Business in Winnipeg - Page 92

drew · #**1821** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 1:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

In other former Winnipeg broadcasting mogul news, I recently saw an ad in the Freep lauding Randy Moffat for donating another $50 million to the Winnipeg Foundation, on top of his $100 million donation back in 2001.

I saw that too. Very impressive. The Winnipeg Foundation does a lot of good work around the community.

cheswick · #**1822** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 2:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biff

I guess for me it is a bit of a chicken and egg thing here - spend money to make money. If the mall made consistent renovations maybe the retailers would have stayed (i understand not all of them) - if more retailers stayed maybe the mall could afford more elaborate renovations.

I just feel the complete lack on any upgrades at all over 30 years helped in losing most of the customers and retailers.

When they replace cracked floor tiles, it doesn't match. They run their escalators in the opposite direction of literally everywhere else (seriously, what's with that? They didn't used to run opposite). And yeah, the décor still looks like its the late 80s. Miss-management must have something to do with the malls downfall.

But hey, in 40+ years it'll revert back to the government

borkborkbork · #**1823** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 2:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Izzy Asper, the heaviest hitter of them all in Winnipeg business. He was one of a kind. In hindsight it's not terribly surprising that it all fell apart after his death.

cult of personality. the fact that everything fell apart after his passing points to him having developed no team around him other than sycophants and family members. also singlehandledly destroyed the provincial liberal party. sad but true.

esquire · #**1824** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 2:48 PM**

^ For what it's worth Asper as Liberal leader got 5 seats in his sole election... no worse than his predecessor, so I don't think one can say that he "destroyed" the party.

OTA in Winnipeg · #**1825** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 2:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DowntownBooster

It's a shame we never got to see the Canwest Communications Media Centre come to fruition. It would have been great for Portage and Main and for our city as home to Canada's largest media company. Had Izzy Asper not passed away in 2003, it wouldn't surprise me if he would have found a way to have kept Canwest from going bankrupt.

He certainly wouldn't have bought a chain of newspapers.

esquire · #**1826** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 2:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

He certainly wouldn't have bought a chain of newspapers.

Izzy oversaw the acquisition of Southam in 2000, 3 years before he died.

CoryB · #**1827** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 3:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DowntownBooster

It's a shame we never got to see the Canwest Communications Media Centre come to fruition.

That render always felt off to me. The second tower and plaza combo seems too large for the site. The disappointing piece is the low rise building we lost there to make way for what has to be Winnipeg's most expensive driveway.

OTA in Winnipeg · #**1828** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 3:39 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

Izzy oversaw the acquisition of Southam in 2000, 3 years before he died.

I stand corrected. I thought it was Leonard who closed that deal.

esquire · #**1829** Posted **Mar 16, 2018, 3:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

I stand corrected. I thought it was Leonard who closed that deal.

You're probably thinking of when the Leonard-led company jointly acquired Alliance Atlantis in 2007. It larded the company down with so much debt that Canwest's fate was pretty much sealed in hindsight.

The Unknown Poster · #**1830** Posted **Mar 20, 2018, 2:42 PM**

Heard Bold bought a new building in the Stafford/Pembina area. Not sure exactly where.

esquire · #**1831** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 2:03 PM**

WFP has a front page story today about Ubisoft opening a studio in Winnipeg. Apart from the general good news about possibly hundreds of tech jobs coming to town, there is the bonus of having a big new office tenant coming to town.

Any speculation as to where they'll end up? I would expect them to end up in the Exchange District... a "hip company" that wants to attract "smart youngsters" won't go for an "anodyne corporate tower". I could see them taking up space in something like the Bedford Building on King St., for example.

Urban recluse · #**1832** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 2:48 PM**

It says a lot if they go to the suburbs.

WildCake · #**1833** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 2:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

WFP has a front page story today about Ubisoft opening a studio in Winnipeg. Apart from the general good news about possibly hundreds of tech jobs coming to town, there is the bonus of having a big new office tenant coming to town.

Any speculation as to where they'll end up? I would expect them to end up in the Exchange District... a "hip company" that wants to attract "smart youngsters" won't go for an "anodyne corporate tower". I could see them taking up space in something like the Bedford Building on King St., for example.

CBC also has an article about this. They say rumors indicate the office will be quite substantial, whatever that means. There's going to be an official announcement about it later today.

All their North American offices tend to be modern hipster style with either exchange district style buildings (montreal, toronto, halifax, san francisco) or modern glass (quebec city, cary NC) so the Winnipeg office is probably going to fit that style and be somewhere in the Exchange. Seems like the company is more spread out rather than centralized with a large HQ, allowing it to have smaller offices rather than corporate towers.

Urban recluse · #**1834** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 2:53 PM**

The Bay please.

Ando · #**1835** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 2:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

WFP has a front page story today about Ubisoft opening a studio in Winnipeg. Apart from the general good news about possibly hundreds of tech jobs coming to town, there is the bonus of having a big new office tenant coming to town.

Any speculation as to where they'll end up? I would expect them to end up in the Exchange District... a "hip company" that wants to attract "smart youngsters" won't go for an "anodyne corporate tower". I could see them taking up space in something like the Bedford Building on King St., for example.

I very much suspect they will land downtown. There large office in Montreal is located downtown not far from Mont Royal. Here is the link to the article.
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bu...478961323.html

Didn't someone say a company was moving into the bern and black building? Possible?

buzzg · #**1836** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 3:52 PM**

They expect to be 100 people in 5 years – they're not going to be looking for a ton of space. I'm sure they'll be going into the Exchange around a lot of the other interactive companies here.

Ando · #**1837** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 4:08 PM**

I suspect yes, in the Innovation Alley cluster. It sounds like they are getting some tax breaks, so I'm sure the location came into the discussions with governments.

wags_in_the_peg · #**1838** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 4:27 PM**

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...innipeg-studio

esquire · #**1839** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 4:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzzg

They expect to be 100 people in 5 years – they're not going to be looking for a ton of space. I'm sure they'll be going into the Exchange around a lot of the other interactive companies here.

Even something like that would still be the better part of a mid-sized Exchange building like the Bedford. It would be nice to see them take up an underused building like one of the old warehouses on McDermot... specifically one of the ones that Hydro wanted to gut and turn into a substation a few years back. That would be great.

Anyway, the articles/releases I've seen don't mention a site so I guess there's nothing lined up yet?

roccerfeller · #**1840** Posted **Apr 6, 2018, 4:34 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by esquire

WFP has a front page story today about Ubisoft opening a studio in Winnipeg. Apart from the general good news about possibly hundreds of tech jobs coming to town, there is the bonus of having a big new office tenant coming to town.

Any speculation as to where they'll end up? I would expect them to end up in the Exchange District... a "hip company" that wants to attract "smart youngsters" won't go for an "anodyne corporate tower". I could see them taking up space in something like the Bedford Building on King St., for example.

Whoa...that's huge news! Had no idea Winnipeg was on Ubisofts radar