New lease on life for Boyd Building

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This article was published 26/12/2017 (2851 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The new year is set to bring new changes for Winnipeg’s historic Boyd Building.

As the remaining commercial tenants of the nine-storey structure finish moving out by the end of the month, preliminary work on the building — located on the 300 block of Portage Avenue — is set to begin in January.

While it remains undecided what the future holds for the site, following construction, it will no longer serve as office space, owner Armik Babakhanians said.

He added that residential units are being contemplated, but a decision won’t be made for five to six months.

The building is registered to Jags Development Ltd., which is affiliated with Caspian Construction, owned by Babakhanians.

Caspian has been in the news in the past couple years because of the RCMP criminal investigation into the construction of Winnipeg’s new police headquarters and the Canada Post mail processing plant near the Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport.

Babakhanians said the main floor of the Boyd Building — which is home to the Boyd Medical Clinic — will remain a walk-in, and operations will not be affected by construction.

He considers it important for the clinic to stay open in downtown Winnipeg, where it is accessible to inner city residents.

He also said the building’s infrastructure is “failing” because of the way it’s been maintained over the years.

As such, a lengthy renovation will be required.

Three of the floors have been vacated, while a handful of medical and dental offices will remain open until the end of the month.

At least one of the floors has been gutted.

Whatever the future holds for the Boyd Building, Stefano Grande, CEO of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, said the redevelopment of the site — along with a number of other projects underway in the city centre — is a very positive thing for downtown.

“I think in most North American cities, there is a return to urbanism. There’s a renewal of downtowns. We’re seeing that in our city,” Grande said.

“It’s being driven by our baby boomers, who are getting older and downsizing into condos and apartments. It’s also being driven by our millennials.”

Should the decision be made to renovate the Boyd Building into condominiums or apartments, it would join a number of other downtown residential developments in the works.

Those projects include the True North Square development on Hargrave and Carlton streets, the SkyCity development across from the police headquarters, the Portage and Main apartment tower, as well as the Sterling Building and the D Condo development.

“We know that if there ever was a silver bullet to revitalization, it’s increasing the density of people who live in our downtown. So we’re very encouraged with the growth that’s happening in our city centre,” Grande said.

“People who live downtown usually work downtown, which bodes well for traffic congestion. They’re spending money at retail shops, restaurants and services. When the downtown workers go home, the residents stay, continuing to keep our neighbourhood vibrant on weekends and evening.”

He expects to see downtown development continue in the coming years, as inner-city residential life is attractive to both millennials and baby boomers — the two largest demographic markets.

Asked if there should be any concern that these sites — particularly ones targeting individuals with higher incomes — could be left empty because of a lack of demand or money, Grande said he doesn’t expect that to be the case.

On the contrary, rather than concern for a lack of interest in living downtown, Grande feels a much bigger issue facing the city is suburban sprawl.

From a business perspective, he feels it makes more fiscal sense to focus on redevelopment downtown than continuing to expand outward and create new suburbs and neighbourhoods.

“The cost to the City of Winnipeg to sustain new neighbourhoods is quite significant compared to these older neighbourhoods downtown. We have all the assets right here, but the market is still being dragged out to the suburbs. It’s costing taxpayers millions of dollars and it’s not sustainable,” he said.

“It takes away from our older neighbourhoods. This infrastructure already exists. What we offer downtown is density. When you build that kind of density, you generate so much tax on such a small piece of land like a city block. From a business perspective, it makes sense.”

Designed by local architect J.D. Atchison, the Boyd Building was built for Winnipeg businessman W.J. Boyd in 1912.

Know of any newsworthy development in the local office, retail, industrial or multi-family-residential sectors? Let us know at fpbusiness@freepress.mb.ca.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe