WINNIPEG EYESORE OF THE WEEK 3

Of all the surface parking lots that litter downtown Winnipeg, none are as obviously gaping and vulgar as the lot next to the TD Centre on Main Street. Very close to the spot where Henry McKenney built the first store at the corner of Portage and Main Street 143 years ago, this parking lot replaced the very fine McIntyre block some 20-25 years ago.

When it appears that, for over two decades, the best use of prime real estate smack in the heart of the city is an impark lot, you can imagine how much psychological damage it inflicts. It tells us that Winnipeg is an economic no-fly zone. It tells us that a couple dozen parking spots and cheesy billboard ads are all our once proud and bustling banker’s row is now good for. It spells out civic and economic failure.

The reality is that because this blight on the heart of downtown serves as an “accessory” parking lot for the TD Centre, it earns them a provincial tax credit; a tax credit they would not have if the property still contained the McIntyre block, or a newer building.

Hmm, could policies like this have anything to do with a geographically spread-thin downtown suffering from decades of stagnant growth?