City seeks public input on future of PSB site

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/07/2017 (2471 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers are being invited by the city to provide design ideas and feedback on the future development of the Market Lands, a 2.4-acre parcel in the Exchange District where the now out-of-use Public Safety Building stands awaiting demolition.

“The Market Lands played a significant part in our city’s history, and we want to see them play a significant role in the city’s future,” Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) said Thursday.

“This is an important conversation, and we invite all Winnipeggers to be part of it.”

During the 1870s, the Market Lands site served as the city’s public market and was a major commercial trading hub. The land was given to the city in 1875 with a caveat it remain in public use, thus preventing the site’s sale to private developers. That caveat doesn’t apply to the adjacent parkade property.

In April 2016, City Council approved the demolition and redevelopment of the PSB — estimated to cost nearly $11 million — after a redevelopment plan had been drafted with community consultation. At the time, Mayor Brian Bowman said he wanted the site to be redeveloped into a public meeting space, which factored heavily into the public-engagement initiative launched this week.

“This initiative is really about seeing what the people of Winnipeg want to see out of the Market Lands. The opportunity to develop a site like this doesn’t come around very often,” said Andrew Lewthwaite, the managing director at Public City Architecture, a firm involved with the site’s development.

When the city approved the PSB’s demolition, many community members voiced their disapproval. They consider the building a prime example of the brutalist architecture style commonly used by Winnipeg’s downtown architects in the 1960s and ’70s. Others consider it an ugly relic.

As part of the new public feedback initiative, the outdoor space behind the PSB on King Street has been given a splash of new life. Picnic benches from Assiniboine Park were placed on the grounds to make the site more usable, and some sidewalks in the area have been painted with bright coloured tracks converging on the site.

Synonym Art Consultation did the painting, which was devised by the city’s downtown development agency CentreVenture and Public City as a way to draw people, and their opinions, to the site.

“I think it brings some much needed colour to the neighbourhood,” said Synonym co-founder Chloe Chafe.

“Any colour is better than grey,” chimed in Andrew Eastman, another founder of Synonym.

Throughout the summer, the site will play host to several events and provide services, including art programming through the Graffiti Gallery, bike valet during August’s First Friday in the Exchange, and Nuit Blanche in September.

In August, a modified shipping container will be placed at the site to serve as a kiosk where the public can share opinions on the Market Lands’ future. At the Fringe Festival beer tent, people can draw out their own design ideas on a placemat and submit them for consideration by the site’s stakeholders.

placemat_final_r03

The placemat, along with a 3D urban design kit, is built to make the design of the Market Lands more open to public suggestion. 

“It can be a kernel of an idea,” said architect Dirk Blouw, as he assembled the 3D buildings in the kit.

“This brings it to a level that’s accessible for the public,” added architectural intern Noah Jacobson.

“And,” noted architectural student Kristina Komoly. “It’s way more fun than an online survey.”

The placemat, a 3D urban design kit and other feedback resources (including an online survey) are available at www.marketlands.ca

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

Market Lands 'Guiding Aspirations' Report