Bay building redevelopment could get $3.4M boost from City of Winnipeg

CBC

2 days ago

The redevelopment of the former Hudson's Bay Company building in downtown Winnipeg could get a $3.4-million funding boost from the city.
A new report, to be considered by council's executive policy committee next week, calls for funding to make improvements above and below the sidewalks surrounding the building.
The Southern Chiefs Organization is in the middle of a $310-million redevelopment of old Hudson's Bay Company building.
It's turning the nearly century-old building into a mixed-use development called Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn.
The city has already contributed $20.3 million toward the project, including $9.7 million in tax-increment financing and a $10-million grant from the federal housing accelerator fund.
Now, city staff recommend giving another $3.4 million in the 2026 budget for streetscaping, including possibly closing a northbound lane of traffic along Memorial Boulevard.
Matt Dryburgh, senior manager of economic development and policy, wrote in the report the closure would allow for trees to be planted.
"However, further review of the road, land drainage and transit infrastructure considerations are needed to confirm feasibility," Dryburgh wrote.
The money would also pay for repairs to areaways — vacant basement spaces that extend out beneath sidewalks.
If approved, it would bring the city's total funding to $23.7 million. The funding needs approval from council.
The project was originally slated to cost $130 million in 2022, when the Hudson's Bay Company announced the transfer of the six-storey, 655,000-square-foot building at the corner of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard to the SCO, which represents 34 Anishinaabe and Dakota nations in southern Manitoba.