isn't fair. We can't become so desperate to build up that we forget how to call a pig a pig.

[Biff]

^^^we posted at the same time.

I agree with you Esquire but...I think the issue is with Winnipeg's smallish amount of tall buildings, this thing will stick out and be extremely visible...likely for a long time. In Hong Kong, in general you can't actually see most of the ugly because there are so many buildings that unless you look up, you don't really notice them.

[esquire]

Fair comments. But it's not as though this tower is going to be dominating the skyline a la Stantec. It will probably be more or less even with the P&M cluster.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by esquire

Fair comments. But it's not as though this tower is going to be dominating the skyline a la Stantec. It will probably be more or less even with the P&M cluster.

Wish we could get something like that. At least another officer tower would be nice. Something at least the height of 300 Main.

I wish the new Wawanesa building was going up at the corner of Broadway and Main. It would have at least been more visible. That old wawanesa building and parking lot need to go. We need something nicer at that corner.

[esquire]

^ Broadway and Main is a very disappointing corner. You have some very handsome and elegant buildings (Union Station, Manitoba Club, Hotel Fort Garry) and then just a bunch of empty spaces between them with no critical mass.

[pegcityboy]

Too bad this wasn’t at the Sky City site, then Graham Ave would start to be a big boy developed Avenue , a few subtle changes to the design could still make this project not a total miss aesthetically wise , and some lighting at night would help also like 300 Main . The one big positive is going by the preliminary design that’s alot of residents added to the downtown .

[dmacc]

I'm not a fan of 285 Smith but still want it to happen so badly.

[zalf]

Originally Posted by dmacc

I'm not a fan of 285 Smith but still want it to happen so badly.

No kidding. It may look like it came out of some Soviet design bureau, but it will add piles of people to an area that desperately needs piles more people.

[prairiedog007]

it would be great if they reduced the mass and made it 10-15 stories taller

[Labroco]

Still no construction financing in place…

Let’s see what happens in the next few months…