Agreed.

Rebrand Broadway as downtown's "Grand Boulevard" neighborhood. Line both sides of Broadway with mixed use podium-style highrise condos & apartments. Attract shops services & restaurants that cater to these residents. Build a sobey's/extra foods on one of the many parking lots nearby.

Downtown's too large. Changing Broadway to Residential will create an exciting and inviting new downtown Residential district PLUS will also help to condense the remaining commercial areas of downtown.

Everyone wins. Problem solved.

you can see the new foucs on portage ave, but i'm thinking a strategical, residnenial densification would win in the end..

See, i don't understand this, and that is why i think Asper's plan will fail. 1.5 million sq ft of space is equal to the entire space of Polo Park Mall, which is Winnipeg's biggest mall. So in essence, Asper is planning on finding enough tenants to fill a large mall right next door to the city's premier large mall that is having troubles filling space vacated by Safeway.

......hmmmmmmmm

I agreee, but at the same time, most of the retailers in that development will likely have much larger floorplans than the small stores at Polo Park... Easier to find say 30 or 40 larger tennants than 200+ small ones like at Polo...

It's not entirely difficult to believe. The proposed mall may well serve pent up demand for a higher-end product that has not been widely available in Winnipeg.

As for the real estate, Polo Park is completely surrounded, for many, many city blocks, with retail. Those retailers likely planted their roots in the area because Polo Park attracted so many shoppers. They all seem to be doing okay.

How many peeps argued against the big box development along south Kenaston? I'd be willing to bet many predicted dire consequences for retail in Winnipeg when they showed up.

I remember the wails of despair when they announced Costco there. After all, there was another Costco store just down the road near Polo Park. Ever tried getting into either of these two locations on a weekend?

Same whiners have also decried the imminent doom machine that will be the Ikea development.

Let's let natural selection decide who wins and who loses...

Agreed. I hope that now that this is going ahead, that H&M will finally set up shop in town now that ample retail space is available for them with this new development alone.

I don't think it will be doom and gloom for any retail establishments in the Polo Park area because of the Elms. I just don't know how they are supposed to attract that many different retailers that are not already located in the Polo Park area.

You guys should be sure to check out a recent post on Slurpees and Murder regarding Portage Place... he even put together a parody television commercial for the mall. He also summarizes the sad history of Portage Place very well:

http://slurpeesandmurder.blogspot.co...e-but-not.html

I am assuming you have been to the Polo Park area more than a few times.
How many millions of Sq Ft of retail are in the area now? 5, 6 or more?? There is still demand for space.

Asper / Creswin are planning on adding 650,000 sq/ft to the area. That would be around 10 or 12% increase to the area.

^^^ Yeah, i get it, and i work near that area so i am there a lot. I realize that Asper's mall is only a small percentage of the total Polo Park area but the area keeps growing by manageable amounts. 20,000 sq ft for the new Hockey store is manageable, 650,000 sq ft for a new mall similar to Polo Park Shopping Centre is not, in my opinion.

I don't get it. Why not?

How come the old arena site development hasn't got off the ground yet? it seems like even more prime real estate than the stadium site?

Nothing better than transporting visitors to the city who choose Transit down one of the roughest stretches of road in Winnipeg (Empress between St. Matthews and Rapelje) past the lifeless Stadium and the vacant lot of the old arena. I thought a plan was in place for developing that property?

Polo North (as it is called) will be developed, but the recession has (last I heard) put it over a year behind schedule.

Sketchers Shoes is moving into Polo Park as an FYI. Also, to respond to Biff's comment about Polo Park not being able to find tenants to fill the space vacated by Safeway; this notion is completely false. My sister manages a store at PP and she constantly complains about the lack of vision that PP management have in attracting new merchants. She also managed a store at St. Vital and she always talked about how great the mall management were over there- the ways in which they bent over backwards for their mall tenants. I also know another store manager at PP who echoes the same statements- that the management team carry a sense of entitlement as if "you should be proud to have a store at PP". There is no real active recruitment of new merchants and they frequently drop the ball in attracting interested merchants. H&M were more than willing to move into the Safeway area if Cadillac Fairview was willing to renovate the area to their specifications, but they refused to play ball. That is why H&M are delayed in entering the Winnipeg market. If anyone should be blamed, it would be the management team at PP.

Interesting ^^^

I wouldn't have thought that about Polo Park management.

Yeah, me neither... As for the earlier quote about St Vital management, I would disagree that they bend over backwards for their tennants. I've had friends at many stores who say the dealings when their leases were up were not very amicable at all. As a result (and due to almost doubling in rents), many staples of the mall (Champs, Athletes World, the Disney Store, etc) have left St. Vital in the past few years...

It's true about PP's management. I worked in the mall for awhile about 3 years ago and my manager was always complaining about the management to. I worked in St. Vital before that and never heard anything bad about management.

My manager complained mostly that PP never bothered to do anything to attract more people to the mall. This was before the renovations started. PP wouldn't allow "sidewalk" sales or any other type of promotions. St. Vital is constantly putting on extra events from music to the book and antique sales to contests. These all create excitement which doesn't exist at PP.

I haven't been to PP for awhile but I've been wondering what will go in the McNally Robinson space? I would think that would be prime space for H&M but maybe a bit too small? It's outside entrance makes it a key space in PP.

I think the Safeway location hasn't been spoken for because it's god awful. Nobody ever goes down that far. I was amazed when I heard H&M wanted it. I would never any store I owned it there, no matter how much of a draw it would be on it's own. H&M has to think about the next 10 years, not just the first year when it'll be packed.

Just heard that Polo Park is adding Forever 21 and BCBG Max Azria where the old Safeway used to be. Not that guys would be interested in either of these stores! Also, just a quick inquiry: does anyone know which stores are being added at the Unicity Smart! Centres? They have built two new stores and it looks like they are breaking ground for the third. Just wondering if any one knows the scoop?

Staples is one of them. Not sure on the others.

Staples and Value Village are the two that are built. A third?

Fashion infusion looms
Pair of U.S. retailers to occupy former Polo Park Safeway space
By: Geoff Kirbyson

9/07/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 1

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DAVID LIPNOWSKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image

Hidden activity is underway in the old Safeway site at Polo Park Shopping Centre.
Winnipeg fashionistas will have a pair of new retailers to shop at early next year, one from each end of the price spectrum.

Forever 21 and BCBGMAXAZRIA, a pair of California-based companies that are new to the Winnipeg market, are preparing to begin construction in the old Canada Safeway location in the Polo Park Shopping Centre.

"They're both pretty big deals. Winnipeg is going to like those stores a lot," said Rebecca McCormack, owner of Cake Clothing, an Exchange District retailer and designer.

She described Forever 21 as a "trendier version" of Le Château, while BCBG is "pretty dressy," with "Club Monaco-like prices."

McCormack said she expects BCBG to have as big an impact on Polo Park as Sephora, a France-based cosmetics retailer, has had since it opened in November.

Forever 21 targets teenage girls and the young at heart from both sexes with "fast fashion," where new shipments arrive virtually daily at its stores. The company's website features dozens of jackets, hoodies, vests, tops and tunics on sale for less than $10.

"Forever 21's business has been successful in other markets and we have decided to expand by opening a store in Winnipeg," said Larry Meyer, Forever 21's executive vice-president. "The co-tenancy in Polo Park is very good and we feel that Cadillac Fairview (which owns Polo Park) operates great malls."

Meyer said the store will encompass 38,000 square feet, making it one of the biggest in the mall when it opens in January. It will have a staff of between 55 and 60 employees.

"(We're) known for offering the hottest and most current fashion trends at a great value to consumers," Meyer said.

BCBGMAXAZRIA, which is named for the French phrase "bon chic, bon genre" -- Parisian slang meaning "good style, good attitude" -- has attracted a number of celebrity fans to its high-fashion offering in recent years, including Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson, who have been spotted on red carpets sporting its slinky dresses, leather jackets and chiffon gowns.

John Winter, a Toronto-based retail analyst, said the two stores would be "notable" additions to the local fashion scene but, perhaps more importantly, their arrival also represents a vote of confidence in the Winnipeg market. Retailers don't expand into new areas with the idea of losing money, he said.

"We're coming out of a recession, but these are two chains that want to be in Winnipeg. Where else would you want to go if you're a clothing retailer but Polo Park? It's a no-brainer as long as you can afford the rents," he said.

Safeway moved out of the 40,000-square-foot space at the mall's east end in December 2008, when it relocated to a new store at nearby Madison Square. The space has been empty ever since, but construction workers were spotted on site this week.

Forever 21 is no stranger to large spaces. Four years ago, it opened its flagship store in Pasadena, Calif., one of its biggest outlets, at 40,000 square feet.

BCBG has 29 Canadian locations sprinkled throughout Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec. Forever 21 has 10 stores in the same provinces and another 470 stores throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, Korea and Japan.

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/bre...-98094814.html

I'm glad to hear the rumors are now officially true about BCBG and forever 21. The Bay started selling one of BCBG's lines last year and I think it's done decently.

But wow at the size of Forever 21. Thats almost as large as the flagship. It'll do well though. As will BCBG. There are plenty of people at both of those spectrums in Winnipeg who have been waiting for this.

Interesting though because I thought BCBG would wait for The Elms. The Safeway location isn't the best location in PP.

My wife just died and went to heaven.

^^^ lol to bad its at polo

Question related to Polo Park Area:

Is the Mark's Work Wearhouse on St. James moving or closing up shop? Or are they rennovating? I ask because I noticed they were having a big clearance sale a day or two ago, and their signage (big letters) were off the building.

Edit:
Nevermind, it looks like they're just rebranding their stores as simply "Marks"

^ Ha, interesting. I was wondering about that too!

Hollister Coming to Winnipeg
 

That will undoubtedly brush smiles across the faces of many. Good for the local scene.

I was told by someone who was involved in the first round of bringing H&M to Winnipeg is that they are holding out to be located in the new IKEA development.

They will be here.

That doesn't come as much of a surprise to me. The IKEA development - and for that matter, the entire Kenaston retail node will make a giant push to rival the Polo Park area as Winnipeg's pre-eminent retail destination. Oddly enough, they are only about a 10 to 15 minute drive apart from each other.

I'm not concerned about Polo Park taking a hit, in terms of market share (though I imagine they will lose slightly at first), but all of the secondary and tertiary centres, such as Grant Park and perhaps even St. Vital Centre that could end up taking it in the glasses as a result of Polo Park and Kenaston going toe-to-toe to attract the most desirable retailers.

Kenaston and Bishop, a nice stretch of road linking St. Vital C.S., Power Centre @ Kenaston/Sterling Lyon then on to Polo Park S.C.

There was opposition to nearby power centres by our local mall but in the end, a lot of people will go between the three major retail centres, instead of getting everything in one retail centre if they were all spread out, so it kind of worked out good for the mall. (And the city, since all of our big box retail is now in one area.) Fifteen minutes probably isn't too far for someone to go to a store at Polo Park then drive down to Ikea or H&M to do more shopping. If it the Ikea development was located near Transcona, they'd just get everything in the one place and ignore the existence of the other. In that respect, it benefits the mall. You also have to consider that a store like Ikea will draw people from Ontario and Saskatchewan who wouldn't have otherwise made the trip there and they'll probably check out nearby shopping areas as well.

It's just like a downtown. The more attractions in the area, the more people go there, therefore more potential customers.

Supermarket slated for old arena site
By ROSS ROMANIUK, Winnipeg Sun

September 23, 2010


The site of the long-gone Winnipeg Arena will see an Asian supermarket spring up by the end of next year, the property’s developer says.

Shindico Inc. plans to begin building the 45,000-square-foot food market late this year and have it ready to open by late 2011 as the retail anchor of a wider 200,000-square-foot commercial development at the site between Maroons Road and Rapelje Avenue, development manager Bob Downs told the Winnipeg Sun on Thursday.

Downs declined to name the market, saying only that it’s a company that will be new to Winnipeg.

Radio station CJOB, meanwhile, is among the future tenants of the existing former CTV studios at the south end of the site.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have a real hunch that this will be T&T Supermarket, who have been looking to gain a foothold into Winnipeg's fast growing Asian market for a few years now.

Well, at least that means that those offices won't go there...and cool, always good to have more choice.

What.. I thought it was going to a strip mall of sorts.

Maybe not. That's only 45,000 square feet out of 200,000 planned.

The Lucky Supermarket near Notre Dame and McPhillips is terrific, the city needs more of those.

like Kinguni said, maybe not. Western Financial is the Office that is looking for about 95,000 sq ft of space. I would imagine that the Polo Park site is still the preferred location for them. I really, really hope this is wrong but....

If you like Lucky, you're gonna be blown away by T&T. I really hope it is T&T. Their bakery section alone will be worth a weekend trip every week!

Nail in Chinatown's coffin, I wonder?

That is what they were predicting for Edmonton's and Ottawa's Chinatown when T&T came to down, but yet they are still very much thriving. Chances are the Chinese community itself will be the deciding factor in the survival of Chinatown.

The bakery section is the only reason why my family goes to T&T. So delish'

they cater to all people though you can buy ragu and lays along side the asian brands - the meat i find really good as they have better portions for people like me who have to only cook for one :(

china town died because of the soup kitchens near by...........

Care to explain? Like do you mean that the soup kitchens attracted the homeless to the area which drove people from other parts of the city away from China Town killing the businesses there?

its been a major factor the last while though the masive fire in 99 didn't help either but still

A friend of mine went to a great deal of expense to move his business out of the area because of Siloam Mission. The area is thick with bums all day.

siloan is a public safty issue with people constantly jaywalking there and wondering into traffic it was a dumb location

ANYWAYS.................let's keep this thread on track, okay? :)