Downtown Celebrates Top 10 Achievements

While Winnipeggers look forward to ringing in the New Year, the BIZ takes a moment to look back on the year that was and what has been accomplished in the heart of our city in 2011.

This list truly encapsulates the spirit of our downtown and where it is headed. With all of our achievements in 2011, our downtown in 2012 is looking bright. Today moving forward, we can confidently say that the tools for successful downtown revitalization are in place, now it's just a matter of putting these tools to work!

Here is the top 10 list, as compiled by the Downtown BIZ:

Top 10 Downtown Achievements in 2011 (in no particular order):

1. Thousands of people flocked downtown to Portage & Main, the MTS Centre and the Forks to celebrate the return of our beloved Winnipeg Jets! The Jets' return has helped fuel some much needed optimism and economic vitality to our downtown!

2. Plans for the Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District (SHED) are underway and will be our city's central entertainment district. Supported by the City and Province and led by CentreVenture, the district comes to life in the fall of 2013 with a $75 million private sector investment across the MTS Centre – a 15-storey hotel, office and retail building anchored by a new public parkade. SHED hopes to create pedestrian-oriented streets, dense mixed-use developments and various public gathering spaces that will transform this area of our downtown into a world class destination!

3. After years of advocating, a downtown housing plan was recently released by the City of Winnipeg, giving our city the right tools needed to help stimulate the sustained development of more affordable housing in our downtown. The new Downtown Residential Development Grant (DRDG) Program has a total fund of approximately $40 million and hopes to address the financial challenges that developers face when developing housing in our city centre. Currently, CentreVenture has obtained applications for 28 projects totaling almost 1,400 new residential units.

4. The inaugural Change for the Better CEOs for Downtown Sleepout engaged over 40 CEOs and community leaders who helped raise over $100,000 to employ those less fortunate on our downtown streets. The morning after the sleepout, Tim Richter of the Calgary Homeless Foundation shared with our downtown business community how his city committed to a 10-year plan to end homelessness. Mr. Richter helped us raise significant public and media awareness about the importance of supportive housing in ending homelessness, improving the lives of people, and leading to a safer downtown and an improved image. The opening of the Bell Hotel, downtown's first supportive housing project is a step in the right direction.

5. The City of Winnipeg has finalized its Transportation Master Plan (TMP), which will see four rapid transit lines coming to and from our downtown, providing sustainable alternatives for people to come downtown. A letter was sent to Mayor Sam Katz, commending the work of the city, but also outlined the importance of continued follow-up in the implementation of the plan and a more critical discussion about the issue of funding.

6. The Avenue Building, once an empty building that sat vacant for years, has been converted into beautifully designed rental apartments, with support from both the City and Province. CentreVenture played a critical role in creating the right public/private partnership needed and developers Mark and Rick Hofer stepped up and brought this abandoned building to life, creating 60-plus suites located right in the heart of downtown on Portage Avenue.

7. Major downtown developments are underway and/or are ready to open! The Winnipeg Convention Centre expansion will add 250,000 additional square feet of space; the Metropolitan Theatre, RRC Union Tower, Manitoba Children's Museum, Upper Fort Garry, Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and Richardson Centre Concourse renovations are underway; and the Centre for Youth Excellence facility on Main and Higgins is now open for outreach.

8. Leading up to the provincial election, three major political parties discussed their platforms on key downtown issues at a Provincial Downtown Forum hosted by the BIZ and other partners. The NDP committed to 50 dedicated police downtown and redevelopments to provincially-owned surface parking lots, both important in giving people a reason to come downtown to live, work, shop and play.

9. This November, the BIZ held three forums highlighting key downtown issues concerning transportation and rapid transit; increasing downtown's residential population via the City of Winnipeg's Downtown Housing Plan; and downtown safety. The forums promoted dialogue and were an opportunity to educate, listen, learn and advocate for our downtown's continued renewal efforts.

10. City Councillors joined the BIZ for a tour of our downtown this June, followed by a presentation and discussion about what needs to happen to keep the momentum going downtown. The tour was successful in bringing downtown issues to the table, celebrating mutual successes and helped start an in-depth discussion about the road ahead and how to work together.

It's been an incredibly busy and exciting year for our downtown! This year, we engaged with the downtown community, listened to their thoughts and ideas and sparked much needed dialogue and discussion about downtown issues. Public engagement is critical in moving our urban renewal efforts forward. The BIZ looks forward to another great year in 2012!

To read about other downtown achievements this year, visit downtownwinnipegbiz.com to view a copy of the BIZ's 2011 Annual Report.