Going the extra Kildonan Mile

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This article was published 24/10/2016 (3449 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The first major new retail development in more than a decade in the Regent and Lagimodiere area is ready to move forward with the recent completion of a key infrastructure project in the area.

Shindico Realty Inc. was waiting for Reenders Drive to be extended east from Stapon Road to Peguis Street before proceeding with its proposed 340,000-square-foot Shops of Kildonan Mile project.

The open-air shopping centre will be built on the north side of Reenders between Stapon Road and Peguis Street and immediately north of the Kildonan Place Shopping Centre. Shindico had to cover the cost of the Reenders Drive extension, and company president and CEO Sandy Shindleman said the project took longer than expected.

With the new roadway now open for several months, Shindico is ready to proceed with the shopping centre development. Shindleman noted the new roadway will give the growing number of residents in West Transcona direct access from the east to the shopping centre site.

“That had to be done first. That’s kind of a game-changer for the site and the businesses (who will be leasing space there),” he added.

The Kildonan Mile site currently has only one major tenant — a StorageVille complex that faces Stapon Road. Shindleman said Shindico is in discussions with a number of other prospective tenants, but no new deals have been signed as of yet.

Although there has been a lot of new retail development in the area over the last 15 years, Shindleman believes there’s room for more.

“There are lots of retailers that still want to gravitate to wherever other retailers are.”

He said Mayor Brian Bowman’s plans to introduce new growth fees for new commercial and residential developments in the city isn’t helping because the fees will drive up development costs and rents, but no one knows yet how much they’ll increase.

“It makes it harder to attract retailers because I can’t tell them what the cost is going to be (for their space). So we continue to move forward, but you have one hand tied behind your back.”

He said the new fees may also prompt some retail chains to expand somewhere else.

“If they are looking at a deal in Montreal that’s $14 a square foot and we’re $19, and the sales forecasts are the same (for both cities), guess where they’re going to go? Montreal.”

He said Shindico expects the new centre to be fully developed by the fall of 2020. It hopes to attract about 30 tenants, including retail stores, restaurants, financial institutions, medical offices, a grocery store and maybe a hotel.

Two stores on horizon for Mastermind Toys

Canada’s largest specialty toy and children’s book retailer — Mastermind Toys — plans to open another store in Winnipeg in 2017.

Company president and chief operating officer Humphrey Kadaner confirmed in an interview the Toronto-based retailer expects to open a stand-alone store early next summer on a development pad on the Kildonan Place Shopping Centre property.

The 4,600-square-foot outlet will be the second of three the chain plans to open in the city. The first — a 3,500-square-foot outlet on the northwest corner of Kenaston and MacGillivray boulevards, opened about a year ago.

Kadaner said the company hopes to open the third within the next 12 to 18 months in another popular retail node in the city, although he wouldn’t reveal which one.

The company had planned from the outset to open three stores in Winnipeg, and Kadaner said the way Winnipeggers have responded to the first store has convinced company officials that was a good decision.

“I can tell you the store on Kenaston opened up significantly better than we had anticipated. So that gave us even more confidence… about opening store No. 2 and store No. 3.”

Mastermind Toys was launched in 1984 by brothers Andy and Jon Levy and has been one of the country’s fastest-growing retail operations in recent years. Its stores focus on products with educational or development value and typically carry about 6,000 toys and about 4,000 books — everything from brain puzzles and arts-and-crafts kits to construction toys and musical instruments.

Kadaner said Kildonan Place Shopping Centre will build the new store and lease it to Mastermind. Kildonan Place general manager Sandra Hagenaars said the mall is pleased to land a tenant such as Mastermind Toys.

“They’re going to be a great fit for this mall. We appeal to families, and this will add another element that families can come here and enjoy,” she said.

Kadaner said having a store on the Kildonan Place property appealed to Mastermind Toys because it’s in the heart of one of the city’s most popular retail nodes.

He also noted the mall is subdividing its former 120,000-square-foot Target space into four larger-format stores and eight smaller ones. Two of the new tenants that have been confirmed so far are Marshall’s and HomeSense. The H& M clothing chain is also rumoured to be looking at opening a store there.

“So they (Kildonan Place) are helping to make that a stronger retail node, which was also appealing to us,” Kadaner added.

Hagenaars said the mall hopes to complete the redevelopment of the former Target store by next summer. She wouldn’t say what other retailers have expressed an interest in the space.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca