Turning the corner on Isabel Street

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This article was published 23/10/2017 (2942 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An area on the edge of downtown that hasn’t seen a major new development in years has suddenly become a mini beehive of activity.

Two new developments are underway just a few steps from the corner of Notre Dame Avenue and Isabel Street. One is the construction of a new 5,000-square-foot flagship store for one of the area’s oldest businesses — Independent Jewellers — which has had a presence on the corner since the early 1940s. The other is the refurbishment of a nearly 70-year-old brick building at 50 Isabel St., which is immediately north of the Independent Jewellers property.

Work on the new one-storey Independent Jewellers store is underway on the company-owned parking lot on the west side of its existing two-storey building.

The family-owned retailer hopes to move into the new building in late March or early April. Once it has, the current building, which was built in the late 1800s, will be demolished and a new parking lot will be constructed.

The Isabel Street building’s new owner, Wilderness Supply Co., is close to finishing a complete gutting and refurbishing of the interior of the 8,000-square-foot structure, as well as some exterior upgrades. The building will be the new home of its Winnipeg retail operations (it also has a store in Thunder Bay, Ont.), and replaces two smaller suburban stores it had at 623 Ferry Rd. and 42 Speers Rd.

Wilderness Supply owner Rick Shone said he can’t wait for the new store to open early next month.

“A lot of people think the area has a certain negative stigma to it. But I’ve been here since May (doing renovations) and I’ve had so many awesome conversations with people on the street,” Shone said. “The West End BIZ (Business Improvement Zone) has also been awesome. So there are just so many things that (make me) excited about starting a business in this neighbourhood.”

West End BIZ executive director Gloria Cardwell-Hoeppner is pleased to see Wilderness Supply breathing new life into an older, partially vacant building.

She’s thrilled that Independent Jewellers didn’t decide to relocate to another part of the city.

“This is the first new significant development on that corner in many, many years,” she said. “They (Independent Jewellers) could have gone anywhere, but they chose to stay here. And not only did they stay here, they’re building this beautiful new building instead of just renovating what they have.”

She said she hopes the two projects will help attract other new businesses to the area — she noted there is a vacant lot nearby on Notre Dame — and inspire other area businesses to make improvements.

“We’re hoping this will be seen by other businesses as an encouraging sign that people still believe in the area and that they see value in staying here and investing (in their property). And we have grants available to help them with that.”

She said the West End BIZ will also be getting into the act next spring and summer when it undertakes some streetscaping improvements along that section of Notre Dame, as well as on Balmoral Street immediately south of Notre Dame.

The streetscaping improvements will include trimming some of the overgrown trees near the corner of Notre Dame and Balmoral, and adding tree lights and some new street lights to brighten up the area. They may also include adding some sidewalk seating, public artwork and esthetic improvements to the street medians.

“The snow-clearing equipment creates a challenge because what you put on the sidewalks easily gets damaged,” she added. “We’re drafting the plans… and still brainstorming about what else we can add.”

Independent Jewellers also has a satellite store in the CF Polo Park shopping centre. Co-owner Jonathan Epp confirmed he and his brother, Jeremy, thought about relocating the flagship store to southwest Winnipeg’s booming Kenaston-McGillivray area.

“But being central is important and having (on-site) parking is certainly important, and we have all of that here,” he said. “And the fact is, our business has never been better. So why move when we can stay here and own the land and the building and not have to pay rent?”

Although the new store will be a little smaller than the existing one, it will have a bigger sales floor and a more efficient layout. That will allow for a more creative display of its high-end watches and jewelry.

Shone, who went to high school with Jeremy Epp, said it was Jeremy who suggested he buy the Isabel Street building, which Independent Jewellers had also owned at one time. Although he had been looking for something bigger, the price was right and the building had some features he really liked, including exposed interior brick walls, wood ceilings, and large wooden pillars and joists.

He said the building had been subdivided into a number of rooms. He gutted everything because he need a big, open space to display the company’s outdoor camping and paddle-sport products, which include canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, roof racks, snowshoes, tents, sleeping bags, and outdoor clothing and footwear.

Shone bought Wilderness Supply in 2008 from his wife’s parents, Frank and Jan Sjoberg. He later added a second Winnipeg store — the one on Speers Road — but now believes consolidating everything under one roof will make for a more efficient operation.

And he can do it without having to lay off any of the company’s 15 Winnipeg employees, he added.

He said Independent Jewellers’ decision to remain on the corner, and all of the new development taking place downtown, also influenced his choice to buy the Isabel Street property.

“With all of the things going on… there is a momentum right now (in the downtown). I think it’s just a really good time for us to be investing in this building.”

Know of any newsworthy or interesting trends or developments in the local office, retail, industrial or multi-family residential sectors? Let real estate reporter Murray McNeill know at the email address below, or at 204-697-7254.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca