Latest in recent string of suspected arsons downtown guts part of Exchange Event Centre

Concerns are being raised about businesses being targeted in the Exchange District after a concert venue was fire-bombed early Friday morning.

The fire, which gutted a portion of the Exchange Event Centre, is being investigated as an arson, police say.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson Const. Pat Saydak confirmed the fire — the latest in a recent string of downtown blazes — is being probed by the major crimes unit.

Fire crews were called to 291 Bannatyne Ave. just after 5 a.m., and arrived to find heavy smoke coming out of the building, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

Firefighters declared the blaze under control about an hour later. No injuries were reported, the release said.

Exchange Event Centre assistant general manager Tyler Rogers said management got a call at about 5 a.m. indicating the alarm system had been set off. General manager Junel Trinidad arrived to see firefighters dousing the fire at the building’s Princess Street entrance.

“We just were told (by police) that there’s a witness and that (someone) smashed the window and then threw something inside, and then it went up in flames,” Rogers said.

The club’s “side room” where artists perform smaller concerts, was gutted. By 11 a.m. crews were boarding up the windows with white plywood and the sidewalk was blocked off with yellow police tape.

Pedestrians passing by the charred building Friday morning stopped to take photos of the scorched interior. Melted TV screens and sound equipment could be seen through the building’s blown-out windows at 111 Princess St.

The fire is the latest in a string of suspicious fires to hit commercial buildings in the city. Last week a fire tore through Johnny G’s at 177 McDermot Ave., and is now being investigated as arson, police said Monday.

Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar at 456 Main St. was also set ablaze in July, though owner Nikola Maharajh said it appeared to be a random act.

An email sent from Exchange District BIZ board chair Mary Agnes Welch to fellow board members Friday morning, obtained by the Free Press, asked businesses to pass along any information they might have on the fires.

“The very initial thinking is that these are perhaps more targeted fires as opposed to random or started by someone from the encampment or in crisis,” the email read. “It still doesn’t instil any sense of safety in the neighbourhood or confidence among our members, though.”

Rogers doesn’t believe the fire at his business is connected to the others.

“There’s nothing in my heart that tells me that this is a retaliatory thing at all… nobody’s trying to strong-arm us or anything like that,” he said.

Several Winnipeg restaurants have been hit by arson this year, including Thida’s Thai Restaurant and Mae Sunee Thai Cuisine, which police believe were targeted attacks.

Saydak declined to provide further details on the incidents, citing ongoing investigations.

Several businesses in the Exchange declined to speak to the Free Press publicly, but some say privately they aren’t worried about their businesses being next.

BIZ executive director David Pensato said while there are plenty of rumours circulating about the circumstances of the fire, it’s up to investigators to determine the cause.

“I think everybody is really kind of shocked and a little bit confused,” he said. “There’s a lot of a sense of urgency in terms of wanting the police and fire investigators to get to the bottom of it, so that we do know what’s going on.”

Pensato wouldn’t speculate on anyone involved or why the specific businesses would be targeted.

Area councillor Vivian Santos spoke with one business in the area, which asked that safety in the Exchange remains top of mind for officials.

Santos (Point Douglas) said despite development plans recently announced in the neighbourhood, the fires are giving the area a bad reputation.

“It kind of puts a bit of a setback and a detriment and a public perception of safety in the Exchange,” Santos said. “We really just need to focus on having more people living in the downtown.”

A revitalization of the Alexander Docks in the East Exchange, along with several residential developments on the west side of the area are in the works, including one planned atop the Exchange Event Centre.

In June, city council’s property and development committee voted to uphold a variance application to add a nine-storey addition and 114 units on the buildings where the event centre is located, despite opposition from within the neighbourhood.

The city is also working to have more law enforcement in the area, Santos said.

“I think it’s important that our short-term strategy is that we have to get more eyes and more supports from the police and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.”–Vivian Santos

“I think it’s important that our short-term strategy is that we have to get more eyes and more supports from the police and Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service,” she said.

The Exchange Event Centre opened in 2020 and was built in the former Sanford Building and Maw’s Garage. The Sanford Building was constructed in 1890 to house the Sanford Manufacturing Company, a clothing maker from Ontario. In 1941 a fire destroyed the upper three floors and only the ground floor remains.

In the 1970s it was home to Brandy’s Lounge and the Old Spaghetti Factory Restaurant. Since the Old Spaghetti Factory moved out in 1999, the building has been used as a private club under different banners, according to the Manitoba Historical Society.

Maw’s Garage, built in 1903, is split into two buildings. The western half of the building is connected to, and belongs to, the event centre with a Princess Street entrance; the other portion currently exists as a parkade with an entrance off King Street.

In 1979, the buildings were added to the City of Winnipeg’s list of Historical Resources.

Johnny G’s and Commonwealth are also designated heritage sites, according to city records.

Due to extensive water damage at Commonwealth from the fire, the bar is hosting a block party fundraiser on the long weekend. A series of concerts, plus food trucks, giveaways and contests are scheduled.

Tickets are free, but subject to capacity.