Winnipeg architect Steve Cohlmeyer has been hired for the Arts center proposal.
Has done restoration work at the Hotel Fort Garry and on the Birks Building. Does any one have any thoughts on any of his other projects? >>>> http://www.cohlarch.ca/ |
falling short
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Height is Just Right
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I'm quite happy with this 8 storey proposal, (6 residential floors), at this location. It suits this corner very well. Increased density is always desirable but with this Osborne Village location, I wouldn't like to see a +10 storey high rise at this intersection. There is no problem in this neighborhood with density. Other areas I may agree with a taller proposal but that would be a discussion for that particular location. I agree that Steve will do a wonderful job when and if this proposal comes to fruition. |
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I'll chime in to agree with those who say that the proposed GST complex is appropriately scaled for its setting. I wouldn't necessarily complain if it were 20 storeys, but 8 fits in nicely with the neighbourhing buildings and helps to further define the street wall along River, which is slowly evolving into a street with real urban character. If it gets built, it'll be a huge improvement over what's currently there.
(Incidentally, does anyone know of any photos of what the GST looked like in its actual incarnation as a gas station? I don't think I've ever seen one before.) |
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Nothing has been decided on yet regarding the final design. It could be anything as these are presentation renders to show the community what could be. Someone asked a question as to whom their partner might be earlier - it is a local Winnipeg Hotel and property owner. |
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Revitalizing the Village
Stradbrook condos latest stage in renaissance Ventura Developments Inc. is poised to launch the first of what could be as many as four new infill condominium developments in the Osborne Village-Cresentwood area of the city. Continued: Source I love this area, infill in one of the densest areas of Winnipeg, always good news. |
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No direct link provided from site, so no detailed information available on this project. |
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I was wondering what they were building on that lot
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Nice little Condo infill project nearing completion at 540 Jessie Ave
http://s3.amazonaws.com/mrp-listings...01a4d3a8f.jpeg http://s3.amazonaws.com/mrp-listings...3e8044131.jpeg Features: 5 unit luxury condo 910 to 1,960 s.f. Contemporary open concept architectural design 2 storey grand entrance foyer with CCTV entry / intercom system Main floor level has finished basement, private entrances and front yard 2nd and 3rd floor units each have two private balconies Covered and secured open air parkade complete with security cameras throughout Additional parking available http://waltercorp.com/540-jessie |
Concrete piles going in at Conrad House. Moving quite quickly.
>> 522 River Avenue and 99 Norquay Street |
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Interesting that it went from condos to rentals. Indicator of the condo market softening in the area? I've heard that the Osborne Junction condos are 50% pre-sold, but that's coming from the developer and his mouthpiece themselves. I'll assume there's a significant portion of arm's length, related-party transactions at play here... |
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Other areas of the City, remains to be seen. I don't believe Winnipeg has reached an over saturation point as of yet. Time will tell of course when several large scale projects reach completion. |
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The Oz condos were averaging somewhere in the neighbourhood of 300 days on market per sale and 548 Stradbrook (that glass building) was forced to discount list prices by 25% to move the units. The units that Walter was building were financed by money from China and haven't sold that briskly with units still available in nearly all their projects. That didn't stop them from promising significant returns, but I'm reluctant to believe they'll be able to deliver on them. Remember, interest is extremely expensive and these projects aren't high margin to begin with. If you're sitting on built, unsold units, it doesn't take long for the interest to consume your return. Sandhu had also planned a project for River Avenue across from the Pulse. My understanding is that the project has now been converted to rentals at a much lesser build quality. The area is softening up quite a bit. Whether this is due to significant cold over the past few months, only time will tell. There are still units available for people - quite a few, actually - and perhaps spring brings the buyers. We'll see, I guess.... |
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We do agree, I believe as I mentioned in my post, that time will tell, if the summer/fall of 2014 will see an increase in sales in the "Winnipeg Market", for these types of developments or the so called downward spiral we see in many other Canadian Cities. We'll see how the market reacts in 2014/2015. A larger sample is needed.Softening may be the case, but you seem to paint such a negative picture in your posts ? Are you an Investor? This would explain some of your trepidation and worries reg: almost every post you make here? You provide much detail and facts in your posts, but a extremely negative view of the Winnipeg Market. |
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Keep in mind that I'm not being overly-dire about the city itself, I'm only concerned about the financial metrics underlying the investments. Sometimes it helps to remember these are all somebody's investment so we can just pay attention to the economics of everything and leave aside the fact that these buildings do contribute significantly to the landscape and well-being of our neighbourhoods. Most rental buildings are built at below a 6% return and most REIT purchased buildings are purchased at around a 4.75% return. Most money borrowed on these builds is somewhere around 3.25-3.5% depending on the quality and the caliber of the developer. This leaves narrow margins. If somebody isn't heavy equity on their property, we're looking at margins that could disappear overnight if rates ever increased even to still historically low levels like maybe 4.5-5%. Of course, those numbers may not matter if you can keep raising rents, but there's a limit to that too. Incomes in this province have stagnated, personal debt levels are climbing, and vacancy continues to rise. We're up a full .5% over last year in vacancy to 2.5% and that doesn't account for availability. Availability - which is what we *should* be looking at - is at 4% right now. Those are units that somebody would make available if only they could break their lease. That's up a full 1.5% over last year. Rents also climbed 4.7% last year and 3.4% the year before; that obviously can't continue without a significant additions to our economy. There are hundreds if not over a thousand units in the pipeline right now. Our vacancy rate actually climbed a half a point last year even with 198 *fewer* units in the apartment rental universe! Something's amiss here and it likely has to do with the fact that net migration hasn't favoured the province. We're almost always going to have a negative natural growth rate so if Saskatchewan and Alberta continue to be better options for immigrants, we may continue to see declines there as well. I don't know. The condo market is difficult to predict because it's mostly noise and little signal. Almost 15% of condos are bought strictly for the purposes of being rented and the sales figures on new projects are extremely murky because of what I had noted in another post. They move well in the 'burbs but they're completely stagnant in the city centre, and that goes for both existing and new. I just don't see any fundamental economic upswing that justifies these disproportionate increases in value of all multi-unit or single-family real estate. I see low rates and I see a general hesitancy to be involved in the securities markets as a carry-over from 2008, but I don't see positive migration, I don't see significant increases in incomes, and I see a middling service-based economy at the centre of it all. This isn't Vancouver where we see some of the lowest incomes in the country and the highest real estate values. Nobody can prove it's foreign investment there, but it's generally understood that because Vancouver is world-class city within relatively close proximity to Asia, it attracts a lot of that investment. Winnipeg isn't like that... |
I understand, business is business when it comes to the viability of any project or development no matter the city it is located in. You don't have to be a cheerleader. The bottom line is all that matters in the end when projecting the success or failure of any given project.
I don't invest in any venture if I can't be guaranteed coming out ahead in the end. Tough lesson to learn, but I had to the hard way. |
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