The Bay transformation slow going First Nations want to ensure project ‘done properly’; interior demolition expected to begin in June By: Carol Sanders Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Mar. 28, 2023

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2023 (938 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The First Nations that are transforming the historic Hudson’s Bay Co. building downtown say it’s taking longer than they had hoped, but they’re determined to avoid legal and financial messes to ensure the $130-million project is done right.

“We’re trying to be fast about it, but we have to make sure that it’s done properly, too,” said Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels in an interview Tuesday.

He said they are mindful of the City of Winnipeg’s legal battles over the redevelopment of the downtown police headquarters and the spectre of massive cost overruns.

“We would have loved to see this a lot earlier but there’s lots of legal things you have to deal with… and each of them has to be done beforehand, so that we’re not running into problems as we take on the project,” Daniels said.

It’s been almost a year since the 655,000-square-foot, century-old landmark at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard was gifted to the 34 Manitoba First Nations by the retailer at a ceremony attended by the prime minister, premier and mayor.

“We’re trying to be fast about it, but we have to make sure that it’s done properly, too.”–SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels

The grand chief said Tuesday the title transfer was only completed in recent weeks.

“We own the building now.”

Now that the land title has been officially transferred and legal, insurance and liability issues are covered, they’re able to get to work, he said.

“We’re aiming to issue a request for qualifications to find a company to do the interior demolition later this week or early next week. Our hope is that it starts in June,” said Daniels.

The project, called Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn — which means “it is visible” in Ojibwa — will include more than 300 affordable housing units, assisted living for Indigenous elders, as well as businesses, restaurants and cultural spaces.

The three levels of government are putting money into the project: $65 million from Ottawa, $35 million from the province, which includes $10 million for the housing component and $25 million for historic preservation of the building. The City of Winnipeg will provide tax incentives. The store closed in late 2020 after years of being under-used.

Daniels said they plan to stick to the $130-million cost estimate despite the rising cost of material and labour. They’re still shooting for a 2025 completion date, but due to supply chain problems, the project could take months longer, he acknowledged.

The grand chief explained why it has taken so long to get the ball rolling.

Before the land title was transferred, individual agreements were reached with the owners of adjacent properties that share infrastructure, including the attached parkade and Portage Place with its connecting skywalk, for example.

“Old agreements come into play and you have to deal with those,” said Daniels. “In order to do the transfer of ownership, you just want to make sure that we’re all clear on it,” he said.

The organization wants to avoid the legal trouble faced by the City of Winnipeg, he said.

Last week, the city agreed to cease legal action against police-headquarters contractor Caspian Construction, its owner, Armik Babakhanians, and dozens of other defendants in exchange for a payment of no less than $21.5 million after the mismanaged project, that had a $135-million price tag, ended up costing about $214 million.

“There’ll be a scoring done on that for all the construction companies, and we even want to include the subcontractors in that. We just want to make sure that we get the highest value for the project.”–Grand Chief Jerry Daniels

“It’s the reason why we’ve always been adamant that we will do a request for qualification,” Daniels said. “There’ll be a scoring done on that for all the construction companies, and we even want to include the subcontractors in that. We just want to make sure that we get the highest value for the project.”

And so will the public, said Jino Distasio, director of the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Winnipeg.

“There will be, I think, ongoing sensitivities to the question of overruns, especially if there are public dollars in the mix,” he said Tuesday, applauding the First Nations’ cautious approach.

“The careful planning at the beginning may seem like it’s taking a long time, but you’ve got to have everything in order to make sure that you can have as much cost certainty as possible, given the volatility of the economy and the building sector,” Distasio said.

Daniels said the project is more than bricks and mortar.

“It is about creating a symbol of hope and prosperity,” he said.

“Winnipeg has the largest Indigenous population in Canada, and our Indigenous youth are one of the fastest-growing segments of our population,” Daniels said. “This is a beacon of hope for them. It’s a place that’s going to support their educational aspirations. The children are our collective future so we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make sure that it has everything that it needs.”

In the fall, they refined the plans by adding more than a dozen housing units and developing a commemoration and ceremonial space after consulting with focus groups, said Daniels.

First Nations-led developments are big drivers of economic growth in Winnipeg, said Distasio, who pointed to Naawi-Oodena, which is the redevelopment of the Kapyong Barracks site on Kenaston Boulevard; and commercial development on Madison Street, west of Polo Park; and at 1075 Portage Ave.

“I truly believe we’re going to see great things coming into our city over the coming decade as there’s just more activity, not only at the Bay, but I suspect Kapyong will really be a showpiece for what can be done by the First Nations communities of Manitoba in an urban setting to really transform our city,” Distasio said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

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Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.