Winnipeg Construction X

[drew]

^ I think you are letting 546... off a little easy.

Ultimately these are architects that never let function get in the way of a "good" design. The City is littered with examples.

[esquire]

I'm not saying Centre Village is perfect. I've never been into the suites (although I always wanted to see the interiors), but I can appreciate why they could be difficult for families given 546's penchant for putting everything on multiple levels. I'm just saying that the relatively low emphasis on CPTED speaks to the era in which the project was conceived and built.

And yeah, I can also appreciate that Balmoral St. was maybe not the best place in general for something that looks like it belongs in the 70s suburban environs of Southdale or The Maples. Clearly in hindsight a semi-fortified apartment block would have been a much more appropriate choice for that location.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by drew

^ I think you are letting 546... off a little easy.

Ultimately these are architects that never let function get in the way of a "good" design. The City is littered with examples.

Didn’t they cook up The Cube that replaced the perfectly fine community stage in Old Market Square with a barely functional form-over-function structure?

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by thebasketballgeek

Also, the interiors were a mess. I mean didn’t the units essentially have a floor just for a kitchen? Very unsuitable layouts for their target demographic which were families.

I also seem to recall the weird layout of the units.

Like the kitchen being on the third floor of all places by itself.

[Highwayman]

s

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

^Classic example of a cluster of rose-coloured-glasses-wearing organizations patting each other on the backs without having any realistic idea of what actually goes on in a neighbourhood like that once the cameras and media scrum have all gone home. This idea that a shiny new building which checks the housing box is going to immediately solve all the problems that low-income people often have.

That cluster of stucco has to be one of the ugliest designs I have seen. Actually I'll be fair. The design of the buildings is ok. But the choice of materials and colours is God awful.

If anyone had some foresight though it could be saved with some creative thinking. Which we lack obviously. Everyone is trying about affordable housing. Yet this complex sits vacant lol. Maybe give the place to the assembly of cheifs..I honestly do not know as it's probably more dangerous leaving it sit then having a urban reserve sitting in it. Heck it can be used to house all the migrants from Ukraine.

I hate sounding like one of those always crying about housing. But it does annoy me when places like these sit empty.


Btw. Anyone have renders of the St Anne's block being built down by Lavallee School? It's got one huge hole in the ground now. And I see the cost was pretty high for this area.

[Only The Lonely..]

Link to the older article on Centre Village (2016) in the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2...using-winnipeg

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

The building needs a clock.

On a more serious note, would a ten story parkade be the tallest above ground parking structure in town?

I don't recall how many levels of parking there are at the downtown Canadinn.. Formerly Radisson/Delta/Northstar Inn.

It is sill a Radisson, owned by Canad Inns.
It was supposed to have had alongside the Somerset building a$150 million dollar development which seems to have stalled, likely Covid had a hand in hampering that.
The Radisson has 9 parking levels. One of the worst parkades in town, 1 unheated elevator and low ceilings for tall people.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by BAKGUY

It is sill a Radisson, owned by Canad Inns.
It was supposed to have had alongside the Somerset building a$150 million dollar development which seems to have stalled, likely Covid had a hand in hampering that.
The Radisson has 9 parking levels. One of the worst parkades in town, 1 unheated elevator and low ceilings for tall people.

Let’s be serious, that development was never going to happen, it was unabashedly a Ledohowski fabrication to avoid a historical designation on the Somerset building.

I put zero stock in an organization that is so cheap-ass it uses a budget projector in place of a real sign on it’s downtown main-strip asset.

[WinCitySparky]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

s

That cluster of stucco has to be one of the ugliest designs I have seen. Actually I'll be fair. The design of the buildings is ok. But the choice of materials and colours is God awful.

If anyone had some foresight though it could be saved with some creative thinking. Which we lack obviously. Everyone is trying about affordable housing. Yet this complex sits vacant lol. Maybe give the place to the assembly of cheifs..I honestly do not know as it's probably more dangerous leaving it sit then having a urban reserve sitting in it. Heck it can be used to house all the migrants from Ukraine.

I hate sounding like one of those always crying about housing. But it does annoy me when places like these sit empty.


Btw. Anyone have renders of the St Anne's block being built down by Lavallee School? It's got one huge hole in the ground now. And I see the cost was pretty high for this area.

It was a good idea from a people-first housing perspective, but obviously they picked the wrong consultants

[1ajs]

give that complex to r.b. russel school they can rehab and let em flip it as a project for their students

[rrskylar]

Just back from US on work trip, spent the last two days in Fargo on some R&R, no potholes on any of their well maintained streets, this BS about clay soil and climate doesn't bear much weight here when they have the exact same conditions!

South end of Fargo, West Fargo booming as is the city itself, help wanted signs everywhere even advertising on fast food restaurant windows offering $17/hr. (US$) plus $500 signing bonuses, prices on most goods equal or higher than in Winnipeg!

This is about a city and government being business friendly and getting it right!

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Just back from US on work trip, spent the last two days in Fargo on some R&R, no potholes on any of their well maintained streets, this BS about clay soil and climate doesn't bear much weight here when they have the exact same conditions!

South end of Fargo, West Fargo booming as is the city itself, help wanted signs everywhere even advertising on fast food restaurant windows offering $17/hr. (US$) plus $500 signing bonuses, prices on most goods equal or higher than in Winnipeg!

This is about a city and government being business friendly and getting it right!

High wages for fast food just means no one wants to work in the city.
Roads in the USA are funded alot different then here. They have federal money.
However I been to states that their interstate was in worse shape then the worst roads here.
As for booming new developments? Are you saying Winnipeg doesn't have these also ? Maybe you need to get out more?

[thebasketballgeek]

Funny thing is I’m in California rn for a trip and I must confirm the roads are quite smooth.

However, there is a huge lack of active transportation paths and NOBODY walks to places. In a suburb of Sacramento currently (Elk Grove) and it’s a bunch of sprawly stucco single-family houses. The sad thing is the weather is absolutely gorgeous and there are grocery stores within 20 minute walking distance but when I walked to Trader’s Joe or Walmart there wasn’t a single other pedestrian that I crossed paths with. Atleast in suburbs like Bridgwater and Sage Creek there is visible pedestrian activity at all times especially near the town centres.

I also don’t think we truly how much wider US roads are compared to Canada. These US interstates have like 10 lanes regularly even through the mountains. Car Dependency is so bad over there we were coming home from an event at 1:30 AM and there was a fucking traffic jam.

Don’t even get me started on their truly nonexistent public transportation.

So if you scratch past the surface of an American city it’s really just completely garbage for people not using a car. It’s so ingrained to the American identity that I don’t think they can truly solve their car dependency in my lifetime. Atleast in Winnipeg I can see a reality where car dependency doesn’t exist in the next few decades. Hell even where I live in Bridgwater I’m a 15 minute cycle to Walmart, Superstore, and U of M which all have direct connections to AT paths rather then shitty small gutters. So the fact that most residents are within a 15 minute cycle to amenities and services means the city is actually much closer then we all thought to being walkable. Although with our weather I don’t think the notion of 15 minute communities is good enough Winnipeg needs to focus on making 5 minute complete communities instead.

[Authentic_City]

Meh, I would not be so quick to compare Winnipeg and Fargo. North Dakota is oil country. Oil prices are way up now, so there's a shortage of people willing to work in the service industry, hence the help wanted signs. Same thing happens in Alberta when oil goes up. This, and differences in federal funding for highways helps a lot.

I was in Dallas a couple of weeks ago, and I can confirm the roads are nice and smooth, and the freeways are huge and efficient. Also, the downtown streets were clean and well maintained, but there was a noticeable absence of pedestrians. A few blocks away from Downtown, huge homeless encampments under highway overpasses. There was a decent looking light rail system, but based on the heavy police and security presence at transit stops and the rough looking crowds waiting for trains, I don't think public transit is used much by middle class folks in Dallas. Atlanta's downtown is generally clean, but step outside the hotel zone and it gets rough fast. Also, there are city bylaws criminalizing cruising downtown and begging for money, so that's how they take care of their homeless population. Last time I was in San Francisco, the front desk clerk took out of map of the downtown and circled an area not far from the hotel and told me to stay away because it's too dangerous. And this is a bustling, pedestrian friendly city. I mean, I love travelling in the US, but it's far from perfect.

[pspeid]

Pretty much every major city (and many smaller ones) have these issues with poverty, crime, homelessness and urban decay. Last time I was in Minneapolis with a friend driving me around she warned me not to turn my head or look out the window at anyone as we drove through some neighbourhoods towards the downtown, as it would be interpreted as a provocation. Yes Winnipeg has troubles, but we are hardly alone on that matter.

[esquire]

^ On that note, North American cities are not headed in a positive direction. It seems that things like poverty, homelessness and disorder have moved from being marginal characteristics to defining characteristics. Things have gotten way worse over the last 30 years in just about every city I can think of, and the last few years have seen the process accelerate even more.

At the rate that socioeconomic stratification is speeding up, can it be long before we start seeing South American-style favelas start to emerge in formerly neat and tidy North American cities? People have to live somewhere, and now that we're firmly in the territory of $250,000 starter homes in supposedly one of the most affordable housing markets in the country, something's gotta give.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ On that note, North American cities are not headed in a positive direction. It seems that things like poverty, homelessness and disorder have moved from being marginal characteristics to defining characteristics. Things have gotten way worse over the last 30 years in just about every city I can think of, and the last few years have seen the process accelerate even more.

At the rate that socioeconomic stratification is speeding up, can it be long before we start seeing South American-style favelas start to emerge in formerly neat and tidy North American cities? People have to live somewhere, and now that we're firmly in the territory of $250,000 starter homes in supposedly one of the most affordable housing markets in the country, something's gotta give.

I was watching a few documentaries on poverty in California and it was horrible. Streets lined with people in campers and cars and vans and tents. All these people were once home owners and now homeless. It's a pretty eye opener for an area in California that wasn't a bad area 10 years ago. But goes to show homelessness isn't just for the poor or drug addicts etc. You or me can end up homeless just as easy.

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

However I been to states that their interstate was in worse shape then the worst roads here.

please name that interstate! unless it was a gravel country road in the middle of a farmer field in Oklahoma that just had a tornado come through, there is no way it's worse than some of our residential roads currently. I'm not pro-USA, trust me, but I'm calling you out on that statement!

[T'Cona]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Just back from US on work trip, spent the last two days in Fargo on some R&R, no potholes on any of their well maintained streets, this BS about clay soil and climate doesn't bear much weight here when they have the exact same conditions!

South end of Fargo, West Fargo booming as is the city itself, help wanted signs everywhere even advertising on fast food restaurant windows offering $17/hr. (US$) plus $500 signing bonuses, prices on most goods equal or higher than in Winnipeg!

This is about a city and government being business friendly and getting it right!

I am working on a transfer out of this city, I am tired of the state of it. Our downtown is depressing.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by T'Cona

I am working on a transfer out of this city, I am tired of the state of it. Our downtown is depressing.

I can't blame you. I recently went back to the office on a part time basis and downtown is in atrocious shape. Even if you wanted to spend money and help reinvigorate it, there's hardly anywhere to do it. The major retailers are all gone, the streets are lined with empty units. It's dead at all times, even in the middle of the day the sidewalks and skywalks are empty.

I had kind of accepted long ago that downtown Winnipeg wasn't going to become urbanist nirvana, but I never thought it would reach these depths. The next step down is basically large-scale abandonment, at least we aren't there. Yet.

I honestly think we're getting close to a point where it'll be beyond repair. I never would have said that 5 years ago, but I suppose I have to face reality here.