The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns - International ...

Data Collection Process
From the outset it is critical to acknowledge that the project team faced significant challenges in the compilation of a
complete set of capital projects data for the City of Winnipeg. Therefore the team utilized a methodology to present
capital projects data that differs from the other case studies. More specifically the capital projects map is based on
lists of major capital investments that were compiled by Economic Development Winnipeg Inc (2001-2009) and the
Downtown Trends, Downtown Winnipeg Market Research 31 (2005-2009). The team identified downtown projects
from both lists that were institutional and/or public projects. Additionally, the team included a couple of significant
projects from 2011 that they were made aware of through the the interview process. This data has some limitations
as it fails to capture smaller scale investments i.e. social programs, small scale public realm upgrades and/or
undertaking a detailed planning process etc. In addition, there were often discrepancies between the two sets of
data, in which case the project team utilized the Economic Development Winnipeg Inc data.
Moreover this approach fails to account for the municipal proportion of investment; rather it captures the total value of
public capital investments. However, given the data limitations faced, this approach is considered optimal for gaining
a preliminary spatial understanding of where, when and how much is being invested in public and quasi public
facilities over the past decade in downtown Winnipeg.
Summary of Public Investments
Project
Canadian Museum for Human
Rights
Year
Total
Investment
Project
Year
Total
Investment
2009 $180,000,000 Indoor Walkway System Expansion 2009 $8,700,000
True North Project 2002 $125,000,000 Central Park Redevelopment 2009 $5,600,000
Red River College – Culinary
Institute
2011 $27,000,000 Manitoba Children’s Museum 2011 $10,000,000
United Way Building 2009 $9,500,000 CanWest Centre for Theatre and Film 2009 $5,500,000
Millennium Library 2005 $20,700,000 West End Cultural Centre 2009 $3,500,000
Sport Manitoba Sport for Life
Centre
University of Winnipeg
Plug In Institute of Contemporary
Art
2009 $15,000,000 Millennium Library Park 2008 $2,100,000
2003-
09
$13,000,000 The Forks Skate Park Plaza 2006 $1,800,000
2009 $12,000,000 Old Market Square 2009 $1,750,000
Upper Fort Garry Gate 2009 $10,300,000 TOTAL $451,450,000
31
Downtown Winnipeg Biz. (2011). BIZ Trends 2010-2012. Retrieved from:
http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/resource/file/DBIZ_Trends_2010.pdf. Accessed 2011
November 29.
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