Former legion converted from ugly duckling to desirable digs

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This article was published 22/02/2016 (3551 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even though some of its own employees initially thought it was a bad idea, a local firm has breathed new life into an old Winnipeg legion by converting it into a modern, energy-efficient office building with spectacular views of the Red River.

Winnipeg-based Sherwood Developments Ltd., which is best known for building apartment blocks and condominium complexes, spent an estimated $2.3 million over the last couple of years on upgrading and repurposing the former Royal Canadian Legion at 554 St. Mary’s Rd.

 

Sherwood’s project manager, Louis Pereira, said they completely renovated the two-storey structure, inside and out. That included replacing the roof and mechanical and electrical systems, installing a sophisticated heating, cooling and air-conditioning system, new insulation, new exterior siding and adding a bunch of windows on the front and back of the building.

It also including building a new elevated, 22-stall parking structure, a concrete flood-retention wall along the back and side of the property and turning the lower level of the building, where Sherwood now has its offices, into a walk-out basement with big windows overlooking the river.

“From my office, I see deer walking up and down the river (bank) all the time,” Pereira said. “It’s great. And we have the river skating trail that goes past our building, so I see people skating and riding their bikes and walking their dogs all day. Yesterday, I even saw somebody on a kiteboard going down the river.”

Pereira said Sherwood bought the building in 2004 with the intention of eventually converting it into an office building. Even as the work got underway about two years ago, not everyone in the company thought it was a good idea.

“They were saying, ‘Why are you investing money in this? It’s ugly.’ And we said it’s a fantastic location and it’s a very strong building. You’d be nuts to tear it down,” he said.

Pereira said before they renovated the exterior — that was the first thing they did — prospective tenants who looked at the building wanted no part of it.

“It was not until we did invest in the exterior, getting the windows and the siding in place, that… we had people starting to bring us offers and saying, ‘Hey, we want to lease space in here.’ Before that, it was sort of like begging people. We said we will do a very spectacular building, and everyone was going, ‘yeah, right. We’ve heard that before.’ “

The leasing agent for the building — Peter Kaufman, vice-president of sales and leasing for Capital Commercial Real Estates Services Inc. — praised Sherwood for having a vision of what the building could be and making it a reality.

“You can always tear down something and build something new. But to me, there’s value in repurposing an existing building,” Kaufman said. “Now It’s just a beautiful building. It makes a nice addition to St. Mary’s Road.”

A spokesman for the building’s new anchor tenant — the Exchange Group, which leases the first and second floor of the two-storey building — also talked about how great it is to be in a building that’s on the riverbank.

“For us, having come from a downtown office where it was concrete and not much else, to now having deer wandering by in the morning, it’s been a real neat transition,” said Ian Hyslop, a partner with Exchange Group Chartered Professional Accountants, one of two Exchange Group companies that now call the building home. “The staff is ecstatic.”

Hislop said the Exchange Group had outgrown its leased space on Bannatyne Avenue and looked at a lot of buildings in areas all over the city before its real estate agent, Chris Cleverly of Colliers International, showed them the Sherwood building. They liked the building, the location — it’s a six-minute drive to downtown — and the fact it has on-site parking. They also like the idea of being able to take raw space and develop it the way they wanted and hit it off right away with the people at Sherwood.

Cleverly said there is still a demand in Winnipeg for office space just outside the downtown area.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a strong demand. But there are always groups who want to be close, but not necessarily be downtown,” he explained. “As soon as you get a little bit away from the downtown your rents go down, your parking goes down and you get more efficiencies from a cost perspective.”

 

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

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca