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  #701  
Old Posted Nov 19, 2022, 2:24 AM
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I identify as Métis so you can kiss my ass!
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  #702  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2022, 12:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Hecate View Post
All the storefronts along portage had access to the street back when PP opened. They locked them all up as it was too easy for shoplifters. PP was beautiful when it opened, I still miss the little M&S, but I really miss the IMAX.
Are you sure about that? I recall taking the bus downtown on occasion to go to Portage Place as a kid, and even though most storefronts had doors to Portage Ave, almost none were accessible. This is 1988-89, a year removed from when the mall opened.

It would be great if Portage Place was like this, as it was designed for pedestrians on Portage Avenue to access the stores, but with shoplifting and what not, I am doubtful this will ever occur.
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  #703  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2022, 1:01 AM
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It's a new month and I see that some more PP food court tenants have bit the dust, including longtime staples Manchu Wok and Taco Time. The Japanese place is closed but I'm not sure if that's a permanent thing or not.

Taco Time???

Jeez, I can recall eating at Taco Time at PP over 30 years ago. The mall must be in real dire straits if Taco Time is gone. Is the A & W still there?
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  #704  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2022, 4:03 AM
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Rip down PP entirely and build an entire strip of 197 Osbornes, 10-20 storeys each. Total pipe dream but a nice dream nonetheless.

Last edited by WinCitySparky; Nov 20, 2022 at 4:20 AM.
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  #705  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2022, 5:38 AM
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Originally Posted by WinCitySparky View Post
Rip down PP entirely and build an entire strip of 197 Osbornes, 10-20 storeys each. Total pipe dream but a nice dream nonetheless.
On the interim, you might as well put up Spirit of Halloween sign all over Portage Place until then.

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  #706  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2022, 2:48 PM
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Originally Posted by WinCitySparky View Post
Rip down PP entirely and build an entire strip of 197 Osbornes, 10-20 storeys each. Total pipe dream but a nice dream nonetheless.
Not so much of a pipe dream. Just give a developer $1 Billion and they'll get it done. That's what the people of Hamilton hope will be done with their downtown mall:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamil...ntre-1.6654926

Personally I think we should adapt the Starlight Developments plan. Leave the ground level retail with residential towers on the corners. One tower should include space devoted to housing new Canadians, with space in the mall for education and skills training. The other tower could still be mixed student/ fixed income housing.

Might be easier to get federal funding for some socially progressive construction projects? At least until the Conservatives get in, then switch it to "housing for underprivileged millionaires".

Seriously, first step, though, I'd like to see the new mayor pushed on his vision, which he promised during the election.
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  #707  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2022, 7:48 PM
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Hey everyone, i've been a longtime fan of this forum but this is my first time posting. I love the enthusiasm on skyscraper page and how much most people in here appreciate Winnipeg.

I was wondering if anyone knew what the deal with 44 Place Promenade was? Is it residential? or somehow a separate building from the actual mall structure all together?

The entire residential development behind portage place intrigues me (400, 410, 420 Webb Place) but ive had trouble finding any details about it at all. It seems like a fairly progressive minded development for its era (mixed use, walkable) but now it seems pretty run down. is there any story or reason for that? It all seems rather bizarre.
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  #708  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2022, 8:10 PM
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Welcome!

It's pretty dumpy back there. Bud bugs and such. I guess it's run by a Vancouver company/owner and hasn't been maintained well. That's my understanding.
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  #709  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2022, 8:16 PM
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Welcome!

It's pretty dumpy back there. Bud bugs and such. I guess it's run by a Vancouver company/owner and hasn't been maintained well. That's my understanding.
44 The Promenade is residential, but I have never been in there so I have no idea how it's connected to the mall, etc. I would imagine there must be a skywalk connection? It does seem to be kind of oddly designed though, I wonder if it was originally intended to be something else, like a hotel?

I remember visiting a friend years ago who lived up high in one of the Webb Place towers. It was a nice building, sort of your standard newer downtown apartment (this was about 20 years ago, so it was still fairly new, barely a decade old).

I haven't been in there since, but I get the impression that it hasn't aged especially well since then, partly because the desirability of that area would have dropped off a cliff in the 2000s. I went into the little-known Promenade Mall a couple of years ago and it looked pretty tired and worn out. I'm guessing the towers aren't that dissimilar.
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  #710  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2022, 8:16 PM
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Thanks for the reply and the welcome,

Yeah, that was my understanding as well. I'm not looking to move in their or anything, just looking to get an understanding of the whole residential component in general. the whole thing just seems really weird. 400, 410, 420 Webb Place look like they're sitting on an independent underground parkade, which I gather would have cost a lot of money at construction. and 44 place promenade looks like its attached to the mall, but at the same time it has a slightly different facade and somewhat looks like a long thin building that's actually butting up against the back of the mall.
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  #711  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2022, 8:21 PM
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^ The parkade is separate... I know some people who rented a parking space under Place Promenade because it was cheaper than monthly parking at Portage Place.

To find out more you'd probably have to look at news clippings from the era (the WPL used to have a comprehensive set of these, not sure if they are still available?) and maybe some sources in the local history room.

I agree, on paper North Portage (encompassing Portage Place, the Promenade and other developments) had everything. Probably more so than any single other Winnipeg development. But it never took off.

P.S., welcome to the forum!
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  #712  
Old Posted Dec 1, 2022, 11:49 PM
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I guess now is as good a time as any for a first post as well...

I actually lived in Place Promenade for a couple years. The suites themselves are ok (the views west from the top floors of 400 were really something!) It definitely is/was run pretty barebones though when it came to maintenance of common areas. And I think the owner is actually from Montreal. I remember doing some research at one point and he was voted worst slumlord in Toronto.

The roughness notwithstanding I did enjoy the area as a whole especially being connected to the skywalk. It really was fun walking to get groceries (R.I.P. The Bay/ Zellers) in shorts in the middle of winter.

It would be great to see it given a bit more of a facelift and some new ownership. I think with any development plans for PP it could really be a nice spot with the bones around it
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  #713  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2022, 2:25 PM
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Originally Posted by esquire View Post
^ The parkade is separate... I know some people who rented a parking space under Place Promenade because it was cheaper than monthly parking at Portage Place.

To find out more you'd probably have to look at news clippings from the era (the WPL used to have a comprehensive set of these, not sure if they are still available?) and maybe some sources in the local history room.

I agree, on paper North Portage (encompassing Portage Place, the Promenade and other developments) had everything. Probably more so than any single other Winnipeg development. But it never took off.

P.S., welcome to the forum!
My grandmother and great-great aunt lived in 430 Webb Place from when it opening in 1988ish to the early 2000's. It was, and I think still is, a 55+ place, operated by Kiwanis. Nice big suites, connected to the skywalk. My great-great aunt walked from there to The Bay grocery store every day until two weeks before she died at 99 years old, so the connection to the skywalk really kept her active.
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  #714  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2022, 2:55 PM
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Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway View Post
My grandmother and great-great aunt lived in 430 Webb Place from when it opening in 1988ish to the early 2000's. It was, and I think still is, a 55+ place, operated by Kiwanis. Nice big suites, connected to the skywalk. My great-great aunt walked from there to The Bay grocery store every day until two weeks before she died at 99 years old, so the connection to the skywalk really kept her active.
I have always noticed a strong senior resident presence in the skywalks... you can generally tell, because they are the ones without jackets or winter gear in the dead of winter.

At one point I'm sure the skywalks would have had tremendous appeal for seniors. Close connections to major stores that they would have been very familiar with (Eatons and The Bay, with supermarkets in each), close to major doctors' office complexes (Medical Arts, Boyd, Winnipeg Clinic), Portage Place was still nice and vibrant with a lot going on with cinemas, nice stores, restaurants, etc.... it would have been a pretty ideal setup. The skywalks are still there of course, but they connect far fewer amenities that would be of interest to seniors.
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  #715  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2022, 3:14 PM
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At one point I'm sure the skywalks would have had tremendous appeal for seniors. Close connections to major stores that they would have been very familiar with (Eatons and The Bay, with supermarkets in each), close to major doctors' office complexes (Medical Arts, Boyd, Winnipeg Clinic), Portage Place was still nice and vibrant with a lot going on with cinemas, nice stores, restaurants, etc.... it would have been a pretty ideal setup. The skywalks are still there of course, but they connect far fewer amenities that would be of interest to seniors.
That was exactly what attracted them. Both of them had lost their husbands and were living alone in houses in Transcona. Neither drove, so would have been housebound in the winter. They developed big social networks in the building and I'm sure it extended their lives and certainly improved their quality of life.
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  #716  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2022, 3:44 PM
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Kinda sad that those amenities have all dried up essentially. I remember the mall and the bay and the area always feeling really alive growing up, real shame that we've let it go so far.
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  #717  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2022, 6:19 PM
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Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway View Post
My grandmother and great-great aunt lived in 430 Webb Place from when it opening in 1988ish to the early 2000's. It was, and I think still is, a 55+ place, operated by Kiwanis. Nice big suites, connected to the skywalk. My great-great aunt walked from there to The Bay grocery store every day until two weeks before she died at 99 years old, so the connection to the skywalk really kept her active.
Yeah as far as I can tell the kiwanis building and the fred douglas building are both operated by the fred douglas society as 55+ communities and sit on separate real estate from the rest of the place promenade residential complex. they both seem like they're in way better condition than the other buildings in the area and actually look pretty nice.

400, 410, and 420 place promenade are all on the same piece of real estate and all sit on top of that second parkade. then 44 place promenade seems to be almost part of the mall building itself.

actually i never thought of that myself, but when the mall/bay/etons/skywalk/etc. were firing on all cylinders it really would have been an ideal place to live as a senior.
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  #718  
Old Posted Dec 2, 2022, 6:32 PM
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actually i never thought of that myself, but when the mall/bay/etons/skywalk/etc. were firing on all cylinders it really would have been an ideal place to live as a senior.
Oh man, it would have been fantastic. All those amenities I mentioned earlier, plus various food courts, the library, movie theatres, you name it. For a senior circa, say, 1994, that would have been a perfect place to be.

I guess it's kind of telling that no one really builds senior housing downtown anymore.
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  #719  
Old Posted Dec 3, 2022, 7:04 PM
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Kinda sad that those amenities have all dried up essentially. I remember the mall and the bay and the area always feeling really alive growing up, real shame that we've let it go so far.
The closure of Eatons, the end of the downtown movie experience, safety issues all were the beginning of the demise...also how many people would choose to shop at a store in downtown mall when they could find the same store in other malls with parking?

Online shopping killed off any hope for a resurgence!
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  #720  
Old Posted Jan 28, 2023, 11:09 PM
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...lure-1.6729207

The failure of Portage Place is in no way unique to Winnipeg.

Also, in Hamilton, they are about to tear down their own version of Portage Place and replace it with a proper mixed use setup.

https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/2020/...-street-north/
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