‘The community has to speak loudly’ if PSB is to avoid wrecking ball, Heritage Winnipeg says

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This article was published 27/04/2016 (2918 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Redevelopment could save PSB

The Public Safety Building’s last hope of avoiding the wrecking ball is for somebody to come forward with a redevelopment plan, a heritage advocate says.

Cindy Tugwell, Heritage Winnipeg’s executive director, said city council’s unanimous vote Wednesday seals the building’s fate unless a plan comes forward that hasn’t been heard of yet.

“Is it hopeless? I’ve always been steadfast with buildings, but the community has to speak loudly with what they want,” Tugwell said.

“But if I was a betting person, I have to tell you this is one of the more complex heritage issues I’ve ever seen.”

Tugwell, along with the building’s architect Les Stechesen and building designer Sotirios Kotoulas, made a final appeal to save the example of brutalist architecture to city councillors Wednesday, but they proved unsuccessful.

City council decided not to save the 51-year-old building — which has been described as a “cultural heritage artifact” — because it would cost millions to renovate it.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he is now looking forward to learning how CentreVenture and others want the site to be redeveloped, but he and city councillors have been told the PSB site is subject to a caveat dating back to 1875 that dictates it has to continue to have a public use or it will revert back to the descendants of Alexander Ross.

The city has said it will look at selling the civic parkade, which has been closed for a few years after it was found to be structurally unsound, because it is not part of the land restricted under the caveat.

Tugwell said the PSB’s fate has been tied to the millions of dollars in cost overruns involving turning the former Canada Post building into the new police headquarters.

“The PSB is paying the price,” she said.

“The new police headquarters has cost millions, and councillors are scared to invest in any other capital project.”

Tugwell said she had also hoped to convince councillors to look at a multi-year renovation of the PSB, by doing a floor at a time, before moving civic staff into the building, but that was also rejected.

— Kevin Rollason

 

Portion waste contracts: department

Winnipeg’s water and waste department believes the city will pay more for waste collection if garbage and recycling contracts are broken up into smaller pieces.

In February, city council asked solid-waste managers to stagger the city’s waste-collection contracts so they do not all expire at the same time, and also break up collection areas into smaller regions.

In a report published Thursday, solid waste manager Daryl Doubleday writes these changes could cost the city more money. The city may have to hire more staff for administering and enforcing more contracts, he writes.

As well, because contractors need a year to prepare for services and existing contracts are coming due, the city would have to negotiate interim collection contracts that would “likely produce higher collection costs over the interim period,” Doubleday writes.

More significantly, more collection areas may simply result in higher charges, contrary to the belief more competition among contractors would drive down costs.

“The larger number of service providers results in a duplication of infrastructure and administrative resources (offices and staff), and, therefore, doesn’t permit the economies of scale,” Doubleday writes.

He also states “multiple contracts with staggered start dates would increase communication costs” and could cause confusion among Winnipeg residents.

The report comes before council’s water and waste, riverbank and environment committee Monday.

— Bartley Kives

 

$40-million sewage contract on tap

Winnipeg is one step closer to completing $336-million worth of sewage-treatment upgrades to the South End Water Pollution Control Centre.

The city is poised to award a $39.8-million contract to NAC Constructors to complete bioreactor, clarifier and blower work at the sewage plant, the second-largest of three in Winnipeg. 

NAC came in with the lowest bid among five respondents to a city tender. The city estimated the work would cost $49.6 million. The contract comes before council’s water and waste, riverbank and environment committee Monday.

Upgrades to the city’s smaller West End Water Pollution Control Centre are complete, while the larger North End Water Pollution Control Centre is in the midst of $651 million worth of upgrades. 

— Kives