SCO grand chief updates business leaders on Bay building transformation

The leader of the First Nations redeveloping the former Hudson’s Bay building downtown told Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce members Friday that the project is a “huge win for everyone who wants to see this city thrive.”

Southern Chiefs’ Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels told a lunchtime crowd of about 400 people that Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn (“it is visible”) is a transformational space in the heart of Winnipeg,

“It’s bringing new investment, new energy and new foot traffic to downtown,” Daniels said.

The former department store opened in 1926 and closed in 2020.

The highly-visible worksite at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard is a training, mentorship and incubator hub for First Nations businesses and social enterprises, Daniels said.

“We are prioritizing First Nation workers and businesses from Day 1,” he said. The workforce transforming the six-storey, 655,000-square-foot building into 373 housing units, a child-care centre, rooftop park and various other spaces is 77 per cent Indigenous, he said.

“We are talking about jobs that are going to create real lives, that are going to impact real-life training, employment, business opportunities for First Nations — not just the construction jobs but, later, the economic opportunities,” he said.

“This project is about empowerment, plain and simple.” It answers many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action, including economic reconciliation, child welfare, housing, language revitalization and education.

“Real reconciliation must include economic power.”

The cost of the project in 2022 when Hudson’s Bay Co. transferred ownership of the building to the Southern Chiefs Organization was originally pegged at $130 million.

In March, Daniels called a news conference to provide an update on the project, explaining the cost had more than doubled to $310 million, with completion in 2028. An evolving design with additional housing units (373, up from 350), price increases, supply-chain pressures, inflation and tariff threats, plus heritage-designation building upgrades, structural reinforcements and modern energy-efficiency standards led to the revised cost estimate, he said.

“We’ve moved from the early conceptual stage to a very costed-out plan and what the real cost is going to be,” he told the chamber crowd.

Chamber president and CEO Loren Remillard said it was an opportunity for the grand chief to update business leadership in the city about the transformation.

“I’m confident that this project will open and that it will be a success… not just for truth and reconciliation, but downtown recovery,” Remillard said.

“We have the most tangible and the largest project advancing truth and reconciliation. How can we support this project? What can we learn from it? What lessons have we taken from it that we can apply to future projects both large and small?”

The federal government, province and city are all contributing to the massive undertaking.

Ottawa has committed $96 million. The city said it would provide $10 million in tax incentives, while waiving $350,000 in planning and permitting fees and $257,000 for tipping fees. It also directed $10 million of federal cash Winnipeg received through the Housing Accelerator Fund to the initiative.

In a statement Friday, the province said it’s “proud to fund this important project.” It has provided $35 million “and will continue to support this significant initiative. We have been kept apprised of the developments and look forward to seeing this project come to fruition.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca