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Can’t seem to find a thread sorry, but Phipps McKinnon progress.

IMG_5223.jpeg
 
Comparisons are important - Winnipeg has 3000 units planned or UC in their Downtown which will bring a reported '5000' (i'd say ~4000) people to their core, increasing the overall population by '30%'.

 
I find it a bit odd and surprising that Winnipeg has this momentum dt without a proper mass transportation system. They may be ahead of us (although our numbers are climbing too) but I would caution that their momentum is probably limited by their lack of investment in mass transit. It's less attractive to live downtown if you need a car to go everywhere in the city.
 
Here's hoping we get similar news articles in the future since we're close to approaching 3000 units with development permits or are under construction too. We had some good news coverage with the planned units around O-day'min park, but more attention on how we finally have residential momentum is always a good thing.
 
^ He's been on my Ignore List for the past few months.

Anyway, back to Downtown Real Estate:
Does anyone know when that Albatross virtual golf facility will open on 104 St?
 
Former ATCO Centre as a possible residential conversion in the future?
Office-to-residential conversions don't make economic sense here the same way they do in Calgary. Our Downtown core already has high supply and has consistently decreased in per-unit value since 2009.

Conversions are useful when the list-to-sell ratio indicates a strong seller's market in a neighborhood with high commercial vacancy rates. Downtown just finally got into balanced market territory in 2024, after years in buyer's market territory. We have the high commercial vacancy rates, but we do not have the residential demand.

IMO businesses won't move into Downtown until rental rates decline (landlords are still pressuring DT businesses to recoup their COVID shortfall), and the only way rents will decline is if demand stays low. There is also the consideration that landlords make the bulk of their money from the underlying property appreciation, so tenancy is less important, but there's not much that can be done about that. If anything, OTR conversions would exacerbate this problem.

In a perfect world, the ATCO site will just get refilled by another big employer offering well-paying jobs.

EDIT: No offence intended, Ian.
 
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