Downtown surface parking lot to be filled?

About 8-10 years ago, around the time I was living in Osborne Village, I remember a decrepit building being torn down on the corner of Osborne St N and York Street. I joked to one of the workers as I walked by that they should keep going and tear down the old Red Cross building next to it.

Of course I envisioned at the time that something new and exciting would rise in it's place, but sadly the lot on the corner of Osborne and York became nothing more than another unfinished surface parking lot blighting downtown Winnipeg; a signboard with an optimistic picture of a new building mocking us year after year.

Google Maps. I am lazy.

Well, it may actually happen. Something resembling that building on the sign may get built after all. The owner is seeking rezoning approval for a 10 story mixed use building...

"This building will house 50,000 square feet of residential space in 42 condominium units on the top eight storeys (sic), and office and commercial space on the first two floors."

Their web site says 28 residential units, not 40 as in the zoning application, but whatever ... this could work. I don't know about the commercial space, but the condos could fill up. They are close to work or University for many people, and walking distance to Osborne Village and the increasingly trendy West Broadway area.

The floor plans are diverse, but larger than the Glasshouse condos I reviewed earlier. They range from a tidy 750 sq ft, about the size of the largest Glasshouse units, to a massive 1,650 sq ft. I can't imagine what the asking price for that will be.


Perhaps the commercial space will work too. I'm envisioning an art supply store. Just a block away from the Winnipeg Art Gallery Studio, and with Lewis Art Supplies having abandoned Graham Avenue nearby, this might be something that could work. Just throwing ideas out there.

It will be nice to see something fill this space finally, assuming the numbers work and the zoning changes are approved.

(h/t: headhorse at Skyscraper Page)

People in glass houses should buy small furniture

"A glass beacon rises above the city, shimmering windows lighting up the night. A sleek, distinctive shape redefines the skyline."

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights? No. Glasshouse Skylofts.

Glasshouse is part of Longboat's Centrepoint development in downtown Winnipeg. It's a pretty exciting development for a few reasons:

1) It's revitalizing a small part of Portage Avenue
2) It's adding to Winnipeg's skyline. That's always nice to see.
3) It's bringing office jobs downtown, with the relocation of the sizable Stantec offices from the 'burbs to the corner of Portage and Hargrave.
4) It's adding residential dwelings to downtown, something that everybody (except the Friends of Upper Fort Garry, but let's not go there) agree is of paramount importance.

Site of future Glasshouse condos

It is this last point that I'm rambling about today. While I'm optimistic about new residential units being built, I wonder about the appeal of units like these that are small in size, but not so small in price. the loft-style units range in size from 409 to 783 square feet, and in price from $170,000 to $310,000. Add another $42,000 for parking and $3,500 for a storage locker and a $1500 "floor premium", and you're paying upwards of $357,000 for a condo under 800 square feet. I guess that's good option if you're not a fan of 1500 square foot bungalows in River Heights.


In some larger cities it takes forever to get downtown and parking is crazy-expensive when you get there. It makes more sense for young and single office workers to establish themselves downtown. This drives demand for mid-to-high priced loft condos. I'm just not sure that demand exists in Winnipeg yet.

The crazy thing is, some of the modest square footages in the Glasshouse condos even exaggerate the useful space. The floor plans will not be released until the the preview event in a couple of weeks, but waiting is for suckers so let's check them out now...

a1: 409 sq.ft. $170,000

I think this is one of the better designs, to be honest with you. The whole space is useful, and you have a separate bedroom with nice big windows looking out on the city. I could live like this ... if I had less stuff.

Compare this to the next size up...

a2: 469 sq.ft. $180,000

This bachelor pad has a wide open bedroom and a ton of wasted space for a condo this size. The whole entrance corridor is not good for much of anything, except perhaps a bench or a bookshelf. If you upgrade with the extra privacy wall for the bedroom, you end up with a 40' corridor just to get from the door to the dining room! That's 160 sq ft of precious space being underutilized. In reality this living space is closer to 300 sq.ft. You do get a balcony though.

(Also for comparison, check out these apartments that were originally designed as shipping container housing. H/T: West End Dumplings)


Moving on ...

a3: 515 sq.ft. $195,000
a4: 551 sq.ft. $205,000

The smaller and cheaper a3 has a little more living space. It gives up the entrance lobby for a slightly deeper living/dining room. Otherwise, very similar except a4 faces south and a3 faces north, so maybe your choice depends on whether you want to look at poor people or rich people when relaxing on your balcony.

There isn't really anything remarkable about the mid range condo units, so let's skip ahead to the high end. This is what 300 Grand gets you:

c2: 758 sq.ft. $295,000

c3: 783 sq.ft. $310,000

With these sweet Portage Avenue lofts, you get an ensuit bathroom and two bedrooms. Both have exposed steel columns that you have to work around when you're furnishing your pad. You could call those an annoyance, but I call it character.

Once again, I prefer the smaller and cheaper unit, for the simple fact that there is more practical living space. The $310k unit has a large vestibule, but the living/dining space is 58 sq ft smaller than the less expensive unit. The less expensive unit also has a wall in the living room where you can park a TV or bookshelf. In the $310k unit you have no choice but to block windows with your giant flat screen TV because there is virtually no wall space.

None of these are good condos for people who cook. Even the top end unit has a kitchenette that you might find in a Ramada hotel suite in Toledo. If you have a microwave and a coffee maker, you're pretty much out of counter space.

I think there is going to be some sticker shock when people see these places. For comparison, the Sky Waterfront condos started at a relatively spacious 809 sq.ft. for as little as $235,000, and I would rather live on the waterfront than on Portage Avenue, but maybe that's just me.

There are a few perks, including a small gym and an outdoor roof-top patio for the use of the residents. Maybe some people will be dazzled by the "industrial chic" design of concrete construction, big windows, and exposed duct work. I don't know ...

Has the compact downtown condo market heated up so much that people will be willing to dump $300,000 on a 640 sq.ft condo with a parking space? Is this what it takes to make a condo project profitable in downtown Winnipeg without big government subsidies? If so, I am pessimistic about achieving that critical mass of downtown residents that we need to create a vibrant sustainable community that we all want. I hope the market is there, but I don't know that it is.

Buildings, brain damage and food

Acid wash architecture

There has been a small kerfuffle about what to do with the old YWG airport terminal now that the fancy-pants James Richardson International terminal is opening. Heritage advocates are crying out for somebody to save it, because it is an excellent example of mid-century modernist architecture. That may be, but modernist architecture happens to be the acid wash jeans of the architecture world. Nobody, for example, would ever say “Wait! Don’t throw out those parachute pants -- they’re still perfectly good!”

Modernism ranges from the bland and block-ish, like our terminal, to the Jetson-ish stylings of the Winnipeg Clinic building, where the designers gambled on the look of the future and lost. But looks aside, the terminal building has a couple of other knocks against it: size and location. It is big and expensive to maintain, and it’s located (obviously) at an airport, which drastically limits potential uses, as does the purpose-built interior that would require massive renovations for almost any other use.

Heritage advocates should pick their fights. We have a hard enough time preserving our turn of the century classics in the exchange district to be distracted by this. If a legitimate proposal comes forward that doesn’t require a bundle of government money, then fine .. but otherwise take one last good look and say good bye.

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Blog action day

Apparently today was blog action day. Apparently this year’s subject was food. I do not have anything to contribute because (and this is true) I was busy building a garden. A small raised vegetable garden for next summer. Plus I completely forgot that it was blog action day. That was a factor too.

Since I have failed you, here are a couple of other local Blog Action Day blogs that are worth reading: Conceited Jerk & One Man Committee

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Brain damage in two languages

I read that bilingualism prolonged cognitive function in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Brain scans showed that “bilingual patients had twice as much atrophy” when diagnosed as unilingual patients, leading to the conclusion that speaking two languages helps you overcome brain damage from the disease. That is one possibility, but I think the researchers are missing the obvious conclusion: that speaking French causes brain damage.

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Late addition: Ramblin' Dan

I feel I'm not offering you enough with this post, so here is a video for you ... local artist, prolific songwriter, and old buddy of mine "Rambling" Dan Frechette, with a reggae-ish tune recorded at the Park Theatre a couple weeks ago:



Check out Dan's YouTube page for more, or better yet: go pick up one of his albums!

The Hacienda-ization of St. Mary's

Those who know me know that I am not a big fan of things that are fake. For example: the big plastic spoilers that douche bags bolt to the trunks of their Chevy Cavaliers, tofurkey, or Stephen Harper smiling. There are however certain exceptions to this rule, such as breasts, and ... uh ... there are others but I can't seem to think of them at the moment.

Anyhow, what I'm here to talk to you about today is faux-Mediterranean architecture. You may have noticed it popping up here and there, but especially if you communte up and down St.Mary's Road here in Winnipeg.

I can't tell you who started the trend, but I'll give credit to Piazza De Nardi for getting the ball rolling. Piazza De Nardi transformed the busy corner of Taylor Ave. and Waverley with a unique shopping experience that mimicked a little Italian market. With the recent expansion, it has become little more than a fancy-looking strip mall, but the success of the original design showed that frozen 'Peggers like to pretend they're strolling on the streets of Tuscany, even when they're wearing Sorels.

(source)

It was no surprise therefore that other establishments caught on to the idea. When Banville and Jones relocated to St. Mary's Rd. from Meadowood in 2005, they added a big splash of colour to the street with their Tuscan villa-esque store, one-upping Piazza De Nardi with a second floor terrace.


A couple of years later, and a little further up the street, Miller's Super Valu Meats had an opportunity to expand into the neighbouring building. They did not only that, but merged the two buildings and refaced them in a Mediterranean style with earth-toned stucco, little arches over the windows, and terra cotta roof tiles.

(Miller's, by the way, is a good place to buy more than just meat. They have a decent little grocery section with some specialty items you might not find at large grocery stores, and prices are generally pretty good.)

And just this year, even further up the street, Santa Lucia completed their overhaul of their Norwood location by turning it into a Mediterranean villa-style building with all of the same architectural cues, as well as a large roof top patio.


Three building on the same street in 6 years. It doesn't sound like a lot, but to me this represents a definite trend, and it got me thinking ... is this good? Do I like this faux-Mediterranean style of archtecture?

I have to say "yes", especially on a street that is so lacking in character as St.Mary's. Despite the attempts by the City at street scaping and turning parts of the street into a "villiage", there is no unity or personality that could possibly be harmed by this trend. Instead, these buildings add welcome life and colour to a drab palette of residential units, strip malls, and commercial buildings.

Faux architectural cues are nothing new. Some of our most beloved heritage buildings have fake columns and sconces and other such things. We should welcome any building designs that create a more interesting and more welcoming urban street scape. I therefore give these buildings my stamp of approval.

Ciao!

UPDATED: The new Longboat development on Portage

There is not much I can say about the project that One Man Committee hasn't already said, but it should be noted that this isn't quite a done deal just yet. I'm sure it will be, but certain details need to be worked out over the coming weeks. Those details could include the delisting of the former A&B Sound building from the heritage building list. The Mitchell Copp building is also a class II heritage building, and I'm not clear on what is required in order to demo that but maintain the facade. Whatever it is I don't anticipate it being a problem. I am sure that if Chipman wants a building delisted our politicians will trample over each other running to the office of whoever is in charge of delisting.

click to enlarge:



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The Free Press has a little bit of advance info on the Longboat develpment, to be announced tomorrow. Most of what I have heard agrees with the Free Press article: there were be a base of about 4-5 stories for retail and office space, and the hotel will be built on top of that. Most of the buildings on the block will be demolished inclding A&B Sound, but the facade of the Mitchell Copp building will be retained.

The design is a Stantec design. Stantec has been involved in many projects, but some urbanists may remember them most for the maligned WRHA building on Main St. The Longboat development should receive a much better response. There will be street-level retail, and the upper floors will be office/commercial, and the hotel will be a mid-rise tower on top of that. Office tenants could include Stantec itself, which is rumoured to be moving it's head office to downtown from its current location on Waverley.

It's a pretty exciting development. The relocation of the Stantec head office -- if it does happen -- is particularly positive in light of the recent story of Western Financial Group abandoning the core because of safety concerns.

Some people may be alarmed about more buildings being torn down, but this is the type of development that downtown needs -- more retail off the side walk, more people working and staying downtown -- and it would not happen if we insisted on holding on to the current buildings. The Mitchell Copp building is completely useless and uninhabitable, and the A&B Sound building is an awkward space that would be difficult to repurpose and integrate into a new development, although I happen to think it would make a great space for a casino.

We at the Peanut are looking forward to the announcement.

Tear it down! (urban improvement through destruction)

If you read blogs -- and I have reason to believe you do -- you have probably read a great deal about urban density and the preservation of buildings downtown. There are dozens of posts on different blogs lamenting the destruction of certain buildings, or heralding the preservation and redevelopment of others. That is all great, but if you are sick and tired of the usual urban revival shit and crave something different for once, I bring to you:

Buildings that must be torn down

There are certain buildings that are just so ugly -- so disfiguring to the urban streetscape -- that they must be destroyed, even if it means replacing them with a gravel parking lot. (note: I was

going to do this post later in the spring when I had a chance to get out with my camera and snap some photos, but a recent event has prompted me to fast track it using Google streetview images...)

The Fat Angel

Three years ago on Bryan Scott's blog I typed: "Actually, wouldn't mind seeing the Fat Angel dynamited, and a new Blue Note Cafe built in it's place. That would be awesome." Well,

sometime in the last 24 hours the tractors moved in, and by the time I

passed it on my way to work this morning it was nothing but rubble.

Sure, the building was over 100 years old. Sure, it was once a classic blues bar. None of that matters because the building was a also disaster. Worn pale yellow paint covered the steel facade, the door was boarded up, and there was tattered parcel paper covering the mess that was left inside when the Fat Angel ran screaming from the rat infested shit hole. That could all be cleaned up, but it's a little harder to clean up the giant cracks in the exterior walls and the structural problems made apparent by the fact the building had a noticible horizontal bend in it.

Nobody was ever going to lease this building again. The building died. Period. We have to move on.

The APTN building

What kind of a demented architect would design a building with blue plastic panels on the side and a giant windowless ribbed concrete wall facing the street? I have seriously considered getting my pilot's license for the sole purpose of flying an airplane into this hideous building.

The plastic panels are tacky, but if that were the only crime I could live with that, just as I can live with the 4Play sports bar building a block away or the Newport building across the street. However, when you take a tacky building and add an industrial concrete front with no windows except on the bottom and top floors, you get something that is so ridiculously fugly that it should be evacuated immediately and imploded.

If that weren't bad enough, the current tenant grafted on a huge TV screen that juts out from the wall as though it was impaled from the back by a giant chisel. A TV screen which, by the way, either shows nothing but the APTN logo, or programing that is completely useless to somebody walking down the street.

Now, there will probably be architecture geeks who would say "oh, but this building is such a great example of mid-century brutalist modernism" or some crap like that, but you know what? I don't care. It's a disgrace and should be bombed without further ado.

Surprisingly, those are the only two buildings that I want destroyed at the moment, and one has already happened! If I think of any others, I'll post a follow-up. What buildings do you think should be wrecking-balled out of existence? Any suggestions?

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So what becomes of the Fat Angel? The Blue Note was almost before my time, but I do recall being in it once or twice. I caught the tail end of it's life after I moved to Winnipeg, and although it's not as historic as I originally thought, it would be awesome to see it rebuilt. The neon sign is still kicking around somewhere .. apparently at the Manitoba Museum.

source: flikr

The location is an interesting one: sandwiched between the ancient Winnipeg Hotel and a twin pair of similarly old three story brick buildings, one of which houses the Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club. (By the way, Bryan, I hope they got your permission for using that picture on their web site.) I hope that whatever gets built here is better suited to it's neighbours than the old building was.

source: blue note facebook group

... That's if something new gets built. There's no guarantee. The location has it's drawbacks too: one being located next to the Winnipeg Hotel, with it's riffraff-ish clientele. Another being next to a vacant building on the other side. Not exactly a hot spot for money spenders; however transit access is good. There is always the threat that it could turn into a vacant lot or a "temporary" parking lot. Like Main street needs more parking lots.

This spot isn't the only concern, but the vacant building to the north as well. I can't remember the last time I saw somebody walking into that place. Is it doomed to a future of demolition by neglect? Could it be revived with the help of TIFs? Would it be an acceptable compromise to allow the Fat Angel space to be used as a parking lot if it meant saving the brick building to the north?

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself a little here. The main thing is that the Fat Angel eye sore is gone. Hoo-rah.

Winnipeg, Bilbao and Valencia

I didn't have a chance to read the Winnipeg Free Press this weekend, but I did see the front page. Actually, I saw half of the front page through the window of the news paper box, but I believe that makes me qualified to comment on it's content.

What I saw appeared to be a comparison of Winnipeg with Bilbao Spain. Winnipeg, with its Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and Bilbao with its Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim museum. Perhaps some sort of high-level comparison can be drawn there, but to expect that the CMHR will have the same kind of impact on Winnipeg as The Goog (as they call it on the streetz) had on Bilbao is, I believe, somewhat optimistic. Extremely optimistic, actually.

Firstly, "Canadian Museum for Human Rights" is not nearly as catchy a name as "Guggenheim".
Secondly, Bilbao has the advantage of being located in warm and touristy Spain. People don't travel to Spain just to visit The Goog. They travel to Spain to be in Spain, and while they're there they visit The Goog.
Thirdly, people generally don't like to see depressing things when they're on vacation.

If you want to make a comparison with a Spanish city, there is another one you should consider: Valencia. Yes, Valencia .... Mediterranean yachting hotbed and home of a Formula 1 Grand Prix race, tasty oranges, and paella.

Valencia has a cluster of architecturally unique venues called The City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias). It includes a science museum, an opera house that looks like a storm trooper helmet, botanical gardens, a cinema/planetarium, a indoor sports arena, and Europe's largest oceanographic insititute. Coincidentally, these buildings are all located immediately adjacent to a cable supported bridge (puente l'assut de l'or) that resemblances our own Esplanade Riel.


In fact, when I posted the above pic two years ago on a personal website for friends and family, I had the caption:

This is the brand new International Museum for Human Rights that they just finished building in Valencia. Haha. Just kidding.

Some more pics:


Bilbao is probably a more appropriate comparison with Winnipeg, because Valencia was already "on the map" before these things were built. But my point is ... do I have a point? Ya, I guess I do. I guess my point is, interesting architecture and architecturally unique venues are common, but rarely do they have the impact of the Guggenheim. You don't often hear of people talking about the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, or of any number of other weird and wonderful buildings throughout the world, in the same way that they speak of The Goog or the Sydney opera house.

Now, I don't know what the piece in the Free Press was concluding, but I just want to caution about getting your expectations too high. As stunning as the CMHR may turn out to be, it is highly unlikely that it will be marveled over as one of the greatest masterpieces of modern architecture like the Guggenheim was, and it is even more unlikely that the impact will be near as great.

...

Just for fun, here is one other pic that I took in Valencia: