42 UPWORD www.winnipegconstruction.ca Phase 1 of the $20 million plan includes the development of a 12,000-sq.-ft. atrium Vintage machinery will take centre stage in century- old pumping station redevelopment O ne of Winnipeg’s historic facilities is getting a second lease on life. This winter, crews will complete the first of a three-phase plan to transform the James Avenue Pumping Station into a mixed-use commercial building and add new apartment and retail developments to its Waterfront Drive site. The century-old building was long overdue for redevelopment. It was acquired by Winnipeg’s CentreVenture shortly after the organization formed in 1999 as part of a package of city surplus properties in the downtown area. At the time, the station had been out of operation for nearly a decade and was attracting attention from would-be developers. “We’ve had dozens of proposals over the last 15 years for the James Avenue Pumping Station,but it’s not an easy site,”saysAngela Mathieson, CentreVenture President and Chief Executive Officer.“It’s been one of the most challenging heritage buildings in the downtown. Even the pumps inside of the facility are declared heritage assets, so they have to be preserved. That’s made it much more challenging than other heritage buildings we’ve been involved with.” Then, in 2015, CentreVenture was approached by the family-run developer Alston Properties, who piqued Mathieson’s attention with a plan that would overcome the site’s challenge and introduce new living and office spaces to Winnipeg’s burgeoning Exchange District. “When we first came in to look at the structure, we realized it wouldn’t make sense to attach a new build to the existing structure. We also recognized there was an external exoskeleton within the existing structure that would let us suspend a footprint above the pumps,” says Bryce Alston, owner of Alston Properties. “That would let us save on foundation and structural costs, and it was fairly easy and cost-effective to put a new floor in, and once in it was easy to do the new build out.” It was a different approach, he says, and one which began by working out the numbers before making a plan:“We were able to find efficiencies with the constructability of our plan and I think that’s largely what differed from previous proposals which planned on developing something attached to the existing structure. That would have been very cost-prohibitive.” Inspired by this approach and Alston Properties’ experience, CentreVenture sold Alston the property along with the land east and west of the station. It also stepped in to mortgage finance the redevelopment through CentreVenture’s lending arm and work closely with Alston Properties to see that vision through. “What drew us to this design is really in large part that it was a collaborative relationship,” says Mathieson. “We had a number of people approach us with interesting concepts, but we knew this project took more than a good idea; it took the right person. I knew Bryce was the type of developer who’d have the passion, patience and the vision for a project of this nature.” A New Vision That vision for the James Avenue Pumping Station redevelopment is certainly bold. Phase 1 of the $20 million plan includes the development Retro Revamp By Matthew Bradford