Arby's to Return To Winnipeg

The last Arby's in Winnipeg was at Kildonan Place in 2020 and the pandemic killed it off. It has its share of fans in Winnipeg who missed their locations at Polo Park as well. Some people in Toronto have been very vocal about no Arby's. Still, Canada does have 56 of them in the country and by fall, there will be one more located along Sterling Lyon in the Outlet Collection Mall parking lot where Bank of Montreal and Red River Co-op Store are located.

Manitobans have been know to drive to Saskatoon for Arby's although one recently closed there. As mentioned here many times, a lot of restaurants have struggled through Covid and post Covid has been tough to establish finding customers where they live and work. 

The construction at Seasons of Tuxedo and around Seasons has never stopped in a decade but it is coming down to just a few places left to build. Krispy Kreame is almost complete and now Arby's is under construction. Neither should have difficulty in finding people. Many people actually live footsteps away. And the traffic along Kenaston and Sterling Lyon is strong.

It is odd what inspires confidence in a city, an economy, ourselves. Sometimes it is park, a team, a restaurant or a school. I do know what happens when you lose that team, that park or restaurant. Winnipeg has taken its knocks but it easy to forget that in 2019 things were going fairly well in the city and the province.

The final pieces of the Seasons construction are very close to completion. Arby's being ready in the fall will generate a lot of traffic which will be good for every other business and resident in the area. It will bring a lot of tax money in compared to the Tuxedo Yards rail container depot that once existed there. This is a thought when considering the social impact of what has happened at the East Yards (The Forks), the Tuxedo Yards (Seasons) and the Fort Rouge Yards (The Southwest Transit Corridor). One can imagine if the Weston Yards ever became available.

Arby's is welcome back. I suspect we will continue to see announcements of this kind over the next months. Inflation though has hit the building trades and it is a lot slower getting things built. However, we should see some more projects as demand warrants.

The Exodus from Winnipeg

Winnipeg experienced a net loss of 7.140 people July 1 of 2021 to July 1 of 2022. It is the worst drop in 20 years. Even before the pandemic in 2019, the number was 6,607. It only dropped in 2020 when people were not easily able to move because of Covid 19. Statistics Canada has reported in its latest data that Winnipeg has seen more people leave for other provinces for 20 years straight. While this could be blamed on the city of Winnipeg government, keep in mind that Brandon last year lost 981 people and Thompson 163.

The numbers have worsened in recent years but under NDP and PC governments provincially, it has been consistently bad. Were it not for immigration and birthrate, Manitoba would be in steady decline. There are no studies of why people leave. Anecdotally, the media will quote reasons from those who have left but there is no break down done from post-exit interviews that could assist in changes to government and businesses policies. Good data means better response to get people to move in or move out.

If crime data is all people see, it is not putting our best foot forward. We have our own Bureau of Statistics, we should be compiling data to act on. So much information is buried or requires freedom of information request and money to get a handle on. In many cases the government seems incurious after 20 years and collects no data. They don't want an answer. It is easier to blame past governments although the same results follow the new government.

It is not all bad news. Manitoba, and by extension Winnipeg, has attracted many immigrants through the innovative provincial nominee program. All political parties are agreed on it and it has kept the province from slipping into negative growth. The TV and film industry continues an upward cycle and requires more people each year and all months of the year. Manufacturing, agriculture, energy, financial services and insurance are diverse and strong sectors for the city. Post secondary education and government also contribute to the strength of Winnipeg.

So what are the cons that people outside of Manitoba have towards Winnipeg. In some case, we can't help those impressions and in other cases, we can.

Cons

- Extreme temperatures. Cold or hot, Winnipeg has them both.

- Mosquitoes. Some years terrible, other years tolerable.

- Crime. The numbers don't lie. It is too high.

-Poverty. Some of the poorest census districts are in Winnipeg nationally.

- Homelessness. The numbers are increasing and the housing strategy is too slow, too expensive and uncoordinated.

- Addictions. Winnipeg has a drug and alcohol problem. It is a health problem that can't afford to not have treatment available to those looking to receive it and know there are no spaces. And support has to be more consistent after.

- Downtown, Too spread out with safety issues for those who live and work in the area. 

- Public transportation. Safety issues in recent years and only one rapid corridor after decades of planning. Not nearly enough buses or security to make more people give up their cars.

- Not as senior friendly. While some seniors are able to go to warmer spots and return to Winnipeg. Some are making the choice to move to parts of Canada such as B.C. where they are able to be more independent and face less adversity being outdoors.

- Poor minimum wages, poor professional wages with respect to other jurisdictions in Canada.

- Crumbling infrastructure of roads, bridges, water and sewer makes it difficult to to service the community or expand capacity on existing infrastructure.

- City planning that fails to see sidewalks built of any kind on large lengths of streets like Kenaston or gaps like northside of Sterling Lyon Parkway among other places.

- Falling amounts of affordable apartments or any rentals of any kind. It makes it difficult for people who are students, newly arrived in Canada, those looking to downsize, upsize a bedroom for kids or simply don't want to live in a detached house.

Since Winnipeg grew by nearly 20,000 people, the have to advantages too.

Pros:

- Low unemployment. The city of Winnipeg continues to grow because there are jobs in the city. And those numbers have been steady.

- Steady economy. Other jurisdictions have highs and lows. Ask Alberta. While resources have driven growth, they have had painful times related to world market prices. Winnipeg have a very diversified economy. It has not had such roller coaster times.

- 24 hour airport. There are few in North America and the advantage for Winnipeg has been and will be worth billions. It has triggered the 20,000 acre Centreport which has over 1000 tenants and has air, road and rail connections. If Winnipeg cannot have a port on the ocean, it can have a port on land.

- Post Secondary Schools. They attract tens of thousands of students and the city has four universities, multiple colleges and several training schools. Foreign students numbers are rising all over Canada. Winnipeg needs to make room for the thousands of residential units needed. Many of these students will be in the city for years and in some cases make Winnipeg their home long term.

- More Affordable Housing. Home ownership is just a dream for some in the most active markets of Toronto and Vancouver. There are a number of options for housing with schools and recreation nearby that are attractive to those who might have worked for a number of years and have not been able to buy a home elsewhere.

- Diverse population. For immigration outside Canada, Winnipeg is attractive as there is usually a support system in place of people already calling the city home whether you are from Ukraine, Philippines, Syria of wherever. 

- Strong arts community. Winnipeg has a huge theatre, music, literature and arts community. One of the fastest growing areas is TV and film and with the addition of new soundstages and direct flights to LA. Some of the past productions that took a pass on Winnipeg will have it back at the top of their lists because of the advances in available flights, soundstages and crews. It is possible to work full-time in various aspects of production within Manitoba.

Winnipeg should not feel so bad. Other cities including Toronto and Vancouver have seen people leave. However, in the case on Ontario, Toronto loses to other urban areas of Ontario,

As long as Winnipeg remains attractive to immigration, growth will be in the thousands added every year. Some suitable economic growth areas have received government and business focus. The location for the city as an inland port is ideal over, say Edmonton and Calgary. Calgary is three hours from the border and the biggest cities in the U.S. are closer to Vancouver or Winnipeg. In short, cargo landing in Calgary or Edmonton, which is even farther away, will take some time to reach a U.S. destination.

Winnipeg, by contrast, is one hour from the border and is connected by three rail lines and a major highway that runs through several major cities all the way to the third largest city in the U.S.: Chicago. It is faster in some cases to land a cargo aircraft in Winnipeg overnight, unload it, put it on a truck and arrive faster in Chicago rather than landing in Chicago in the first place. Centreport could attract even greater cargo capacity and therefore employment.

The move to electric vehicles bodes well for Winnipeg since New Flyer and Motor Coach Industries are based in Winnipeg and are at the forefront of electric bus development and manufacturing. In keeping with the climate file, Manitoba has lithium mining for batteries taking place in Snow lake, Manitoba and the processing plant will be built at Centreport for 2025. Manitoba has nine of the critical metals needed for improving and changing technology for climate change. More than one processing plant might end up being built in the city.

One of the fastest ways to decrease transfers of people out of the province is to make sure more people find a reason to come to your province for education. In 2022, both University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba rated very high for student satisfaction in Canada. International students are increasing in numbers at both schools and will continue to if adequate housing, flexibility in work and supports encourage this pattern. For many years insufficient housing has plagued all our main universities.  Inter-provincial student migration increases are possible if something is being offered that is not available elsewhere. Winnipeg has a medical school, a dental school, law school and more. We graduate too few doctors and there needs to be a plan that makes it worthwhile for graduates to stay. Some of the doctors at the medical school are in the top per cent of research papers and cutting edge medical science.

Arts, as mentioned, is a huge booster of tourism and jobs. Folk Festival and Folklorama have in the past driven tourism into the province and contributed to employment of artists, hospitality companies and government revenues. TV and film continues to increase and is in a far more stable and predictable arc than in the 1980s and 1990s. Hollywood wants to save money but keep quality and that fits the bill in Winnipeg. And Canadian TV series are now being shot in the city regularly which is good all around. Thousands of people are employed in the arts and the more work they have, the less need there is to move to do work.

There is not much we can do about the weather but work, wages, advancement in career, training and education and picking our spots for growth will help. Energy from hydro is likely to become ever more important, especially with states like Minnesota making it law that they seek out cleaner energy. Conversion of transportation to electric and lithium processing will also contribute to growth. The deficit the city presently faces and the fact that a majority of it comes from snow removal is proof positive Winnipeg has a lot of roads that we maintain. It isn't wrong to think what ten years from now will look like. You can't park cars on the street and drive them without power supply. Assigned parking will be necessary and if a home has two, three or four cars, they will have to be cycled through charging. And if an apartment has dozens of cars parked on the street, they will have to seek out charging areas and wait. It is safe to assume a paradigm shift will happen. A future Winnipeg might include rental cars when you need them.

All in all changes are happening and an aging population will have to stay closer to home and populated areas as they require home care and beyond. The exodus out of cities like Winnipeg can't be sustained because no one will build a hospital or sufficient nursing homes in exurbia. Already people are making difficult choices when insurance is too high to go to Mesa, or living at the lake in Ontario means too far away from visits to the specialist...in the Thunder Bay.

One hopes the government acts rather than reacts. Short term thinking can hurt. There is some inkling things are headed to a turning point. Planning and stable financing to support that plan will mean vital cities like Winnipeg needs and wants. The future does not have to be grim.

Arby's Returning, St.Louis Bar and Grill New To Winnipeg

In 2020 the last of the Arby's closed in Winnipeg. It seems every few years some franchises not named McDonald's fade and in some cases die. Case in point is Swiss Chalet which has twice expanded here and twice died. Harvey's is another that has risen and fallen and now has only one location.

Having a good location for your franchise certainly helps and being located in the Seasons at Tuxedo mall will help. As mentioned in other posts, the mall along Sterling Lyon has not had a break in building in a decade. This new Arby's in the city should have a fighting chance between the mall and so many new residents onsite in the last three years.

Also in the same section of the Red River Co-Op Grocery part of the mall is a large Canadian restaurant chain called St. Louis Bar and Grill opening. It is their first location in Winnipeg and will be one of only a few locations they have in the west.

As per an earlier post D Spot Desserts in the same section along with a Dollarama. Curiously, there is a Dollarama across the street. Will that one stay open?

Above will be the Dollarama, D-Spot Desserts and St. Louis Bar and Grill. To the right will be the new Arby's.

The orange tarp is the new Bank of Montreal. 

There has been some musing about the Americanization of Winnipeg through Seasons but it should be pointed out just how much housing is a component from the very start. I can't think of too many malls on American that have around 3000 or more residents that can literally walk a few hundred feet to the mall. While malls can have suburban residential areas around them, to actually have multi-unit homes right inside the footprint is just not the American experience. 

And despite having favourite American stores, it also has banks, insurance, medical clinic, liquor stores, fitness spots, pharmacies, grocery, specialty local stores, local restaurants and the like. A bus loop runs right inside the area. This a different animal compared to past malls. 

For Arby's, the decision to locate here is how many people including tourists who will come. And to that end, it looks like the right place.

Krispy Kreme Coming to Winnipeg

In another coup for Seasons at Tuxedo, they have landed Manitoba's first Krispy Kreme. The donut shop has been in Canada since 2001 but didn't do well the first time around. They started a comeback in 2016 but so far only in Ontario and Quebec and one in B.C. with none in between. Winnipeggers used to go to Fargo to pick up but that one closed years ago. Winnipeg will have the only Krispy Kreme for a thousand kilometers in any direction along Sterling Lyon.

At present the building is not up but a few news ones are near completion. After 10 years of construction, Seasons and surrounding areas are almost complete in retail, residential and restaurant  building. And they will have now have a Krispy Kreme across from IKEA to enjoy.

Red River Co-Op Nears Completion at Seasons in Tuxedo

For the last ten years construction has continued unabated at Seasons of Tuxedo. IKEA opened up in 2012.

In 2017 Outlet Collection mall opened up. And ever since then it has been building every year. Ten years ago there was no housing here at all but now there are a few thousand units. In the background you can see a 55 Plus apartment under construction.

What has been missing to this point in a grocery and pharmacy. That all changes soon as Red River Co-Op Grocery nears completion.

This is a day before the Red River sign went up in between rains.

There are a number of grocery stores very close to homes and apartments but we have never seen a mall ensure housing was on the same property as we have seen with Seasons of Tuxedo. The Outlet Collection has housing directly across the street and the numbers of people living within walking distance of the doors increases every month.

In addition, hotels are right on the property such as Hyatt Place seen across from Red River Co-Op Grocery.

A great deal of work has been done to put trees and landscaping in, In the near ten years of work that has been done, you can really see the difference, Having just seen Unicity, the contrast is stark on what nearly no trees looks like.

The Rec Room is right across from the Red River Co-Op Grocery as well. Like a lot of places, it has been in near shut down since it opened. It almost needs a re-opening to capture those early days.

I will keep my eyes on the grocery as it gets ready for opening day. The surge if grocery stores being built, renovated and all the hiring has been a bright spot in the economy,

Hyatt House Seasons of Tuxedo Now Open

The second hotel to open on the Seasons of Tuxedo site after the Hilton Garden Inn opened in 2017 beside the Outlet Collection Mall. Hyatt House joins the the development on the south side of Sterling Lyon Parkway in front of Cabela's.

The hotel features a large number of apartment style rooms with kitchens attached. Ideal for hotel goers who are longer term stays. With an overall 135 rooms and $25 million in construction costs, it should make a fair splash in the southwest which has seen only two hotels built west of Pembina since the 1960s. 

This is Canada's first Hyatt House and the second hotel built in the city by the Kothari Group owned by Anupam Kothari who also owns the Hampton Inn in the Polo Park area. The hotel industry has been hit bad by the pandemic and hotel since their soft opening July 25 has been running at 25 per cent capacity when 70 per cent is considered profitable. Recovery is not expected for another year or until a vaccine is found. Nevertheless, Hyatt House is positioned strongly for long term.

Winnipeg's burgeoning movie industry seeks out extended stay hotels with kitchens and Hyatt House has 80 with full kitchens. The 24 hour bar and market should also be appreciated by those in entertainment who could be coming back after a night shoot in the wee hours.

Other amenities include a pool and a 900 square foot gym and a barbecue area outdoors for bookings. No hotel survives without meeting rooms and the hotel has 3000 square feet of those which should be useful for the many organizations out there who have had to search outside the area for meeting spaces.

Food should not be a problem either for a banquet or prepared in one of the kitchens in hotel rooms. Complimentary grocery shipping will be done or a guest will be able to shop at the Red River Co-Op going up across the street.

The decor in the lobby look good and bought in the province from Defehrs. Otto Cheng Architecture in Winnipeg did overall design.  What can't be designed is the amazing west view of the entryway to Fort Whyte Alive. Beautiful.

This won't be the last hotel built near Kenaston. Kapyong Barracks is coming soon but given the residential and commercial growth in Winnipeg's south end, hotel space in the area is a long time coming.

It is just around 7 years ago that the entire area was rail and industrial land with brush and new constructed Sterling Lyon Parkway. Prior, it was a two lane asphalt Wilkes and a few side streets of gravel. Quite the change and mostly likely a person visiting a decade after an absence would not recognize the place. At least now they have a hotel or two to stay at.

Red River Co-op Grocery to Open at Seasons of Tuxedo

Red River Co-Op Grocery announced that one of the last major retail spots in Seasons of Tuxedo has been claimed by them for their 9th food store in the province. Rumours had been swirling for some time that it had come down to two or three choices but Red River had been the most aggressive in pursuing south Winnipeg locations. The other south location being built is the St. Norbert food store which replaces the formerly flooded location in the neighbourhood.

Although it wasn't announced where the store would be located on the 100 acre mixed development that makes up Seasons of Tuxedo, there is really only one place it could go. It will be located in the 35,000 square feet space available in front of the 55 Plus The Link and the Brightwater Assisted Living Tuxedo location. Access will come along a number of Sterling Lyon Parkway turn-offs that also head into Outlet Collection and residential areas.

It is the growing residential make-up of along Kenaston and Sterling Lyon that will most welcome Red River Food Store. Competition among grocers is a good thing. And having one where residents can literally walk to is even better.

Across the road from the new grocer is a hotel, residential units and Cabela's. It is very likely that by 2021, there will be very little development left in all Seasons of Tuxedo as a flurry of restaurant, residential and shops will be opening. It is easy to see this is a bit of a race to get thing done before Kapyong Barracks demolition is complete and development plans are announced. Waiting two years could have seen Red River choose Kapyong instead.

Another useful thing about Red River Food Store being in the Seasons of Tuxedo location is a pharmacy. Given the proximity of so many residents, this might be their pharmacy if choice, especially for some many seniors.

Expect the doors to open on the grocery is summer of 2021.

Dynacare Super Location Full of Problems

Below is a list of Dynacare locations that have been recently closed. If you needed a variety of diagnostic medical tests, there is a good bet that one was close to you for walking, by bus, near your grocery or pharmacy in the western part of Winnipeg.

• Park Hill (3263 Portage Ave.)
• Westwood (3320 Portage Ave.)
• Old Tuxedo (262-2025 Corydon Ave.)
• Charleswood (3360 Roblin Blvd.)
• Tuxedo Medical (1425 Corydon Ave.)
• Stafford (100-305 Stafford St.)
• Pan Am (75 Poseidon Bay)
• Prairie Trail (100-1345 Taylor Ave.)
• Viva Care (1665 Kenaston Blvd.)
• Linden Ridge (123 Scurfield)   

However, Dynacare became this large and city-wide through a takeover of a competitor. It is now closing their multiple locations in favour of super locations.

Is this a good thing? According to the company it means that these new locations will be new, have better staffing, services and parking. What they won't be is close. If you are in St. James, there will nothing from the St. James Bridge till you get to Unicity. That will be home to a supercenter. Consider yourself lucky. At least this location will be on a bus route although it is a very long ride to get there and back if you are getting monthly blood tests.

The new 1-515 Sterling Lyon location in the Seasons of Tuxedo parking lot will not be easy at all for those who used to go Charleswood or Tuxedo locations. River Heights and Linden Woods also face much longer commutes. In fact all Southwest Winnipeg is in for a big surprise when going for bloodwork. If you don't drive, it is extremely tough.

While buses go to Seasons of Tuxedo, they do not drop off right where the clinic is. The stop is the other side of the mall. While the 10 clinic rooms are handicapped accessible, transportation to the clinic doors is not easy. That is a long walk to the front doors from the bus stop to the curb that greets you at the clinic doors. And if you were thinking of walking, there is no sidewalk on the north side of Sterling Lyon. None. It matters not about walkways in Seasons when there is no sidewalk down Kenaston or that part of Sterling Lyon. I would not ride a bike down Kenaston where cars race up the shoulder. And there is no sidewalk either side. None.

The only way to really get to this clinic is by car. And the clinic will be sharing a parking lot with the new Frankie's restaurant. No fault of Frankie's but you have to assume that could be a lot of cars in and out of the lot. F45 gym is also in there.

So...let's break it down. A new 10 room clinic in Seasons of Tuxedo. Service area is pretty much all southwest Winnipeg. Bus stop is across the other side of the mall. No sidewalks on north side of Sterling Lyon where the clinic is. No sidewalks either side of all south Kenaston. Bikes? How could you could attempt it let alone lock up nearby? A shared parking lot with other busy tenants. A curb to greet you as hobble or wheel yourself up there.

Have I got this right? There are 25 smaller facilities being closed but like banks that shut down in neighbourhoods, it is hard to see this as forcing people to use cars to go longer distances while still throwing other obstacles in the way to the service.

I don't even want to talk about you get in and out of there during Christmas. It's a dog's breakfast even early in the morning. And it will only get worse and more is built on the site.
One correction: There remains a Dynacrae opposite Grace Hospital at Booth, 

F45 Fitness Center Coming to Seasons of Tuxedo

As if the fitness expansion in Winnipeg has not exploded enough, it appears that another huge gym group is looking to expand to the city at Seasons of Tuxedo. F45 is presently being constructed behind Frankie's restaurant. The program at F45 is built upon intensity training within 45 minutes covering 36 programs. A comparable gym comparison might be Orange or 9Round for the fitness level.

This will be the second fitness center to locate on the site. The other would be the recently completed Wheelhouse which centers on spin cycle training. Both F45 and Wheelhouse specialize in next level fitness.

In the coming months there is likely to be a surge of announcements at Seasons of Tuxedo to lock down new tenants as all the major malls compete to fill new or vacated space. Retail is not always what is being looked at to fill the gap. Services such as gyms that had never been considered for malls are now going up all over as a way to drive traffic.

If a workout is not what you need, it also appears that Modern Man barbers will also be setting up shop beside the newly opened Liquor Mart.

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,

Seasons of Tuxedo Liquor Mart Opening Soon

Seasons of Tuxedo continues to fill in month after month. While the focus has been on the Outlet Collection of Winnipeg mall, the surrounding parking lot had construction fall/winter.

One of those businesses is a Liquor Mart going up right at the corner of Kenaston at Sterling Lyon. Work continues inside but expect signage up soon and an opening date probably before the snow melts.

The residential population has risen sharply in the last few years and more is being built now. This has required services be nearby and subsequently, medical offices, veterinarian offices and a specialty grocer have all hung up a shingle. The first beer vendour, The Tux, has opened in Winnipeg in decades and has begun to grow their customer base.

However, beer is not the only drink that some of the new residents want and despite another liquor store just down my McGillivary, Liquor Mart believes they have a customer base. They probably do and one that will get bigger and more units of housing goes up at Sterling Lyon and soon on Kapyong.

The way to reduce the cars on Kenaston is to ensure services where many people live. A Liquor Mart in site should go a long way to doing that. Now, when do we hear about the first cannabis store for Seasons of Tuxedo?

Wheelhouse Cycle Club Coming to Seasons of Tuxedo

Wheelhouse Cycle Club is scheduled to open this winter at Seasons of Tuxedo. The building is well under construction right now and signage should be soon. It joins the crowded gym market where Goodlife and Altea have already announced two very large clubs in the south Winnipeg area.

Across North America some specialization in fitness has seen yoga carve out a niche and so it goes with spin class cycling. Wheelhouse is a Saskatchewan company and Winnipeg is its third location.

The Outlet Collection mall is still very much a new mall and building around continues at a brisk pace including a large amount of multi-unit housing. In fact all along Sterling Lyon housing is being built. It will be interesting what the next census reports.

There is no doubt going to be a shake-up in the fitness industry soon. Much investment is taking place in clubs currently operating and many apartments are providing fitness equipment. It is possible demand will keep pace but it is just as likely a price war will emerge. It really depends on how many clubs are built. In fairness, we were undeserved for many years. Now, there are big choices out there to be made.

Expect an announcement for Wheelhouse opening soon.

New Kenaston Common Development

It is an awkward triangle property across from Costco in Kenaston Common that has sat fallow over all these years. No doubt it was too small for a big box store so it sat and sat some more. A proposal has now come forward for it and it looks like it will be a drive-thru, another restaurant and a few smaller retail locations.

There isn't anything breathtaking in the design as far as Kenaston Common goes. However, the mall does not have much in the way of drive-thrus within its design. Those seemed to reserved for the other side of the street. No indication of what restaurant will end up getting the drive-thru at this point not of the other restaurant featured in the design. It is possible that Tim Horton's might just simply grab it to deny a competitor.

With the completion of this one small parcel of land, Kenaston Common will be fully developed. And so it is almost everywhere along Kenaston nowadays. Land that has sat empty for better part of 15 to 20 years is being developed and leased. Meanwhile, the pace of development at Seasons of Tuxedo continues although it features an abundance of housing on site as well.

Although some continue to resist changes to Kenaston Route 90, it is unlikely that something will have to be done in terms on road and public transit. Kapyong Barracks, for example, probably can't add 10,000 units of housing without some sort of accommodation. At the moment though there is in no proposal for roads, no budget for it. And yet, we continue to see Kenaston grow in traffic.

The full development of Kenaston Common is an indication of strong demand in the area.

Rec Room Coming to Seasons of Tuxedo

Well, the official announcement has come from Cineplex's Rec Room which has actively seeking a location in Winnipeg for some time. For a while, it looked like they might moving into the Polo Park Target location across from the ScotiaBank Theatre site. However, the complication of the site design made it less than ideal. The other rumour was St. Vital Centre in perhaps the old Sears location but the site was too large and had further complication of two floors and questionable parking.

Ideally, the Rec Room wanted a building tailor made for them covering one floor at about 40,000 square feet. In a perfect world it would be very close to a Cineplex movie theatre. Since Polo Park and St. Vital Centre did not work out the next best choice was a mall and in Winnipeg the newest mall is still actively building. The VIP Odeon and ScotiaBank Theatre are somewhere in the middle along a straight like down Kenaston for those seeking pre and post movie entertainment.

There are a number spots listed on Seasons of Tuxedo's map. The one they seem to be referring to is immediately across from Outlet Collections Mall across Sterling Lyon. Work is to begin soon but the opening will wait to 2019 as million and millions goes into these gaming centers.

The Rec Room will feature restaurants, performance spaces, 110 amusement games, axe throwing, luxury bowling and virtual reality games. At present there are four locations of Rec Rooms across Canada with an expectation of maybe 12-15 nation-wide.

Winnipeg has had gaming centers before but nothing of this scale has ever been attempted. It remains to be seen whether the Rec Room will successful with young adults or not but the investment seems to suggest that Cineplex believes they have a winner.