Agency gears up for Forks, Portage building projects
Winnipeg Free Press
Monday, January 2nd, 2006
By Aldo Santin
THE Forks North Portage Partnership is gearing up for a big year -- preparing the groundwork for construction of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, planning construction of a 600-stall parkade at The Forks, and kick-starting a development project on Portage Avenue and possibly a housing project along the Red River.
Jim August, CEO of the Forks North Portage Partnership, said 2006 will likely be a pivotal year for the agency. Construction is expected to start on the $243-million museum, and The Forks will have to devise a transportation and parking plan to get visitors in and out of the park.
"The museum is a big project," August said. "It will bring year-round traffic to The Forks, and we have to make sure we manage it well."
August said that once plans are finalized for construction of the museum, the agency will issue a request for proposals for the construction of a 600-stall, multi-storey parkade to be built up against the rail lines.
Downtown, the agency is working with a group of property owners on the north side of Portage Avenue between Hargrave and Donald streets, opposite the MTS Centre, to jointly develop their properties for a commercial/residential project.
The block, which includes the now-empty A&B Sound building, has long been a blight on Portage Avenue, a situation that has become even more glaring with the new arena across the street.
"We've talked to all the owners and we're working with them," August said. "We want to go to the development community and see who's interested in doing something right now."
August said it's also probable that a parking structure will be constructed behind the stores on that block. He said it will be needed with the opening of Manitoba Hydro's new office tower.
August said the Hydro project will involve the development of the two pad sites atop Portage Place. While the shopping mall is owned by a Vancouver firm, the Forks North Portage Partnership retains the rights to develop on two pads atop the mall.
Local developer Arnie Thorsteinson had a plan for a commercial/residential project on the west pad, but that's been put on hold. August said he thinks the Hydro project -- 2,000 employees -- will attract interest in the downtown area and lead to developments on both pad sites.
The new year will also see the agency's board consider development proposals for green space north of The Forks site, opposite the baseball stadium. The 4.5-acre triangular piece of property, bounded by Waterfront Drive, the Red River and Pioneer Avenue, was the subject of a design exercise in November involving architecture and design students from the universities of Manitoba, Calgary and Minnesota, along with developers and the business community.
U of M architecture dean David Witty said the group split into four teams and, over the course of one and a half days, produced some inspiring designs for the site that included a mix of commercial and residential development.
"The board hasn't even decided if the site should be developed, but the design (exercise) gave us some ideas, a starting point, on what might happen there," August said.
One big event is the conversion of the IMAX theatre to a 3-D screen. The agency owns the theatre on the top floor of Portage Place, including the new 3-D projector and the 72-foot-wide screen.
In the spring or early summer, the agency will stage a grand opening of the $2-million skate park plaza at The Forks, expected to be the best skateboarding venue in North America. One of the two bowls was put on the site in early December, and the plaza is expected to be finished in the spring.
"It's much more than just a skateboard park," August said. "It really is a plaza. It will be landscaped and there will be seating and viewing areas. It will be something."
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca