The Forks not consulted about water park: CEO

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IT'S too soon for city council to decide to develop a city-owned parking lot that falls within the planning boundaries of The Forks, said the CEO of The Forks North Portage Partnership.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/04/2012 (4915 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IT’S too soon for city council to decide to develop a city-owned parking lot that falls within the planning boundaries of The Forks, said the CEO of The Forks North Portage Partnership.

The city did not consult with The Forks North Portage Partnership about the Canalta hotel proposal before it was unveiled two weeks ago, CEO Jim August told the Winnipeg Free Press editorial board on Tuesday.

This morning, city council is slated to debate a plan to sell the 2.2-acre surface lot known as Parcel Four to Alberta’s Canalta hotel chain, which intends to build a hotel, water park and parkade on the southwest corner of Waterfront Drive and William Stephenson Way.

Once owned by CN, the land belongs to the city but also falls inside the planning boundaries of the neighbourhood known as The Forks, which includes all the land between the CN Highline and the Red River.

In the 1990s, the city set aside Parcel Four to ensure any future development would complement amenities at The Forks and later, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

“Everything within the Highline, including the ballpark, is considered The Forks,” said August, making it clear he was speaking for himself and not The Forks North Portage board of directors, which he said has yet to discuss the Canalta proposal.

Although the city is free to develop its own land as it sees fit, August said he is concerned about how the Canalta complex would fit with other developments, both existing and planned.

For example, The Forks has spent several years planning and engaging in public consultations about the construction of 400 housing units on a parcel of land south of York Avenue dubbed “Railside,” opposite Parcel Four.

“I think it’s too early to make a decision on this or not,” he said of the Canalta proposal, qualifying that statement by insisting he would not tell elected officials how to vote on the proposal. “I’m not particularly for the water park. We don’t even know what it is.”

The plan’s details are more important than the concept, August suggested, adding he has no issue with the idea of a hotel and water park.

The original plan for The Forks called for a broad range of amenities, he said.

“Nobody was thinking about a skateboard park in 1987, but they were talking about recreation. Nobody was talking about the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, but they were talking about institutions, August said.

Even the construction of the Inn At The Forks generated controversy, August said. Now, the owner of Inn At The Forks is calling the Canalta proposal inappropriate for the vicinity of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

“I think it’s a big mistake for that type of development,” said Bob Sparrow, owner of the Inn At The Forks, who called the plan “sketchy,” even though he said his hotel would benefit financially from being close to a water park. “It doesn’t make sense. I’d be shocked if (The Forks) was in favour of this.”

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is a significant piece of architecture, said Sparrow, adding he doubts Ottawa would permit a water park to be located next to a national attraction in its capital region.

Sparrow said architects and urban planners he’s spoken with are “baffled” by the idea, but are afraid to speak publicly since it could affect their business dealings with the City of Winnipeg. “I haven’t come across anyone who is fully supportive of this,” he said.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights declined to comment. “Once we have a better sense of the plans, we’ll be better positioned to comment,” a spokeswoman said.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca

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