Bisons of Roblin Boulevard

We've always been pretty good at public art even the abstract and popular kind. In 2005, the Bears of Broadway art installation took place and 62 polar bear statues were put up. Many of those statues exist today in various parts of the city as beloved pieces. 

In 2025, a new popular art installation is taking place and 26 painted bisons have taken residence on Roblin Boulevard. 

The bisons are painted as a fundraising for kids called Bisons on the Boulevard in support of Toba Centre for Children and Youth, an organization is support of kids and family recovering from abuse.

The bisons are painted on both sides so it is worthwhile to observe if you are on foot. From the road, they are a stunning addition from the park entrance, past the zoo. Statues are on both sides of the road.

Signs at the base and posted beside the bisons give the name of the work and the arts as well as the sponsor.

Winnipeggers love art and the bisons are already a beloved part of a visit to the park and the zoo. 

The artists really used a lot of colour in their work.

For those walking know that the ground could be sloped or close to the curb.

The ground could also be wet.

In other words, there is no sidewalk where many of the bison are on the north side.

I had to watch for traffic as many drivers were distracted and I was pretty much on the curb.

Off in the distance the start of the bisons at Assiniboine Park gates.

It is possible to see all 26 bison up close but it may be a longer walk for some kids. And as mentioned is not exactly set up for strollers.

Assiniboine Park has a fair amount of art in it which is good. The Leo Mol sculpture garden is amazing. From time to time there can be controversy. Case in point is Queen Victoria being toppled and decapitated. There may have been a case to remove it but it is never good to vandalize art.

I'm unsure how long the bisons will be out. There are still a few polar bears around from 2005.

I only got to so many bisons this time. I will take pics of more next time.

I expect people will have a few visits for these bisons and I will take more pictures as there are so many to see.

New Charleswood Sign

It went up just before Christmas 2024 but the final plantings in front were done in last month or so. This is the fourth version of the sign and the third to keep the Suburb Beautiful slogan. 

Charleswood has been experiencing some building south near Ridgewood and some more density along some of its major roads. However, the suburb continues to be one of ditches and roads resembling a small town that what might be seen in some other areas of the city.
 

WSO to Move into Restored Pantages Playhouse Theatre

For most of my life, it was called the Playhouse Theatre but it was one of the early Pantages theatres built in 1913/1914 as part of a vaudeville circuit. It is now a national heritage site and aside from addition built in 1992, it looks pretty much the same as it is did when it went up. Over the last few years, it has not been on anyone's radar. It appeared to be part of a non-profit and private company's attempt to redevelop the corner for arts use but also for housing. Then nothing. Until now.

The Performing Arts Consortium (PAC) and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) have engaged designers and have come up with a $60 million dollar plan to upgrade the building. They have raised $15 million of that money and expect the three levels of government to contribute as well as private donors. The theatres has not seen any activity since 2018. Once $30 million has been raised, a capital campaign will begin and a construction timetable will be announced.

The city has administered Pantages since the 1940s. The WSO has been a managing tenant for a few years before the present closure. Many arts and music groups have made use of the facility through its history. It has had some legendary performers from vaudeville to rock. But it has also host high school musicals over the years.

Pantages would give the WSO a primary home when not performing at the Centennial Concert Hall. With a 1100 seats, it is an ideal size for some of the type of works the symphony would like to do. For full concerts, the 2300 concert hall remains the best venue. However, there is an objective to attract more commercial shows and musicals there as well. Presently, the WSO, Manitoba Opera and Royal Winnipeg Ballet share the hall there and will continue to do so. But a smaller hall might be appropriate for many groups to use more frequently. 

The Manitoba Museum and the Concert Hall have all been going through multimillion renovations. This is not surprising since most of the buildings are near 60 or 70 years of age. Thankfully, the commitment to the arts has been strong throughout our history from subscribers, patrons and government. 

The various arts groups in the area around Pantages make it a very busy area when they are all have events going on. The theatre will be one of three venues from Winnipeg's early day that have had a re-birth. The Burton Cummings and the Metropolitan have all come back from previous incarnations and have owners that care about their wellbeing and keeping them as venues for the arts.

While people in Manitoba have always supported the arts, having endowments is still fairly new. The Winnipeg Symphony has a $11 million endowment. The Manitoba Opera has a $10 million endowment. The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has a $17 million endowment. Contrast that with the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis with a $65 million endowment and the Minnesota Orchestra has $186 million. Minnesota Opera has $23 million.

Granted Minnesota has more population than Canada and few government supports but no endowments means it is harder for arts groups to achieve what they want in a short time. The WSO has admitted that even if work starts soon, it will be about 2029 before they can move in. Till then they will have to do all performances in the concert hall as well as rent office space and do rehearsals there.

There will be changes to the inside of Pantages to give it a deeper stage with improvements throughout to audio, video systems and general acoustics. The last big changes took place 30 years ago so the next changes should take the venue 30 to 40 years into the future. However, once complete the work should held the WSO earn extra income that they could never earn in the concert hall such as the lounge.

There are other spaces nearby that could see development of the next several years. Despite the setback of homelessness and crime, there continues to be building of housing and a return of some businesses. A critical mass has brought additional security as has been reported this week. The truth is that people need to see security or they simply won't come to the area or any area. The fear that you are heading to or leaving from a performance and running into a violent altercation is all too real.

The Winnipeg Jets have been downtown many years and tens of thousands of people heading to games creates a certain safety in numbers. If an incident does happen, it is very likely there are dozens of people dialing 911. There is also the presence of police and security everywhere. Generally the presence of many people at The Forks prevents episodes of crime happening. However, a recent random attack at The Forks reminds people that even with a large security presence, things can happen and a suspect can get away. In this case though, not before a high definition picture was taken of the suspect.

Pantages will be a real step to continued success for the Winnipeg Symphony. There are very few Pantages theatres across North America left. Los Angeles and Toronto have theirs but most of the 75 theatres have fallen to the wrecking balls. The East Exchange for many years was a mix of culture, warehouse, offices and in recent decades housing. It is these type of investments that will keep the area vital. Let's hope the project can begin soon. The most disappointing thing is when projects take longer than a decade to get underway.

A New Arena for Winnipeg Planned Soon?

The present Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg is not very old. However, it was originally built for an AHL hockey team and not a NHL one. It is the smallest arena in the NHL and even at that, in recent years it has not always sold out. The Winnipeg Jets are trying to increase the corporate seats which has not been a priority when there were so many individuals in the past buying tickets. At just over 15,000 seats, Winnipeg's arena is smallest in the NHL. Most arenas are around 17,000 to 20,000 across North America.

The AHL Moose and the Winnipeg Sea Bears basketball team also share the facility which makes for a pretty full selection of teams calling the arena home. On top of that are concerts and entertainment events. The True North organization has also been building out with real estate. Since 2004, ownership has built out north, west and south of the arena. Across the street, they partnered with others to build restaurants, offices, hotel and parking lots.

The Burton Cummings Theatre is now part of the True North organization. In part, this is to have entry level entertainment in a venue more well suited for some groups and individuals. This builds relationships and street life in the entertainment district. Street parties are held regularly in proximity to the Burton Cummings. This is important as the creation of an entertainment district cannot revolve around one sport and building. This is why True North also does concert/event work as promoter. Not all of it is at the Canada Life Center. In the past, True North has done Cirque du Soleil shows under the big tent on Kenaston. This year they are doing a two day music event at the Princess Auto Stadium. 

The Canada Life Centre has room for more concert/show events on its schedule but clearly there are limits based either on small or larger sizes and whether it can be fit in between the three sports teams that call the arena home. There are also other sports leagues that would like to come to Winnipeg but find there is no facility to host them. In particular, professional women's hockey and basketball. Therein lies the conundrum. It is the downtown arena or nothing. Even a WHL team could not survive in Winnipeg without a facility larger than the Sanford Fleming Arena at the University of Manitoba. 

It is clear Winnipeg needs another arena. But what size? Some say it should be smaller as in the 7,000 seat range. Is that thinking too small? I don't know too many people who thought the Sea Bears would regularly pack in 15,000 people for basketball games. Imagine building a 7,000 seat arena and finding professional women's hockey selling it out and then some. Could they have used a 15,000 seat arena instead?

A scanning of NHL arenas will show Winnipeg's facility is not the oldest. It is nearer to the newer ones as it closes on 25 years having being built in 2004. Many present facilities in the league are from the late 1990s. The average lifespan of an arena is considered to be 25 to 25 years. This would apply to Winnipeg's present facility. 

The next question is the location of a new arena. Some people would love to see it down by the University of Manitoba so that it could benefit Bisons sports programming. There is a good case for that. And there is likely space for it although anyone who knows how much of a crowd Blue Bombers games have and the traffic involved is probably hesitant. The 41 games that say Jets or Moose play and 4the 0,000 university population from fall to spring are considerable numbers in one place. It can be managed but it is worth considering.

The Chipman and Thomson family have put in considerable investments downtown and continue to do so. Their concern just doesn't extend to the bottom line but to the welfare of those living and working downtown. This has been aptly demonstrated in the donations and leadership of the pair over many years. To that end, I'd expect the location on a new arena would be downtown.

There isn't an obvious spot for the new arena to be located. There are quite a lot of surface lots where the beginnings of arena could be. However, it might be like how the Canada Life Center came to be and that was from the demolition of existing buildings such as Eaton's and part of Cityplace.

A big question is on whether the Canada Life Center will be expanded to 17,000+ seats or remain the size it is and another arena built of 17,000 seats. My opinion is the Jets would move to a bigger location as there are changes to what corporations want in terms of season tickets than just box seats. Many businesses are looking for meeting spaces as well attached to entertainment so some new arena designs are reflecting this. Many new arenas are also doing more to become concert friendly and that comes from initial design.

In the picture above, Hamilton's Copp Coliseum is being designed to fulfill a concert mandate in the greater Toronto area. While a single use facility might work in that part of Ontario, in Winnipeg the need is for multi-purpose facilities. There really just isn't a venue of size indoors after the Canada Life Center. An attempt to get a 6000 to 7000 facility for the Winnipeg Ice failed. One of the reasons the Chipmans might go for a new arena is to forestall a competitor such as the University of Manitoba building one.

Another important reason the True North will push for a new arena is that they have an agreement with the province to not fund any new covered facility in Winnipeg for the length of time of the mortgage, This blocked the Bombers from having a covered stadium. When the agreement expires, there is nothing preventing Bombers from going forward with a covered stadium and also getting an agreement preventing anyone from new facilities built with 25 to 30 year terms. This is definitely something the Chipman's won't want.

I don't expect anything in the next two years as True North finishes the work on new asset Portage Place as well as see Sutton Place Hotel built but expect something soon enough. The end of prohibition on government facilities and the desire for more professional teams will drive the timetable.

Second New Costco Coming Off North Main

The Costco at Kenaston seen in the above picture never has this empty a parking lot. This was taken during the Covid period. Built in 1992 and expanded, it was the biggest of box stores to go up in the area and attracted Walmart in 2000 and many other stores over the years. Costco parent company Kirkland said during an event honouring their CEO in Winnipeg that the city was on track to get a fourth Costco soon. Well, the last five years have been difficult ones with the pandemic, supply chain issues and now tariffs but the Winnipeg region has seen announcements for a fourth Costco and now a fifth Costco as well.

Two new Costcos in the 160,000+ square feet size in the west and north of the city are gamechangers. In truth, the city will have little say about the one on North Main as that is a block or so into the West St. Paul Municipality. Approvals are likely to speed through there. It is possible the province might have something to say about urban sprawl or traffic along Main. Meadowland and Main could become exceptionally busy.

I don't think there is anyone in Winnipeg who will deny that the three Costcos in Winnipeg now are packed to the rafters. Kenaston's store can be a nightmare at any time in the next and on any day.  Getting to the store along Kenaston is just as bad and those coming into the city or across the city to get to any Costco must dread it. 

It is without a doubt that people in the west and north parts of the city will make the new Costcos their chosen location. To be sure, it will relieve some of the strain on the other locations. However, the business is growing even now so people should not expect wide aisles with no one around to be annoyed as you stroll slowly with your cart sideways.

As for the smallest Costco, it will be closed a few months to become a Costco Business Center. It is very likely we will see a publicity push to explain what that is. For all intents, it will be a bulk supplier of goods and more suitable for a restaurant than say a family kitchen, better for an office manager than printer cartridges for the family office and so on.

In essence though, by the end of 2026, Winnipeg will have four Costcos and one Costco Business Center. They will cover all four quadrants of the city and the more central Polo Park area. The new locations will transform the north and the west retailing when they go up. That is to say that retailers who sell gas, do car repairs or sell services will have to better match prices. No more premium on gas sold on west Portage or north Main. Competitive prices on tire sales, tune-ups and the like. 

Grocery stores in the area will have to keep watch on prices at Costco. And restaurants will want to locate near Costcos. This is true for retailers as well. I can't imagine a liquor or cannabis store will want to be too far away. Just think what Costco did for the Kenaston area. In short, could Costco on west Portage result in Moxie's, Earls or Joeys opening nearby? Expect there to be a rush.

Hundreds of jobs will be created in construction and hundreds more employed at the stores. All in all this is a very good news story for Winnipeg as well as West St. Paul. This will hopefully add more competition to the grocery, gas and merchandise market in the city. The Unicity location should be up by October 2025 and the other location is expected in 2026.

Birchwood Inn Returns - Converting from Holiday Inn Airport West

In the 1970s construction in west Winnipeg was booming. While St. James had commercial activities all way from Polo Park to Headingley, it was often confined to Portage Avenue. Throughout the 1960s, some neighbourhoods closer to the river were developed but was possible to drive out west and literally see the bald prairie in many places even in the 1970s. The Charleswood Bridge would not be built until 1995.

For more than 30 years, the former Birchwood Inn has been the Holiday Inn Airport West. Prior to Birchwood when it was first built in 1976 and was called the Wandlyn Inn.  It only stayed that with name till 1977. The hotel had been built atop Birchwood Bowl and the bowling alley was part of the hotel for decades. The Birchwood name was hard to lose.

The Ladco Company built the hotel along with several of the apartment blocks along Portage in the 1970s, They still own the hotel today. At fourteen floors with three floors of balconies facing west, the hotel was a landmark. As the avenue curved, it was in a very prominent spot to be seen travelling west or east.

 When the Charleswood Bridge was built, it became even more important on both sides of the river for banquets, relatives and out of town guests. Just prior to the pandemic, the hotels had conducted $11 million in renovations. In 2025, they expect $4 to $5 million more in upgrades. 

One of the things that will have to replaced is signage. The Holiday Inn signage is done. The affiliation has changed to Best Western but part of the group that allows local hotel owners some individuality. With long term employees who have been working for decades, the hotel certainly feels like it. At the moment a temporary a temporary sign with Birchwood Inn over the doors.

A hotel the size of the Birchwood has about 130 employees. The amount of banquets and meetings hosted in the hotels has become part of the fabric of St. James/Charleswood. Hockey banquets, political debates, weddings have all been part of the 9000 square feet of activities in the hotel. 

The next few years will see major residential building along Portage Avenue. The reason is that many retail businesses are going online and the density along a major street like Portage. There will be still be places that can't do online such as medical, dental, fitness, restaurants and convenience and grocery stores. However, retail stores are being squeezed out at everything turn so the gaps will be filled by residential units. And if there is one thing that west Winnipeg really needs is hotels. Motels just don't have the capacity for meetings that hotels do. The fact that the Birchwood is investing millions to be around the next decades is a good thing.