D Spot Desserts Coming to Season at Tuxedo

One of the fastest growing Canadian franchises D Spot Desserts is coming to Seasons at Tuxedo. Founded in 2014, it will be Manitoba's first location and another example how the Seasons development is still finding unique offerings over Polo Park. It has been non-stop construction around the area.

As the name suggests, the specialty his desserts. Milkshakes galore, hot chocolate and every dessert in between. However, there are burgers, pizzas and poutines as well on the menu.

It is almost directly across from the Rec Room and the Hilton. And with hundreds of apartments, condos and assisted living homes in the area, D Spot Desserts is just a walk away. The Red River Co-Op Grocery anchors the far end of the parking lot. A Bank of Montreal is going up as well which will give residents even more reason to stay in the area to do their banking, insurance, their vet, their medical clinic and shopping.

For those critical of this development, it is useful to remember that this was the Tuxedo Yards, the rail and depot for containers and trucks. Once the yards reconciled to Symington, they could have remained industrial or sat fallow not earning taxes. This entire area was never going to be just a vast parking lot with IKEA in it. There are hundreds and hundreds of multi-unit houses going up and a bus loop is located in the area. This is what Polo Park wishes to become with the residential component located next to retail and restaurants.

It is for this reason that D Spot Desserts is likely to meet more success at Seasons than Polo Park to begin with. More and more people actually live steps away. As for IKEA, it attracts people from three provinces and they are looking for foods in the immediate area.

Expect to see a splash for D Spot when it officially opens.

 

Rec Room Seasons of Tuxedo Under Construction

The Rec Room restaurant and gaming center is under construction beside the Hyatt Hotel building site. It isn't where I first thought it would be. I had always presumed it to be on the north side of Sterling Lyon.

At the moment they are putting down pylons into the frozen ground for building foundation. Meanwhile the Hyatt Hotel has reached its final height and is beginning to fill in each floor.

Rec Room from Cineplex will re-write the rules on an entertainment site when it is complete and is likely to draw many young people to the area.

There are still some gaps to be filled on the south side of the Seasons of Tuxedo site but these latest developments should attract other tenants.

More of the Rec Room when it nears opening day in this year,

Home Outfitters/HBC Home to Close - Sak's Off 5th Might Close

HBC announced that Home Outfitters across Canada will close. At one time there used to be near 70 stores across Canada but that number has dropped to 37 and 700 employees. In Winnipeg in 2016, HBC converted three Home Outfitters to Hudson Bay Home and the concept was supposed to spread across Canada. Those locations were Kenaston, Regent and St. James.

It is interesting to note that the St. James location once housed Linens and Things which failed years ago taking Canada's 55 stores along with it. Sadly, it and the other two location HBC locations will be liquidated along with Home Outfitters.

Winnipeg's two major malls at Polo Park and St. Vital are still looking for the perfect fit for their former Sears stores. And more store space is being built even as companies like HBC and Sears close stores. Other retailers as well are closing across Canada including Winnipeg. More on that in another post.

It would be easy to blame Amazon as online retailing has indeed created problems. However, the simple fact is that too many stores can also hurt your business model. Companies like Disney, Lego and IKEA have fewer stores and offer experiences that stand out. They become destinations in and of themselves.

The more interesting announcement by HBC was not that Home Outfitters was closing but that they were closing 20 Sak's Off 5th stores in the U.S. and re-evaluating the whole company. HBC has so far affirmed confidence in Winnipeg's store at Outlet Collection of Winnipeg. It is unknown how profitable the store is in Seasons of Tuxedo.

The Seasons of Tuxedo is continuing to fill in with stores, entertainment and services. But it is also filling in with residents. Thousands of people now live on site. It will be interesting to see if this helps business in the area as they have a resident population within steps of the mall.

In 2019 though it would appear landlords are going to have to struggle to fill space. It could be we see some rent decreases and sub-dividing space to make it more palatable. We also might see some local concepts take off in this new landscape.

The End of the Cement Plant

July 2017

It has been a fixture on Kenaston for more than 50 years. The Inland Cement plant was constructed in 1963 and completed in 1965. In a few more weeks the large buildings responsible for build Portland cement  (a type of concrete) will be gone forever. City Mix continues to operate in adjacent buildings and cement is made in a building by a rail spur line by Inland Lehigh.

The location of the cement plant was no accident as nearby clay was quarried from what is now the Fort Whyte lakes. From 1913 to 1992 clay was dug up and holes left that were 60 feet deep. Things slows by late 1980s and by 1994 the Kenaston plant and cement/quarry site near present-day Forth Whyte shut down.

The quarry site is a distribution center now with several buildings and rail connections. The Kenaston plant has sat empty since 1994 although cement trucks continue to come to the next door Lehigh plant. Several Canadian and Hollywood production companies have filmed in the cavernous building over the years including last year. It lent itself to a horror or dystopian future milieu.

Until the 1980s Kenaston was a two lane road primarily built to go to the cement plant and rail yards. Linden Woods was not yet built and held the Van Wellingham dairy farm. Driving down Waverley, there was an unobstructed view all the way west to Kenaston, the cement plants and beyond.

The cement plant will soon be gone as will the Kapyong Barracks which are rapidly being torn down. Rumours about about what will go where the cement plant is. Easiest would more offices for the Terracon Business Park but there has also been talk of restaurants and a hotel to take advantage of proximity to IKEA.

Industrial buildings are never architectural gems, especially ones abandoned and spray painted. It does mark the end of an area for a building that represents what Kenaston used to be: an industrial service road. It has grown to much more and the plant's demolition was inevitable. Still, when you drive by, remember that the land used for cement was tomorrow's gift as Fort Whyte and for one of Winnipeg's biggest commercial roads.

The Return of the IKEA Sign

The old IKEA sign

The first IKEA sign made up of chicken wire and paper mache went up in 2012. It required a number of expensive cranes and multiple people to put up on its perch and there is stayed for not a very long time. Winnipeg winds proved to be too much for it and the I and the K tore and the whole sign on one side was damaged. At first they took down just a part of it. Then all whole thing came down.

And there it sat.

It sat for months and then more months and then more. Much of 2016 and a good portion of 2015. Hard to remember just how long now.

We were becoming known as the place where IKEA has a store and a empty signpost because Winnipeg eats signs for breakfast.

A number of weeks ago, special vehicles from Alberta arrived and with others already based here in the city, the lowered off a truck Winnipeg's new IKEA sign. As with all things from IKEA some assembly was required. Piece by piece the three side sign was assembled on the ground.

Unlike the old sign which was soft, the new sign was made of solid material. One suspects this must have been handcrafted by the elves at IKEA headquarters.

And so it began again. Multiple cranes assembled and lifted the beast of a sign into the air and then with much work fastened it up high. Happy pilots flying by waved as they saw their navigation took for finding the airport. No longer would they fly past and glide to Gimli.

Drivers at Kenaston smiled as the sign say high and reminded them that they needed a new IKEA kitchen or at the very least... Swedish meatballs.

All is right with the world and a sign made of sturdier stuff is secured high above.

Goodlife Fitness Coming to Grant Park Shopping Center

In 2015, Goodlife Fitness indicated an interest in all of the Targets that were closing in Canada. Some scoffed at this without realizing how many former Eaton's locations had been taken over by the national gym many years back. Still, at least in Manitoba, the pursuit of four fair sized locations seemed a longshot for a variety of reasons due to size or location.

Grant Park just north of future transit station. High traffic area coming soon

There has been no official announcement but it has been confirmed by sources in the real estate world that Goodlife is about to occupy one of the old Targets. That location is the Grant Parking Shopping Center.

At first it was thought that Canadian Tire would occupy the whole location. However, the renovations underway reveal that the retailer has taken 86,000 square feet of the old space. The part that is left is still a massive 34,000 square feet section immediately behind Pony Coral.

The map included shows how Canadian Tire will share the space with Goodlife. At 34,000 square feet, it will easily be the biggest location in the city surpassing Kenaston

Canadian Tire opens July 1st and Goodlife Fitness, if all the rumours are true, looks to be in the next several months.

The Canadian Brewhouse Now Open on Kenaston

There have been quite a few restaurants in the Linden Ridge Mall over the year. Wow Hospitality has tried everything from Italian to Mexican over many years but nothing has stuck. Meanwhile Asoyama across the lot from the location seems to have staying power.

Given the growing population of south Winnipeg and the huge boom around IKEA, it seems a natural that a number of restaurants would congregate in the area. The Pancake House has opened in recent months in the parking lot next to the Odeon VIP Theatre. A Montana's opened in the IKEA parking lot.

A number of Winnipeggers though have been asking: Do we get something new that hasn't been here before? The answer is yes.

The Canadian Brewhouse has opened in the old Los Chicos location this past month. The Alberta-based sports bar and restaurant has never had a location in Manitoba before. A combination of burgers, wraps and pizza seems to be the winning formula for this grill.

Despite the fact that no Canadian hockey team is in the play-offs, Canadians still seem to want to go to sports bars and the Canadian Brewhouse is filled with TVs covering the games.

Let's see if this is the restaurant to stick at that location in the Linden Ridge Mall.

Hilton Hotel Coming to Seasons of Tuxedo

Earlier this month Hilton Hotels put their plans before city council for a Hilton Hotel on the site of Seasons of Tuxedo adjacent to the Outlet Collection of Winnipeg mall presently under construction. The hotel will be visible alongside the Kenaston underpass and next to the Porsche and Audi dealerships also under construction.

This will be the only hotel south of the Assiniboine from Pembina Highway to the Perimeter. Quite simply for the business or leisure traveller, there has been nothing in southwest Winnipeg close to Kenaston's retail and business parks.

Hilton's plans are for a 6 storey, 127 room hotel occupying a 24,850 square footprint and total floor space of 86,565 square feet. The design appears to be Tyndal Stone, brick with a mix of colours. The best news for thirsty people in the area is that a beer vendor will also be built. The size will be 3,432 square feet.

This is not likely the last hotel we will see built near the IKEA. The area has been barren for the longest time confounding those people who would like to be near where they have business meetings or where they shop.

Andrenaline Unlimited Takes Over River City Sports Location

The retrenching of River City Sports to its original location and liquidation of stock from other stores is a reminder how fickle retail can be. The expansion to the IKEA site on Sterling Lyon last only 18 months.  The Seasons Of Tuxedo retail development slowed on the north side once the Cabela's was up. Last year the Seasons rental apartments as well as Montana's restaurant opened. However, the promise of a Lowe's never came and further expansion of other stores stalled.

River City Sports was a bit early into the development as not enough traffic was coming to the retail beside IKEA. Hard to know what the future is for a once dominant sports store but we can happily report a different sports store has taken up the challenge and opened just before Christmas in the old location.

The new store is another Winnipeg sporting good group with locations in Edmonton and Saskatoon as well as in St. Vital Mall under the FXR Riders. The specialty retailer sells snowmobile clothing and helmets as well as other items in what is described as power sport. The new location at Seasons of Tuxedo called Adrenaline Unlimited will feature FXR brand as well as KTM which is a supplier of for offroad bikes.

It seems likely that Adrenaline Unlimited has a specialty in sport that is not as easily duplicated by other big sports stores. In other words, it is likely to be a destination store in the way IKEA and Cabela's are in their fields.

The Outlets of Seasons continues construction across the street and new condos and apartments in the area ensure that there will be a larger population in the area to sustain additional businesses in proximity. The entire Sterling Lyon and Kenaston area is very close to the synergy that shopping districts like Polo Park and St. Vital have.

It is possible that Adrenaline Unlimited is just the right specialty retailer to make that location work.

List of Stores for Outlet Collection

Outlet Collection Winnipeg at Kenaston

List of possible stores.

Aldo Outlet
American Eagle Outfitters
Ardene Outlet
Aroma Espresso Bar
Banana Republic Factory Store
Bath & Body Works
BEBE OUTLET
Bench Factory Store
Big Smoke Burger
Boathouse Outlet
Body Shop Outlet, The
BOSS HUGO BOSS
Brooks Brothers Factory Store
Browns Outlet
Buffalo David Bitton
Calvin Klein Outlet
CARTER'S OSH KOSH BABIES AND KIDS
Cellicon
Chico’s Outlet
Children`s Place Outlet, The
Claire's Outlet
COACH
Cole Haan
Columbia Sportswear
CROC OUTLET
Danier Leather Outlet Store
DAVIDs TEA
DKNY
Dynamite
ECCO Shoe Factory Outlet
Eddie Bauer
Famous Footwear Outlet
Forever XXI
Fossil Outlet
Freshly Squeezed
Frosted Cupcake
Game On Sports
Gap Factory Store
Gateway Newstands
Geox Outlet
GNC
Guess? Outlet
Haggar Clothing Co.
Hot Topic
Imperial Meats
Izod
J. Crew Factory
Justice
Kate Spade Outlet
Kavar Boutique
LA VIE EN ROSE
Lacoste
Lindt Outlet
L'Occitane Outlet
McDonald's
MICHAEL HILL
Michael Kors Outlet
Mountain Warehouse
Naturalizer Outlet
Nine West Shoe Studio
Not Your Daughter's Jeans
NORTH FACE, THE
Old Navy
Oliv
Pandora Outlet
Pepper Palace
Polo Ralph Lauren- COMING SOON
PUMA
Quiksilver
Reebok Outlet
Rockport
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
RUD by Rudsak
Salomon/ Arc`teryx
Samsonite Outlet
Sbarro
Shades
Shoe Company, The
Shirt Store
Signature Perfumes
SKECHERS
Sockrates
Soft-Moc Shoe Rack
Starbucks
Subway
Sunglass Hut Outlet
SURPLUS Official Diesel Outlet
SZECHUAN EXPRESS
Thinkkitchen
TIM HORTONS
Tommy Hilfiger Outlet
Trade Secrets
Triumph Lingerie Outlet
UGG Outlet
Van Heusen Outlet
White House Black Market Outlet
Wine Country Vintners
WIRELESSWAVE
Ya Ya & Co.
Zales Outlet

Montana's Coming to Seasons of Tuxedo

Aside from the Seasons apartments which have gone up in the last several months, it is safe to say that the Seasons of Tuxedo site has slowed down in development. Assinibone Credit Union is running and a few service based businesses are putting down roots but Red River Sports folded and their space remain vacant.

The promise of a Lowe's Home Improvement and the plans they submitted to the city remain unfulfilled. Suffice to say that it appears a lot of business is taking a wait and see attitude as development as accelerated on Winnipeg's first factory outlet mall. Housing is going up all over Sterling Lyon Parkway. Without doubt the area will have a large resident population and soon.

In the mean time, after 9 PM, things get real quiet in the parking lots of IKEA and Cabela's. The restaurants of Fat Burger and Taco Del Mar do attract people later on but the lack of a casual dining restaurant is profound. This will be now remedied by the arrival of Montana's Restaurant.

The plans for the restaurant were provided to the city this week. The size of the place will be over 5000 square feet and include a patio. There will be substantial landscaping, sidewalks and bike access to the site.

So much has changed at the corner of Sterling Lyon and Kenaston and so much more is coming. It is hard to be believe that just three years ago, it was rail land and industrial and with no people living there.

Expect the one casual dining place will attract others. It will be interesting to see if we land restaurants not presently in the Winnipeg market.

Montana's above the Fat Burger location

Outlets of Seasons

Outlets of Seasons well under construction

Key to map above

The construction across from the Seasons of Tuxedo on the Outlets of Seasons site continues to go on at breakneck speed. So far most of the work is prepping the site for above ground construction but residential components are already three and four floors high and look to be done sometime in the next several months.

Some of the apartment work is adjacent to Outlets of Seasons but should ensure that the area has a population day and night. In and around Polo Park, it can be pretty empty once the stores close.

In the aftermath of so many retailers closing across Canada, it is important to know that many continue to open. Location, location, location is the old axiom in business retailing. As Target found out, the old Zellers locations were not great, their approach to the Canadian market even worse and despite much anticipation and good will, they failed and mightily.

The location at Kenaston and Sterling Lyon should offer a huge advantage to retailers and restaurants. However, it is not a panacea. Just ask River City Sports which is closed in Seasons of Tuxedo. Once IKEA and Cabela's went up, the retailing side stalled and the home improvement center site remains vacant as does the planned addition retailing beside the former River City Sports location.  I have no doubts those areas will fill up but sometimes there is a price that is paid for being the first to be on a site.

So what will be in the Outlets of Seasons site? Well, the developer is still keeping that under wraps but the site outline is revealing. It shows a hotel and two luxury car dealerships facing out to Kenaston. This would seem to be second hotel in the planning phase along Kenaston and the second and third car dealerships. Already down the street Mercedes is building their luxury car dealership to replace their Portage Avenue location.

Also of note are the dozen or so restaurants scattered about the Outlets of Seasons site. To be sure there are a few restaurants across the street at Seasons of Tuxedo but they are lite on sit down casual dining. In short, where are the Earl's, Moxies and Keg's? It is highly likely something new will locate in that area that the city has not seen before. Mayhaps it could be a Milestone's.

The centerpiece to the Outlets of Seasons site is an indoor factory outlet mall. To be sure this is more suitable for our climate. Size-wise, it looks as if 100 stores will be located inside. Outside there will be a mix of smaller and larger retailers. Four are listed as anchors.

In light of the many jobs lost as a result of Target's closing, we can hope that this new mall will add that many jobs and more. Development appears more balanced as it incorporates far more residential than we have seen in decades. It is has already eased a terribly low vacancy rate, created pet friendly rental units and ones where all five appliances and storage is included.

The city needs to continue to push for sidewalk and bike path connectivity to surrounding areas. One missing component could be a grocery store.

Stay tuned for further developments.

River City Sports Kenaston Closes

It seemed to be a can't lose location but River City Sports off Kenaston in Seasons of Tuxedo has been closed by the landlord. By some media accounts, they were not paying their rent and had been struggling for months.

The Kenaston location had been selected as the flagship location after the original Henderson Highway location was shut down.

River City Sports becomes the first retailer to fail at Seasons. Tucked in between IKEA and Cabela's, it seemed the location should have been perfect. This was not to be.

The additional retailers to be added in 2014 to the site definitely slowed and the focus turned to apartments of the south side of Sterling Lyon Parkway. The long awaited Lowe's is still not built. A continuation of planned retailing seems to have stalled.

So why the failure? In short, there has been a lot of retail built this past year. They 20 plus stores added to Polo Park and other stores built along Kenaston have spread out where new retailers are locating. River City Sports would never see others join it in the area and drive sales.

This could be a lesson for some retailers. The boom we have seen in retailers being added these last years could be mitigated by a saturation of the market and a slowing of the economy.

The focus of a lot of developers now is to ensure that housing goes up near their retail center and to this end, we see a lot of apartments and condos going up around Sterling Lyon.

The collapse of oil prices and the markets could signal a new recession. Is this one of the first signs for Winnipeg?

Seasons Apartments Tuxedo Coming Soon

Seasons Apartments near IKEA/Cabela's

It has kind of flown under the radar but is now taking shape on the IKEA and will open in spring of 2015. It is immediately beside Cabela's on a spot that that was designated for future development. Surprisingly, it has gotten built faster than the long awaited Lowe's Home Improvement that presented their plans for the area many, many months ago.

The spot beside Cabela's is Seasons Apartments

 More of the activity near IKEA has shifted across Sterling Lyon where the factory outlet mall is being laid even as we speak. Condos and apartments are also being prepared adjacent to the new shopping area.

What is interesting about Seasons is that it is a large 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartment rental complex that is pet friendly. Unlike many apartments, it also has in suite washer and dryers and dishwashers. Prices are not listed for the apartments yet but given the shortage of newer rental units, it could prove popular.

The big question is: Will people want to be in space of one of Winnipeg's newest and largest shopping districts?

If the increased building around Superstore on Bison Drive is an indication, the answer appears to be yes. It seems most developers have cottoned on to fact that if you want to fill your very large site, putting housing in might be the ticket.

There seems to be few larger developments now that don't have some sort of housing component.

I am still awaiting the day that Polo Park or St. Vital Centre announce they are building additional floors for housing.

The arrange of housing for Seasons appears to be three buildings laid out in a horseshoe. All look to be four floors with outdoor parking.

There is additional retail likely to be added to south of Sterling Lyon near IKEA but it will be interesting to see if so much housing will attract a grocer to supply all the residents.

Fossil Coming to Winnipeg

Fossil store is coming to Polo Park this year according to the company.

In all likelihood the store will be located in the newly renovated section where Zellers used to be.

This is part and parcel of a massive expansion of the clothing and accessories store in Canada.

There is rumour that the company will also build a factory outlet store across from the IKEA in the Collections mall in 2015.

Expect more big announcements from Polo Park in the coming weeks.

List of Stores Coming to Outlet Collection Winnipeg?

Here is a list of the possible factory outlet stores coming to the Outlet Collection across the street from IKEA.

Aldo Outlet
American Eagle Outfitters
Ardene Outlet
Aroma Espresso Bar
Banana Republic Factory Store
Bath & Body Works
BEBE OUTLET
Bench Factory Store
Big Smoke Burger
Boathouse Outlet
Body Shop Outlet, The
BOSS HUGO BOSS
Brooks Brothers Factory Store
Browns Outlet
Buffalo David Bitton
Calvin Klein Outlet
CARTER'S OSH KOSH BABIES AND KIDS
Cellicon
Chico’s Outlet
Children`s Place Outlet, The
Claire's Outlet
COACH
Cole Haan
Columbia Sportswear
CROC OUTLET
Danier Leather Outlet Store
DAVIDs TEA
DKNY
Dynamite
ECCO Shoe Factory Outlet
Eddie Bauer
Famous Footwear Outlet
Forever XXI
Fossil Outlet
Freshly Squeezed
Frosted Cupcake
Game On Sports
Gap Factory Store
Gateway Newstands
Geox Outlet
GNC
Guess? Outlet
Haggar Clothing Co.
Hot Topic
Imperial Meats
Izod
J. Crew Factory
Justice
Kate Spade Outlet
Kavar Boutique
LA VIE EN ROSE
Lacoste
Lindt Outlet
L'Occitane Outlet
McDonald's
MICHAEL HILL
Michael Kors Outlet
Mountain Warehouse
Naturalizer Outlet
Nine West Shoe Studio
Not Your Daughter's Jeans
NORTH FACE, THE
Old Navy
Oliv
Pandora Outlet
Pepper Palace
Polo Ralph Lauren- COMING SOON
PUMA
Quiksilver
Reebok Outlet
Rockport
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory
RUD by Rudsak
Salomon/ Arc`teryx
Samsonite Outlet
Sbarro
Shades
Shoe Company, The
Shirt Store
Signature Perfumes
SKECHERS
Sockrates
Soft-Moc Shoe Rack
Starbucks
Subway
Sunglass Hut Outlet
SURPLUS Official Diesel Outlet
SZECHUAN EXPRESS
Thinkkitchen
TIM HORTONS
Tommy Hilfiger Outlet
Trade Secrets
Triumph Lingerie Outlet
UGG Outlet
Van Heusen Outlet
White House Black Market Outlet
Wine Country Vintners
WIRELESSWAVE
Ya Ya & Co.
Zales Outlet

Factory Outlet Winnipeg - Outlets of Seasons

Outlets of Seasons

It looks like the development across the road from Seasons of Tuxedo will be known as Outlets of Seasons. Forster Projects and Harvard Developments look to open the first part of the new factory outlet mall in summer of 2015.

It is a race to see who gets their factory outlet mall up first. The factory outlets of Tanger indicated they were interested in building in Winnipeg in 2011 and are only now starting to build across Canada. They may be beaten the punch by Outlets of Seasons.

The area across from Seasons of Tuxedo is 117 acres and has been zoned for residential as well as commercial. The retail available for leasing is a shade over 850,000 square feet. Just over 330,000 square feet is set aside for factory outlet stores.

To put that into perspective, the 100 stores of the Albertville Premium factory Outlet mall in Minnesota occupy 400,000 square feet. Best guess is that Winnipeg could be hosting upwards of 80 factory outlet stores in the configured space.

Outlets of Seasons across from IKEA

A typical factory outlet mall might have Nike, J. Crew, Pottery Barn, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste and Kenneth Cole. Some of these stores already exist, some don't in the Winnipeg market.

Factory Outlet in Yellow

The building of this factory outlet does not preclude the building of another but it is the rare city that hosts more than one.

The idea of a hotel and a movie theatre on the site seems unlikely now but there are a few places it still might be possible north or south of the Sterling Lyon.

A few key open spaces available

Some retailers like Target have been stung by not being ready for the Canadian market and have lost a bucket full of cash. Still others have been quite successful and U.S. retailers still look at Canada as an uptapped market.

If Winnipeg can only have one factory outlet mall, you can better believe the race to get started is well under way. Expect a lot of work between now and 2015.

Autopac's Worst Intersections 2013/2014

Autopac has listed some of the worst intersections again. Don't think anyone is surprised when they see notorious ones around them.

I got honked at this week at one of them. The other driver making the right turn north onto Kenaston believed I cut him off. The truth is that he was turning into the wrong lane.

There are two turning lanes right on that particular intersection. However, there are three lanes heading north. The curb lane though is for turning into IKEA. The lane disappears shortly after the store.

Painted lines indicate that cars are to move to the through lanes. However, as always happens on Kenaston as it winds around at that intersection, lines disappear.

The driver behind me was having a hissy fit. He was obviously unfamiliar with the corner as all other cars were moving accordingly to the two far lanes.

I first detailed the problems with this turning system when it was built. It depends too heavily on lines on the road that disappear with even the lightest snow. The turning lane on north Kenaston is used as a speeding lane to dodge traffic at the lights and zip in front of everyone. In heavy traffic though, it results in a pile up because the lane simply disappears.

I have seen the IKEA traffic lights taken out a few times already.

It didn't have to be this way. The late councillor Bill Clement was told of the what the traffic problems would be and people asked about service roads around the mall. They were derisively dismissed as anti-development. And now we have two deadly corners that have had tens of millions spent on them, some after that fact of development, and we still people hurt and dying.

In former Bill Clement's ward: Moray and Portage, Kenaston and McGillivary and Kenaston and Sterling Lyon are responsible for maiming and killing Winnipeg citizens.

Blaming the drivers for this is too easy and too pat an answer. My almost collision occurred at a speed of under 15 kms. I defy drivers who have never used that road to be able to figure out their lanes for even ideal road conditions.

This is planning plain and simple. And it is happening all over the city.

Bill Clement's ward is now Paula Havixbeck's problem. At the very least she should be asking for better signage.

How many people have to die before someone acts?

Barley Brothers and Perkins in Old Kelsey's Locations

Barley Brother in Kelsey's Old Empress Location

Back in March of this year, two Kelsey's suddenly closed on Empress and Kenaston. Presumably they had the same franchise owner. The locations immediately went up for lease and it in the last month, new tenants have moved in.

The Kelsey's at Kenaston is now a Perkin's Restaurant. By Perkins standards, the location on Kenaston appears smaller than what we have seen in this city. However, aside from the morning coffee places like Tim Horton's or Ikea breakfast or McDonald's, the Kenaston area has been crying for a casual dining place that serves a variety of breakfasts. IHOP politely said they were not coming to Seasons of Tuxedo despite the plans strongly indicating that they were.

I have no idea why Kelsey's closed two locations. Suffice to say that the restaurant style was junior to Montana's and Milestones, their flashier and larger siblings. Other Kelsey's remain in the city so whatever happened was localized.

While Kenaston's old Kelsey's landed another restaurant franchise in Perkin's, the Empress location for Kelsey's saw a local outfit move in. A craft brew pub but the name of Barley Brother's has opened next to Montana's across from Polo Park.

By all accounts, they are landing some good publicity and hopefully their timing of open just before Christmas will endear them to a large audience.

One wonders how they might have done if the stadium or alas, the arena had remained in the area.

Still, Polo Park is a target rich environment for customers and where Kelsey's eventually fell out of favour, Barley Brothers might have a long and fulfilling run on Empress.

Seasons of Tuxedo - Kenaston Village

Assiniboine Credit Union Kenaston Village

Assiniboine Credit Union Scurfield Blvd

They were tiny and I at some point, it was expected that they would merge into a bigger location. I am referring to Assiniboine Credit Union.

It was only a few years ago that credit unions across the province started to consolidate. The banks had left them a lot of openings as they were closing branches all over. However, the credit unions needed additional strengths to capitalize and that is why merger mania took place.

Since that time, we have seen much large credit union locations merge. Now, Assiniboine has decided to take the plunge and close two of its smaller locations in south Winnipeg at Kenaston Village and in the Whyte Ridge Shopping Centre.

The location that Assinboine Credit Union wants to locate to is the Seasons of Tuxedo site. This had been reported on long ago but it is only now that we are hearing an announcement. Apparently, they were taking a wait and see approach first to see how fast the development would proceed and how successful. The new location will be 5,700 feet and once open, the other branches will close.

Seasons of Tuxedo presently is anchored by IKEA and Cabela's but Structube and River City Sports are amongst other stores are now open.

Fat Burger opens on August 8 and that will fill the last restaurant location in a building where Subway, Taco del Mar and Pita Pit.

A Shell gas station is well under construction beside the Mr. Lube at Seasons of Tuxedo. Piles are being driven in close to that site for another retail complex as almost all spots elsewhere are leased.

The site where the future Lowe's Home Improvement has not been touched. It is uncertain what the wait is about as plan approvals did go through the city.

As some businesses locate to Seasons of Tuxedo, other malls will have to figure out what to do with some of their new open space. Kenaston Village now has had the former Rogers sit empty for more than a year. They will soon loose Assiniboine Credit Union as well.

The absorption of the old Rogers and Blockbuster sites has been fairly good although some problem locations continue to plague real estate agents. Innovative thinking is probably required. For example, old movie theatres in Winnipeg were converted to retail and entertainment sites in Winnipeg. It is hard not to think that some solution is forthcoming with these expansive old video store. And if not, sub-dividing them seems to be in order.

Kenaston Village has to think about how they fit into the future.

The next wave of store announcements is coming soon. New restaurants as well

The big question for businesses is where to locate. There are now several viable options out there and for some, it is a wait and see attitude. We still don't know the impact of all the Targets just yet, especially the brand new ones. Will it affect traffic patterns dramatically? Polo Park could be even busier when the new Target is up at the stadium site.

In late summer, there may be a renewed surge of activity as businesses make the choice of where to invest.