Winnipeg | Hudson’s Bay Building | Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn | U/C

[Kris22]

I don't think there's ever going to be demand for a movie theatre downtown again. Polo Park is so close. Not to mention movie theatres don't have windows so what exactly would be done with all the windows on those two floors? Block them off? Have a hallway going around the edge (ie waste of space?).

Affordable housing won't happen here considering the costs associated with renovating the building. Not to mention affordable housing and a soup kitchen really doesn't need to be in this location.

And why on earth would anyone want to cut the outside facade in half?

All that being said, I like the idea of small HBC museum and store that sells the Bay colour merchandise.

[cslusarc]

Given the current location of the escalators and elevators within the Bay Building, costs of relocating them, and for building security don't you think a single occupant for all 7 primary levels and the mezzanine would be required to minimize the amount of square footage lost to the building's common elements.

[BAKGUY]

Originally Posted by BAKGUY

No soup kitchen in there. And BIG UC is correct...behind, facing parkade towards ST Mary is the ugly side...Micro apartments for a portion is ok but not social housing in such a prominent space.
Soup kitchens. social housing can be on the outskirts of the City Centre. . It will cost plenty to renovate so there has to be some condos or higher end apartments on some levels wither they add floors or not. A multi purpose idea is best. Part hotel, residential, some commercial, mostly eateries, some gourmet take out, bakeries, ethnic foods?
Keep it busy with a variety rather than one large thing like office space.
Office space will not make this work.
A floor for movies, entertainment like Silver City is good, some draw.. probably best for second floor..

2 floors of Hotel (Boutique style) would be awesome.
A built in audience for souvenirs, cafes, food items etc..

[OTA in Winnipeg]

^They'll need to get that parkade back.

[GreyGarden]

Looks like we'll hear more on Friday:

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/lo...576419012.html

Update: Southern Chiefs Organization will transform Winnipeg's downtown Bay into multi-use building:

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/lo...576419122.html

[blueandgoldguy]

Just heard on the radio that Trudeau will be in town for a big announcement regarding the redevelopment of The Bay building. I think I heard Cloutier and Toth discuss mixed housing....

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by CoryB

I wonder if there might be a place for a national museum on Canada's indigenous peoples. Considering the history of Hudson's Bay there it would be a somewhat interesting reuse, Winnipeg has a high indigenous population, the current federal government leans towards giving indigenous peoples money for worth while projects, etc.

Having a museum would also not need some crazy redevelopment of the building like the commonly discussed donut model. It could also be a centre of excellence for the preservation of indigenous languages and basically build on the teaching/learning aspects.

Definitely way outside my wheelhouse on this one but it feels like there might be something to this idea if it had the right people behind it.

As I said way back in 2020 it is way outside what I know about but is an idea that makes sense. Perhaps now with some funding from the Catholic Church towards a museum to tell the truth of residential schools, display artifacts from the Vatican collection, and to repatriate the records the church has from their time operating the residential schools.

Will be interesting to see tomorrow's announcement.

[blueandgoldguy]

Bay is going to hand over the Bay building to the Southern Chiefs organization.

Besides housing maybe we see a museum and an Indigenous school.

[zalf]

A museum in the centre would certainly go a way toward solving the problem of the building's sheer size. It's a decidedly less window-demanding use than most.

[trueviking]

shit. It leaked. Some people are losers.

[trueviking]

i hope you delete that racist comment.

[thebasketballgeek]

Oh I can't wait to hear more details because it seems like a welcome addition to the area.

I hope they also consider providing student housing as well even if only for Indigenous students.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by trueviking

i hope you delete that racist comment.

Agreed. Sadly there will probably be a number of people echoing that sentiment.

On the plus side, this is not just good news for the Bay building, but it adds to some pretty impressive investment into Winnipeg from indigenous organizations. The Kapayong Barracks development, the Metis federation in the old Bank of Montreal building and now the southern chiefs investing in the old Bay building. IMO great for the city and the Indigenous communities, financially and socially. Terrific optics too.

[GreyGarden]

I agree, I think the symbolism of turning over a Bay building to indigenous leadership is really great. Something about it just feels so right.

Honestly, when Vike expresses excitment for a proposal, I'm typically pretty happy with it.

I'm excited for tomorrow. Weird that it got "leaked" - I wonder who and why they did it. At first I assumed it was probably just on Trudeau's schedule or something.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by pspeid

Agreed. Sadly there will probably be a number of people echoing that sentiment.

It’s not racist to hope for more than a government funded Main Street project in the most prominent historic building in the city. Was my comment overtly pessimistic? Yes. Racist? Absolutely not.

I’m looking forward to finding out more tomorrow.

[1ajs]

i dont want to see anymore racist comments just shut it if u got nothing nice to say


look forward to seeing the announcement specialy with the teasing that we have seen for a yr now......

[esquire]

Based on the information we have on hand, this project sounds absolutely demoralizing.

All attempts at private-sector market-driven redevelopments have failed, so here we are. An enormous heritage building will be given away and redone on the cheap to put up something that will do little or nothing for the downtown area beyond keeping the lights on in a prominent building.

I would love to see the total project budget... will it even result in more affordable housing units than several cheaper, smaller new builds around town? I have my doubts.

This announcement is a bitter pill to swallow and a harsh reality check for anyone who thought downtown Winnipeg was turning a corner and becoming a place that could draw people and investment.

[Boreal]

This all seems so very right and positive. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

I sincerely hope Winnipeg becomes the unrivalled beating heart of indigenous culture in Can/USA. Perhaps it is already, but I mean in a profoundly noticeable way that celebrates, embraces and indulges in indigenous culture. This is a giant, YES PLEASE from me.

[esquire]

The funny thing about all this is that everyone involved in this project will be patting themselves on the back for building positive Indigenous relationships when in reality this is yet another case of a discarded building being repurposed as a second rate facility for Indigenous people to use.

Passenger railways fell out of use and Canadian Pacific had no use for its old station... hand it over to Indigenous groups, let them deal with it.

Winnipeg's role as a financial centre has disappeared, Bank of Montreal has no use for a stately old banking hall at Portage and Main. Turn it over to MMF.

Hudson's Bay no longer needs a big downtown retail emporium. Hand it over to Southern Chiefs, and then pat yourself on the back for promoting reconciliation.

I'd be more convinced about all these amends supposedly being made if it wasn't just old, unwanted buildings being turned over to Indigenous groups. It's the real estate equivalent of some piece of junky furniture being placed on the curb, hoping someone will pick it up so it won't be your problem anymore.

It is truly depressing. It feels like Winnipeg is being put in its place and humbled by this announcement. We are the red headed step child among Canadian cities.

[blueandgoldguy]

It will depend on the budget. Reading that free press article, it states $10 million will be given allocated by the province. That is....not much. What will the feds and city give?

I was initially hoping for total investment of $150-$200 million between the various levels of government and the southern regional chiefs. Would that be enough to significantly spruce up the building both inside and outside?

I'm also hoping the housing is one component of this announcement tomorrow. Hopefully there is at least one, if not all, of the following:

-university/school
-restaurant(s)
-museum
-conference spaces/workshops