New Proposal for Parcel 4 at the Forks

http://www.cjob.com/2014/06/04/future-the-forks-parcel-4-decided/

The last piece of undeveloped land at the Forks could  be transformed into two parking structures, housing, some retail and plenty of Green space that will also link the site to downtown.

It’s an ambitious plan that will transform the surface parking lots known as “Parcel 4″ opposite the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

That’s the land near Shaw Park that was put forward as a possible sight for the controversial hotel and water park plan that was eventually killed by city council.

Some details of this new plan are still being worked out and there will still be another round of public consultations before anything is finalized. The plan also needs approval from the City of Winnipeg.

Forks North Portage Partnership President and CEO Jim August says the idea is that the retail will include market style shops and the site would also include a link to Upper Fort Garry under construction south of Broadway on Main.

And August says they want to push more pedestrians through the Portage and Main area in anticipation of it eventually reopening to traffic.

“We really believe that a pedestrian flow to Portage and Main is important so our engineers have been working on that.”

He says they’re also looking at putting a walkway of some kind over the rail lines. Waterfront Drive may eventually be extended through Point Douglas.

The plan will take shape over the next five years as the public consultations continue. There are no cost estimates at this point.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Forks.

[Note: here's more background if you're keen - http://www.theforks.com/railside]