Winnipeg |390 on the river (d Condo) | ~81M | 24F | U/C

[Wolf13]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

You mean like what so many developers are doing in other cities, even Hamilton and Halifax? If only one of them would redevelop 104 Princess.

I think Winnipeg's tourism slogan should be: Winnipeg: where mediocrity and the bare minimum are alive and well.

I agree in principle. The fact that the first response was "nopenopenope" is very "Winnipeg". Modern and old are integrating beautifully in literally every notable city in the developed world.

Originally Posted by windypeg

Our construction costs have increased at double the rate of those other cities. I know you think developers here are just cheap but you're ignoring the economic realities those developers are working with here.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tabl...pis04a-eng.htm

Maybe I misread that, but i don't think that was his point. I think he was countering the point that historical and modern design cannot be integrated. I agree with him there.

But you're more than correct. The barriers to development in this city are hilarious.

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

And yet it took someone from outside the bloody province to redevelop the pump house, the Porter Building, 316-318 Ross, and he is not done. Thank God for Bryce. Kudos to Artis, and Chipman as well.

They are not hiding behind price of construction. They have vision, faith and passion. I hope they inspire others to enter the fray.

The economics cannot be ignored. If construction were remotely close to reasonable here, Artis might actually be developing twice as much. However, I DO agree that the city has previously almost given up and resigned itself to mediocrity... developers are again pursuing projects and designs previously thought impossible.

As far as out-of-towners are concerned, many have come and gone and left with scars. Winnipeg boasts a decent history of out-of-town developments that didn't take off, and completed/underway examples like Glasshouse and SkyCty have been the biggest headaches of either developers careers (likely). The weird hypothetical question is "did we even bother to think of what that out-of-towner came up with? Or did we simply know it was a pipe dream"?

Originally Posted by buzzg

Yeah, and the more of this kind of development = more competition in the construction sector = maybe a new concrete competitor can come in = prices drop, or slow the rate of increase.

A big player is only going to come in if the volume justifies it... that's why Winnipeg needs to be very conscious of the message it sends outward to the country.

[Urban recluse]

From what I have been told, thanks to the lack of sub-trades, that is a huge part of why costs are higher. It is understandable they would move to where they can make a better living. Are things changing now based on Alberta's economy? People are moving back? The use of pre-fab items have helped a lot too?

[EndoftheBeginning]

Few more from tonight.

North and west elevations



North and east elevations



East elevation



From Midtown bridge



From across the river on River Ave.

[Urban recluse]

Thanks for those.

[balletomane]

Thanks for the photos!
4 floors left?

[Biff]

What a great project - difficulties or not at getting it built we will be left with a real gem once the dust settles.

[EndoftheBeginning]

Originally Posted by balletomane

Thanks for the photos!
4 floors left?

I count 17 completed residential floors above the podium and they are working on 18 at the moment.

That would mean probably only finish up 18 and two more to make 20, since the podium looks to be 4 floors, but it's hard to tell if the middle podium floor is one or two levels.

Edit - it's a 4 floor podium judging by the earlier photos in this thread. So they just need to top off the current floor plus 2 more to reach 24.

[Wolf13]

THAT'S looking good!

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

From what I have been told, thanks to the lack of sub-trades, that is a huge part of why costs are higher. It is understandable they would move to where they can make a better living. Are things changing now based on Alberta's economy? People are moving back? The use of pre-fab items have helped a lot too?

Lack of trades is certainly a big factor. There are only a few mid/big players across various trades, so it's become very hard for the little guy to grow. The established protect their market. Winnipeg doesn't have enough work to bring in large players from elsewhere, which would push pricing down.

Also, and I can't say this with certainty, but I get the impression that not everyone here has quite the business sense that trades in AB or elsewhere might have. Many know how to build, not how to grow. Admittedly, market demand helps anyone grow but I've found it myself looking at ALberta trades' websites and thinking "hmmm that's a whole lot of certification and degrees everyone has there..."

It IS harder to grow here, but I don't see the same entrepreneurial hunger here, and part of that is because those people either are big HERE or went elsewhere to get big.

However, these days, trades are becoming more aggressive. My friends in construction are saying that trades are fighting much harder for work. While I'm sure we're seeing some Alberta returnees, I'm not sure that's the biggest factor... if I were in AB and made it this far, I'd ride the rest of this economic downturn out.

Not sure how much more people are employing pre-fabbed concrete or wood... however, I was always shocked that it wasn't more common.

[lilwayne]

this is going to be one of our nicest looking towesr once its completed.. and even though it measures shorter than heritedge landing it appears to be taller for some reason and it really stands out in the skyline already and theres still 2 - 4 more floors to go.. this tower is a real pleasent surprise... i cant wait until 300 main is completed i think it might look equaly as great just on a bigger scale

once d condos is topped out its going to have unbelievable presence in the skyline from some views.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by lilwayne

even though it measures shorter than heritedge landing it appears to be taller for some reason and it really stands out in the skyline already and theres still 2 - 4 more floors to go..

The proportions of the tower probably have something to do with that... skinny towers just somehow look taller. Compare with Manitoba Hydro which is quite tall but appears kind of squat because it's so wide.

And welcome back from SSP lockdown lilwayne!

[lilwayne]

top floor will have higher cielings aswell so the top floor should add some extra height to building

[buzzg]

I encourage anyone who hasn't yet to take a drive north on St. Mary's to see the view. About St. Mary's and Tache it's smack in the middle, only building you can see, and looks incredible coming out of the trees.

[GORDBO]

I agree, seeing the tower rise coming around the corner by Robins donuts, is probably the best sightline for this building

[pegcityfan]

Originally Posted by BigG

^That would be great - go Sandhu!

I must have missed something. Are Sandhu still involved? I thought Caisse / Courts put this project in the hands of PriceWaterhouse after they lost confidence Sandhu had the means to finish it. Are Sandhu somehow back or are PWC still looking for a buyer while they complete the project?

On a related note, this building looks great so far

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bus...415537214.html

[Biff]

Sandhu is out and PWC is completing the construction with the existing Construction Manager out of Toronto until a buyer is found.

[pegcityfan]

thanks Biff

[Urban recluse]

perhaps Sandhu should stick to smaller projects.

[roccerfeller]

Originally Posted by Urban recluse

perhaps Sandhu should stick to smaller projects.

Perhaps

but you gotta give him/them credit for trying. It did result in a high rise unlike anything else in the city and that is really impressive considering the prior portfolio they had

if anything, they should take what they learned from this project and keep moving forward, it would suck for them to be turned off from building towers in the future

not like Winnipeg is overflowing with developers willing to build high rise towers to begin with. Gotta commend them for trying.

[buzzg]

Agreed. Plus they saw potential for two Exchange warehouses that I don't think were anywhere near the top of anyone's radar for redevelopment. I'll reserve comment on how they look though. Really reasonable rents which is nice for that area.

[BigG]

Yeah, Urban and I were referring to their projects in the Exchange.