True North Square could be game-changer

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/12/2019 (1839 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Any time something new comes to downtown, boosters and cockeyed optimists like to toss around the word “revitalization.”

Remember back in 1987, when Portage Place Shopping Centre was being touted as the cure-all for an abandoned core? Today, the name of the half-empty downtown mall is shorthand for the worst kind of urban planning folly.

That kind of naive, “If you build it, they will come” attitude has plagued other projects that largely fail to take into account two indisputable facts: Winnipeggers mostly work downtown, they don’t live there, leaving it deserted after 5:30 p.m.; and some people are, rightly or wrongly, unwilling to visit downtown, for reasons as benign as a lack of parking or as serious as a fear of crime.

Even Bell MTS Place, which has undeniably lured thousands of people out of their suburban homes to attend Jets games or see concerts, can’t quite pin that shiny “revitalization” medal on its government-subsidized chest. While downtown bustles on game nights, when the arena is dark, so are the streets.

And a lack of foot traffic not only fuels fears about a dangerous downtown, it actively contributes to it.

A study published in the April 2017 Journal of Urban Economics showed that areas with shuttered storefronts and restaurants that were closed — even only temporarily — had increased levels of theft and vandalism. It’s a simple equation, really: the more people are frequenting a business, the more eyes there are on the street, meaning fewer occasions for opportunistic crime.

These findings reinforce arguments for mixed-use development, in which residential buildings include retail spaces. This kind of development is also intended to increase a community’s walkability and enhance a neighbourhood’s character.

To that end, the True North Square project — which unveiled its most recent project, a high-end food hall called Hargrave St. Market at 242 Hargrave St. last Friday — has the hallmarks of a possible game-changer, a mixed-use development that blends residential space with office space, retail shops, restaurants and green space, including a privately owned public plaza.

As the company’s website puts it: “True North Square is more than a collection of buildings — it is a living entity ready to accommodate a dynamic Winnipeg community, drawing in and capitalizing on the synergies between working, living, socializing and gathering all in one central location.”

Setting aside the aspirational marketing language — are we still saying “synergies” in 2019? — the idea is solid. Complaints about a lack of parking become moot when people are able to walk to a store, restaurant or show from their downtown homes, and those walkers filling the streets will reduce crime.

Arguments could certainly be made that the customers and residents True North is hoping to attract are more affluent than the average Winnipegger, and that its offerings — fancy food hall, gourmet grocery store — largely exclude traditional denizens of downtown, including senior citizens. The claim of creating a “dynamic community” would certainly be easier to believe if True North set aside a portion of its residential units, for which it is receiving a government subsidy, for lower-income housing.

But there’s also an argument that the mere fact of more residents downtown will eventually lead to more services, potentially those aimed at a broader population.

If Winnipeggers do end up buying into True North’s notion, it’s possible the old Field of Dreams aphorism could be flipped: if they come, we can build it — a better, safer, more vibrant downtown.