New look for old mall

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2010 (5785 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

River East Plaza is about to undergo an extreme makeover.

Canada Safeway has acquired full ownership of the 38-year-old retail mall and plans to demolish it and replace it with a huge, new Safeway store and a half-dozen smaller retail outlets.

The only building that will escape the wrecker’s ball is a stand-alone CIBC bank, which will be incorporated into the development.

Safeway spokesman John Graham refused to say how much the project will cost, saying Safeway doesn’t disclose that kind of information.

He said the company hopes to obtain necessary zoning variances and building permits over the next few months, and to start demolition in the first or second quarter of next year.

The goal is to complete the project by the end of 2011, he said.

There are only four retail outlets open in the mall — Safeway, Zellers, the CIBC branch and a Domo gas bar. The Zellers store is to close in January.

Graham said he didn’t know when the Safeway or Domo outlets will close.

River East Plaza is located adjacent to the planned $110-million extension of Chief Peguis Trail from Henderson Highway to Lagimodiere Boulevard.

Graham denied that was what triggered the redevelopment project, saying it was in the works long before the city decided to proceed with the Chief Peguis expansion. He said the redevelopment would have proceeded even if the city project did not.

"It’s been on the books for renovations for several years, but clearly the Chief Peguis Trail aspect is a further motivation to proceed," he said.

Gino Distasio, director of the University of Winnipeg’s Institute of Urban Studies, said Safeway’s plan to redevelop the River East Plaza property is not a surprise.

"They are taking advantage of their strategic location along that roadway."

He said whenever a major new urban transit corridor is built, new retail/commercial development follows because developers want to take advantage of the high traffic volumes.

Distasio said it happened with the extension of Bishop Grandin Boulevard and is also happening along the new Sterling Lyon Way in southwest Winnipeg.

It will happen again when the city completes the following leg of Chief Peguis west between Main and McPhillips streets.

More commercial development is expected along that portion of the trail because there isn’t as much residential development along there as there is along the proposed Henderson-to-Lagimodiere portion.

Graham said Safeway wanted to replace its smaller, outdated store in the plaza with one of its new "lifestyle stores" as part of the ongoing upgrade of its Winnipeg retail operations.

And if it were going to build a new Safeway store, it only made sense to replace all of the older portions of the mall as well.

"Our feeling was that the whole mall was rather dated," he said. "And we wanted it (the new Safeway store) to be within a project that reflects the kind of image we want to be associated with."

He said the new store will boast all of the same features as its other new lifestyle stores, including a Starbucks coffee shop, an expanded organic foods section, an extensive deli/take-home-meals department and a full-service seafood and meats department.

He said talks are underway with a number of prospective new tenants for the River East development but he declined to provide details.

 

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca