Business in Winnipeg

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Drove by the Sandman Signature that is "under construction" near the airport several times over the holidays. Would usually see a single private vehicle on-site. Have the two guys working on the site been replaced by security guards?

I realize Northland seems bullish on the way ahead, but at some point they are going to have to fish or cut bait on this property, the Sutton downtown, etc.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by DavefromSt.Vital

Drove by the Sandman Signature that is "under construction" near the airport several times over the holidays. Would usually see a single private vehicle on-site. Have the two guys working on the site been replaced by security guards?

I realize Northland seems bullish on the way ahead, but at some point they are going to have to fish or cut bait on this property, the Sutton downtown, etc.

I remember when the original Sandman was under construction next door some years back, it was also built at a similarly glacial pace. Northland has, to my mind at least, an odd approach to building their projects.

[wags_in_the_peg]

from FreePress today, #'s employees seems really high, but boy oh boy w the current environmental push, how does this not happen and soon

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bu...nt-in-manitoba

The German company RCT Solutions GmbH wants to build North America’s largest solar panel manufacturing operation in Manitoba using the pure quartz silica that Sio Silica hopes to produce here.

Sio Silica — which has raised concerns of environmentalists in southeast Manitoba about its potential to harm local water supply — would require $150 million in investment and eventually employ about 100 people.

RCT’s proposed solar panel plant — which needs the pure quartz silica produced by Sio Silica — would be a $3 billion investment eventually requiring a workforce of 8,000 people.

[wags_in_the_peg]

RCT building in Turkey

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9101...!7i3024!8i4032

[thebasketballgeek]

Manitoba could seriously become an energy superpower and I want to witness this province have a boom so bad. The day we don’t have negative interprovincial migration is the day we’ll have a healthy economy, and developments like these could go a long way to reverse that trend.

Also, I don’t want to hear a word from these so called “environmentalists” as long as 90% of their trips are taken by an automobile. Furthermore, if we were truly serious about our local water supply we would be doing everything in our power to fix Lake Winnipeg considering its watershed stretches out too Alberta, but alas no will to do so.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

from FreePress today, #'s employees seems really high, but boy oh boy w the current environmental push, how does this not happen and soon

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bu...nt-in-manitoba

The German company RCT Solutions GmbH wants to build North America’s largest solar panel manufacturing operation in Manitoba using the pure quartz silica that Sio Silica hopes to produce here.

Sio Silica — which has raised concerns of environmentalists in southeast Manitoba about its potential to harm local water supply — would require $150 million in investment and eventually employ about 100 people.

RCT’s proposed solar panel plant — which needs the pure quartz silica produced by Sio Silica — would be a $3 billion investment eventually requiring a workforce of 8,000 people.

I read this article. Exciting on the surface, but to my uneducated mind a few red flags. Sio still needs $150 million in investment to build their plant, which seems to be necessary before RTC Solutions build theirs. If it's on the up-and-up I have no problem with the province ponying up some $$, as it seems to be the kind of development the province needs.

The RCT investors are apparently playing the "hurry up or we'll take our $$ elsewhere" card. Of course, this may or not be a bluff, but I always get a little ill when extortion is part of the process. Still, the potential benefits are enormous, and I think the Conservatives need to prove how "business savvy" they always claim to be by doing some rapid but thorough due diligence.

As for the environmental review, on the surface the concerns for clean water are legitimate on their own, but I would hate to see a potentially huge financial and environmental benefit be kiboshed by a handful of people who put themselves above the province and, in this case, the global evironment.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

from FreePress today, #'s employees seems really high, but boy oh boy w the current environmental push, how does this not happen and soon

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bu...nt-in-manitoba

The German company RCT Solutions GmbH wants to build North America’s largest solar panel manufacturing operation in Manitoba using the pure quartz silica that Sio Silica hopes to produce here.

Sio Silica — which has raised concerns of environmentalists in southeast Manitoba about its potential to harm local water supply — would require $150 million in investment and eventually employ about 100 people.

RCT’s proposed solar panel plant — which needs the pure quartz silica produced by Sio Silica — would be a $3 billion investment eventually requiring a workforce of 8,000 people.

That is good news. Hope everything goes through ok.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

Nestlé, world's biggest food company, taps Manitoba for plant proteins

New 94,000-square-foot production facility in Winnipeg set to open in fall
CBC News · Posted: Jan 24, 2020 10:41 AM CT | Last Updated: an hour ago

Winnipeg is about to become home to a plant that will supply the world's largest food company with plant-based protein.

Nestlé is partnering with Merit Functional Foods and Burcon NutraScience to supply protein from peas and canola that will be used in food and beverages.

The plant-based protein industry is booming with meat and dairy alternatives being carried by many restaurants and grocery stores, and much of that comes from peas.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...toba-1.5438960

Merit Functional Foods has already shut down this brand new facility on Route 90.
after experiencing years of high growth rates, the expensive price point and questionable health benefits have lead consumers to reject the plant-based alternative food market, the industry right now is catering to a very niche vegetarian and vegan demographic.

Merit Functional Foods closes
Home-grown high-tech producer of pea and canola protein in receivership

[wags_in_the_peg]

thats not good news, pea protein was suppose to be the saviour

[drew]

It sucks, but of the 2 pea protein facilities that opened in the last couple years, this was the significantly smaller operation. Roquette still has the massive facility out at PlaP.

This one was always under the gun and disorganized from the get go (have a friend that work(ed) there).

[WinCitySparky]

Wild!! How do you even repurpose a facility like that??

[Winnipeg Grump]

I doubt repurposing is in the plans. Some large multinational in that space will snap it up out of bankruptcy and get a brand new facility for a tidy discount.

[Wpg_Guy]

Winnipeg landlords prepare for sharp rise in office vacancies


A new report by brokerage CBRE Ltd. forecasts a “pivotal” year for the Winnipeg office market in 2023 as a tide of older, less desireable space returns to the market with Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co.’s relocation and consolidation of its space requirements in new premises at True North Square.

“The insurer is consolidating several Class B locations in the downtown area, all of which will be coming back to the market,” CBRE reported in its market outlook released at the end of February. “That will add some 300 bps of vacancy to the market in one fell swoop.”
The current downtown vacancy rate is 15.7 per cent, meaning the return of Wawanesa’s existing space to the market could push the rate to upwards of 18.7 per cent. The new 300,000-square-foot tower is set to complete this fall, with lease agreements meaning space at Wawanesa’s four existing locations will come available Jan. 1, 2024.

“It’s apparently ahead of schedule, so they could be in there sooner,” said Paul Kornelson, vice-president and managing director with CBRE in Winnipeg.

While the city’s downtown office market has seen positive absorption in recent quarters, Wawanesa’s move will impact the market similarly to the first office tower at True North Square, a 365,000-square-foot building that completed in 2018.

“We still hadn’t quite settled down from reshuffling when COVID hit two full years later, so it’s certainly going to cause a disruption again,” he said.

CBRE’s current forecast anticipates an ongoing return of office workers to downtown will see vacancies end 2023 at 17.7 per cent, however, suggesting a muted impact from Wawanesa’s move.

“A federal government policy that requires employees to be in the office two to three days a week as of March 31 should help to offset rising vacancies,” CBRE reported. “Winnipeg’s downtown vibrancy hinges on the commuting workforce coming into work on a daily basis, and so the government announcement is a positive development for the city centre.”

The federal government commited to 80,000 square feet at City Place (234 Donald) last year, which is now fully leased. Recent deals have also seen 200 Portage, a five-storey building in the core totalling 95,000 square feet, lease up from being less than half full a year ago. The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, World Trade Centre Winnipeg and CentrePort Canada Inc. have leased shared space on the first two floors, while accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP has taken a floor and will leave its suburban premises later this year.

“You’re seeing a migration of companies to the core, including one from the suburbs that’s now coming to downtown,” Kornelson said.

The new leases are often driven by upgrades and renovations that have repositioned the properties for the post-pandemic era. This includes greater amenities and arrangements that respect the hybrid work environment that has become common as workers take advantage of greater leeway to work from home.

A recent study by Cushman & Wakefield in the U.S. determined that such adjustments will be key to retaining a viable stock of office space through the end of the decade.

The study estimated that the U.S. office inventory will approach 5.7 billion square feet by 2030. But the persistence of hybrid work arrangements mean office requirements will total just 4.6 billion square feet, a difference of about 1.1 billion square feet.

“The overall level of vacancy will therefore be 55 per cent higher than was observed prior to the pandemic,” Cushman & Wakefield reported.

Just 852 million square feet of the total inventory in 2030 will qualify as highly desireable, while 1.4 billion square feet will need to be reimagined in order to compete in a dramatically more competitive market.

The challenge is being met in Winnipeg through a number of small investments that add up to significant tenant appeal.

“It’s very basic things, like upgrading elevator cabs and lobbies, and having a fitness facility,” Kornelson said. “Those seem very basic, but just having a combination of one or a couple of things can really elevate a B or C class building.”

The disruption that followed the completion of the first tower at True North Square in 2018 helped set current investments in motion.

“[That] set in motion the concept of flight to quality, and landlords reinvesting in their space,” Kornelson said. “Buildings that aren’t being reinvested in, long-term they’re going to be left behind.”

A case in point is 200 Portage. In 2020, after Scotiabank left for True North Square, PCL Construction undertook a whole-building revitalization and office fit-out for the owner with a view to “providing attractive accommodations for future tenants while ensuring the 40-year-old building’s envelope was brought up to present day standards.”

“It’s been a full conversion from effectively a single-tenant building into a multi-tenant building, and we’ve really seen that leasing activity pick up in the last six to nine months,” said Trevor Clay, principal with Capital Commercial Real Estate Services Inc., which has handled leasing. “It’s been great to see some major tenants make commitments.”

https://www.westerninvestor.com/brit...6hnkdDI4d4jffQ

[bomberjet]

As the article touched on. Maybe with more vacancy, rates will drop and attract companies that are currently paying cheap rents in the burbs.

[1ajs]

more expensive in the burbs actualy

[Jeff]

it would be nice if the old HQ on broadway was pivoted away from office to soften the blow. there has to be a plan in the works for this spot that we don't know of yet!

[bomberjet]

My previous company, along with other similar companies, are in the burbs because the rates are cheaper than they can get downtown. First hand info from the people singing leases. Maybe depends on what class of office space you are looking for.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

My previous company, along with other similar companies, are in the burbs because the rates are cheaper than they can get downtown. First hand info from the people singing leases. Maybe depends on what class of office space you are looking for.

I wonder if that's changing? The suburbs do not have a ton of newer or at least redeveloped space. So if there isn't much availability, lease rates go up. While downtown lease rates might be going down in light of the growing vacancy rate.

I'm not sure what else would be enticing companies downtown which often means longer commutes, parking hassles for staff and clients alike, and a frankly, not terribly appealing environment these days.

[bomberjet]

The pro of being downtown from a business sense, at least for me and my current company, is being next to other like minded companies and your clients.

For employees it's to be central in the local area. The south Winnipeg ghettos are quite far for people north of downtown, for example. I hated driving out there every day. So you are limiting your potential talent pool because people simply do not want to work out there. Flip side, there are people who don't want to work downtown and are glad to sit in a warehouse. So pros and cons.

Companies who want to be downtown, will be downtown. Other companies who don't, won't. It's the ones who are focusing on cost that may be enticed to come downtown instead of a Terracon warehouse on Kenaston, if the rates support it.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by esquire

I wonder if that's changing? The suburbs do not have a ton of newer or at least redeveloped space. So if there isn't much availability, lease rates go up. While downtown lease rates might be going down in light of the growing vacancy rate.

I'm not sure what else would be enticing companies downtown which often means longer commutes, parking hassles for staff and clients alike, and a frankly, not terribly appealing environment these days.

Longer commutes is subjective, a decade ago the company I work for was marketing their downtown office building for a move to an industrial park, after some employee push back they analyzed the home postal codes of the 500 employees in the office and the central downtown location with an extensive building renovation was the chosen option. Because employees live far and wide across the region relocating to one corner of the city benefited a few but negatively impacted many especially with the terrible cross town bus service Winnipeg offers.