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This article was published 16/4/2010 (3820 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PHIL.HOSSACK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA Forks CEO Jim August stands on parking lot where development would be built.

THE Forks Renewal Corp. will unveil a wide-ranging blueprint for the future of Winnipeg's most popular meeting place, including plans to build up to 350 condominiums and apartments, at an open house this weekend.

Artist renditions of the proposed development will be on display at The Forks' centre court from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. For those who can't make it, they'll be taken to Portage Place Shopping Centre from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 28. Staff members in charge of this and other projects at The Forks will also be on hand to answer questions from the public.

"To have a healthy urban environment, you need people living in the downtown. This is an opportunity to do that. The idea is to make this a site that works on a 24-hour basis," said Jim August, chief executive officer of TFRC.

Initial drawings for the residential component call for a 10-storey tower, which could include both condos and apartments as well as townhouses on the lower levels, to be built on a 6.5-acre site that is now a parking lot. The "market-affordable" units will be largely targeted at young professionals with some geared towards people in the disabled community. The approximately 1,000-square-foot spaces will likely sell for about $240,000, he said.

ARTIST’S CONCEPTION Residential development would include up to 350 apartments and condos selling for an estimated $240,000 each.

"If we could do it for $180,000, that would be great but we know it could be tough," he said, noting a tiered parking structure will buffer the residences from the nearby railway line.

August was quick to note the plans for the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers are still a long way from being finalized and public feedback could result in some changes. The ultimate design won't compromise the "green beltway" along the riverbanks, he said.

"Details on the economics and design will occur over the next three to four years. There won't be any construction until then," he said.

To maintain the perception that The Forks is a place for all Winnipeggers and their guests, Toby Chase, executive director of The Forks Foundation, said it's important that the development plans include a well-manicured "European" walkway and shops and services. Some ideas currently on the table include a fitness centre, a daycare, coffee shops, restaurants, a hostel and a bookstore.

"We want to encourage a pedestrian environment in the area. You're still moving people around the site, you're not cutting them off to do something for a private use," Chase said.

The proposed development cost of the residential units, parking structure, promenade and retail space is in excess of $100 million.

The plans will also be as green as possible, which could mean a maximum of one parking spot per condo or apartment or even shared parking spaces.

"We think people living here are working downtown and they could do that without having a vehicle," August said.

There has been a "mixed bag" of reactions since the idea of people living at The Forks was first raised early last year. To counter accusations that the development will come at the expense of green space, August points to a picture of the site from the mid-'80s, which depicts a largely barren area where the only trees are just off the riverbanks.

"It's evolving into quite a magnificent site. People who live in and around the downtown seem to be more supportive of it, younger people are generally more supportive of it while others are supportive of it depending how it's done.

"Some people believe The Forks is for everyone and therefore people shouldn't live there," he said.

"There was a lot of (the latter attitude) with the Inn at The Forks hotel, which has been pretty widely accepted."

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca