New designs loom for delayed Kildonan Place development

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This article was published 10/01/2025 (297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly six years after its announcement, Kildonan Place may be getting that new food court.

An expansion project in the Transcona neighbourhood mall has been delayed and re-envisioned, but updates should be coming soon, organizers say.

Meanwhile, a City of Winnipeg councillor and mallgoers have been left partially in the dark about the site’s future.

Architects for Kildonan Place proposed a renovation project to the city’s East Kildonan-Transcona community committee in 2019. The plan included a new food court, movie theatre, shops and development to the north of the site.

Phase 1 — transforming Kildonan Place’s old Sears department store — finished in 2022. Save-On-Foods grocer came on board, as did Cineplex Junxion, the first movie theatre of its kind in the province.

But the 45-year-old mall’s food court has remained the same. There’s a long stretch of hallway without shops connecting Cineplex to the rest of the building; it’s a mall walkers’ haunt. Land north owned by Kildonan Place hasn’t seen new development.

Phase 2 has been delayed, Kildonan Place’s general manager confirmed.

“(It) was delayed in order to reassess the original master plan that was created before Phase 1, as market conditions change over time,” Graham Bialek wrote in a statement.

Primaris REIT, which runs Kildonan Place, did not make anyone available for an interview.

The mall expects to have an announcement about the project in the coming months, Bialek said.

A new plan and delegation could be in front of city councillors in February, according to Raymond Wan, an architect who’s been working to expand Kildonan Place since 2004.

Organizers are creating technical drawings but the design is done, Wan shared. He’s aiming for a mid-summer construction start — if the city gives the necessary approvals.

The start date could change, Wan stressed, adding he “can’t disclose much” before approvals are received.

“They’ve changed their design … of the food court,” said Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona). “It’s still very impressive, what they’re proposing.”

Wyatt said he has seen new plans, but is waiting for Kildonan Place to come forward with proposals.

“There’s a number of things that, as the city, we’ve been very supportive (of). We’re just kind of … in a ‘sit-and-wait’ mode,” Wyatt stated.

Primaris REIT has shared ideas to create multi-family housing blocks to the north of Kildonan Place, along the south side of Reenders Drive from roughly Stapon Road to Canadian Tire, Wyatt said.

The food court seems to shift “from one side of the mall to the other,” and there’s been talk of creating a new transit terminal and establishing more park-and-ride spots, the councillor said.

“It’s an exciting design,” he continued. “We just hope we can get moving on it.”

Primaris REIT must first get its plan approved by the East Kildonan-Transcona community committee. Wyatt is on the committee; he’d like to see 200 park-and-ride spaces, more landscaping and signage explaining the mall’s future to passersby.

“The potential for Kildonan Place is tremendous,” Wyatt said.

However, it’s been two years since major renovations have happened. Construction costs have increased, Wyatt noted.

Cineplex Junxion has caused area residents to buy movie tickets in Transcona instead of trekking to St. Vital Centre like they used to. It’s been an “amazing addition to the community,” the councillor said.

He’d like to see Kildonan Place compete more aggressively with its St. Vital peer. “We really need to make some investments happen in that mall to take it up to the next level and serve northeast Winnipeg, which has continually been growing,” Wyatt asserted.

Nicole Chartrand, an employee at Dene Cree Designs, believes the store would be busier if it were in another end of Kildonan Place — not close to the bare corridor by Cineplex Junxion.

“It’s a big hallway with lots of space, lots of potential that they could use,” Chartrand said. “You’d think we’d see some development.”

The Regent Avenue West site holds more than 100 stores. Primaris REIT oversees Grant Park Shopping Centre and 24 other malls, in addition to Kildonan Place.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com