Old stadium to become Target
U.S. retailing giant anchor of 26-acre site
By: Bartley Kiv
he City of Winnipeg is expected today to unveil Target as the anchor tenant for the redevelopment of Canad Inns Stadium.
At a news conference scheduled at the stadium this morning, officials will announce the sale of the stadium site to Cadillac Fairview and Shindico.
Sources say Target will anchor the development and other retail and residential components will be part of the plan for the 26-acre site at Polo Park.
In 2011, the city invited developers to come forward with proposals to convert the Polo Park site into a mixed-use development, ideally with both residential and commercial components.
Talks were underway with at least one developer earlier this year, the city confirmed, while refusing to disclose how many responses it had received to the expression-of-interest document.
Members of council have been invited to a news conference today to hear which proposal the city has selected, Mayor Sam Katz confirmed.
The mayor did not identify the proponent, the nature of the development or the sale price for the land, whose market value has been estimated at anywhere from $25 million to $35 million.
"Thank you for asking, but you'll hear who it is there," Katz said following Wednesday's city council meeting.
Target is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart.
The Winnipeg Football Club's lease allows the Canadian Football League club to remain in Canad Inns Stadium as long as it needs a place to play. Investors Group Field, the club's $190-million new home at the University of Manitoba, is not expected to be ready until the 2013 football season, officials with the team finally confirmed earlier this month after months of speculation.
In March, city officials expressed concerns to the Winnipeg Football Club's board of directors the delay in completing the new building could jeopardize a deal to sell the Canad Inns Stadium site. As well, the delay in redeveloping the Polo Park site affects the funding of the new stadium.
Right now, the Winnipeg Football Club does not pay property taxes on the Canad Inns Stadium site. The deal to build the new stadium calls for $75 million worth of property taxes to flow from whatever replaces the old barn to help repay a provincial loan that covers the $190-million construction job.
Katz has said repeatedly the new development would ideally include a residential component, although the height of any new Polo Park condominium or apartment complex would be restricted due to flight paths approaching Richardson International Airport.
Any new commercial development, however, is expected to face competition from the Seasons of Tuxedo, the retail development planned for Kenaston Boulevard, where furniture store Ikea will serve as an anchor tenant.
The plan will come before council's property committee but will not proceed to council as a whole for a vote. Council declared the land surplus in December 2010 when it approved the deal to build the new stadium.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/old-stadium-to-become-target-160648035.html
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