Manchester Square | ?m | 2s | 76 Group Co | Gardner Architecture

[Avenuer]

 

[_Citizen_Dane_]

^^ Timely, I just went by this myself for the first time an hour ago. Pictures really don't this thing justice and I don't mean that in a good way. Somehow it manages to look even worse in person. Like Dave said above, the bricklaying seems to be well done, but ultimately for what? A tacky, garish, and kitschy mess?

 

[LukeE]

^^ Timely, I just went by this myself for the first time an hour ago. Pictures really don't this thing justice and I don't mean that in a good way. Somehow it manages to look even worse in person. Like Dave said above, the bricklaying seems to be well done, but ultimately for what? A tacky, garish, and kitschy mess?

I know, the scale feels off, even from across the street... I actually almost dont hate the part on the far right, looks almost like somthing from old Strathcona... too bad its attached to a train wreck

 

[Calfaer]

Honestly, it's not the tacky and misguided design that gets to me with this development, it's the fact it's made so much worse by lazily slapping a parking lot in the front and ruining what is already a less than stellar design.

If you were going to design this, then go all in and at least show it off to the street front, place parking in the back, help activate the street, and ultimately bring better attention to the tenants that will be leasing the space.

 

[Romanov]

Yes, we could do without another large parking lot. Yes, the design is too ambitious for its budget. Yes, this is a cheap knockoff. However, it is adaptive reuse of a building that was reaching the end of its economic life as a furniture store. Not as well executed as Holland Plaza, but there are some positives to this development.

 

[danby85]

Curious how many CRU's this complex will have? Some look to be the size of the facade only and with small windows.

 

[archited]

I'm looking to rent some of that 3rd Floor Loft Space

 

[Daveography]

@danby85 Up to 19:

Leasing - Manchester Square

Facebook Instagram CALL! 780-705-8676 Leasing An infusion of dynamic & vibrant energy… Local businesses are encouraged to consider being part of this trendy, new community cornerstone location which will certainly be ideal for retail such as a bike of coffee shops. Edmonton’s biggest pedestrian...

manchestersquare.ca

 

[Romanov]

Has anyone been keeping up with all the media attention on this one?

 

[positive1]

I went by the site last week and it is really starting to take shape. Reminds me of going to somewhere like Disney Land. People go to and enjoy Disney Land because in part the architecture lends to the escape from real life and normality; is it so bad to have some of that in the city? Can we only enjoy that type of escapism when we are on holiday? A small percentage of me thinks that most of the criticism is just snobbery. Anyway, I hope that it is a success as people have obviously invested themselves and their money and are trying to do something different. Stay distant!

 

[Daveography]

People go to and enjoy Disney Land because in part the architecture lends to the escape from real life and normality; is it so bad to have some of that in the city? Can we only enjoy that type of escapism when we are on holiday?

Does this even really achieve that, though? Again, the biggest issue isn't even the architecture, but that it completely misses what makes cities like Amsterdam (or Manchester?) attractive.

 

[crisp]

This is going to be a success, not because of the architecture but because of what most of you really hate about it, THE PARKING LOT. Because, sadly, it is what most Edmontonians demand.

 

[Daveography]

@crisp Which brings me back to the fact that this could have also had a residential component, which would have gone a long way to providing housing with reduced dependency on private vehicle ownership.

 

[crisp]

@Daveography I don't necessarily agree it would have gone a "long way". Just my opinion here, but from personal observation, a culture shift from car dependency in Edmonton is going to take a very long time. I lived in the Century, then moved to Ultima when it was complete and watched two more towers (the Foxes) go up. With three new high rise towers up I personally felt or seen no increase in street presence outside of lunch hours and weekend (mostly summer weekends at that). That's in the downtown core even, and people that I knew that moved into these buildings still drove everywhere mostly (although I could say throughout the years they have too slowly started embracing the walk a lot more).

I agree a residential component would have been a better step in the right direction, rather than adding to the demand we deem unfavorable (yes, I am on your side). But there can't be a 'win' on every single inner-city corner and there are plenty of other sites that will have greater impacts. Look two blocks directly South, where is the Brewery District's residential component? Which site would you have rather have residential built first? Would a resi on this site directly impact the potential of Brewery's starting up any time soon?

We also don't know the story behind this redevelopment. Maybe a developer with deeper pockets and higher risk tolerance could have snatched it up. But were any other developers looking at this? How much longer would it have stayed a dead inner-city corner?

This development is going to add to the livability and attraction of the area, where there is still lots of potential for added density. To me, that's a win for now.

 

[Daveography]

But there can't be a 'win' on every single inner-city corner and there are plenty of other sites that will have greater impacts.

Nothing will progress if we don't call out regressive urban design when it occurs, nor if we don't tighten our standards especially for prime central locations like this.

We also don't know the story behind this redevelopment. Maybe a developer with deeper pockets and higher risk tolerance could have snatched it up. But were any other developers looking at this? How much longer would it have stayed a dead inner-city corner?

I actually do know the story behind this development, and it's fine and good. But it's still a massive underdevelopment and undervaluation of this location. Might it have sat longer waiting for a more experienced developer with access to better financing? Sure. But then we'd also end up with not only a more appropriate urban development, but also a project that will likely live a much longer life than this one.

This development is going to add to the livability and attraction of the area, where there is still lots of potential for added density. To me, that's a win for now.

Sure, while bringing more car traffic to the area as well, which actually severely negates the localized benefits.

We will never get over our car-dependency issues if we don't demand better now - that means development that contributes to truly creating and adding to communities, not relying on people who drive to prop you up.