‘We were obviously heartbroken’ Some local brands left out as Kildonan Place renovation shuffles tenant storefronts By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 6:15 PM CST Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 Last Modified: 9:42 PM CST Monday, Dec. 29, 2025 Updates

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“We’ve moved” and “Closed for relocation” signage dots the food court’s perimeter at Kildonan Place.

A City of Winnipeg permit grants complete demolition for a portion of the shopping centre, including part of its former theatre and nearby shops. A new food court area can be constructed, the November permit reads.

New office and guest services space is also greenlit for the northeast Winnipeg shopping centre.

Mall owner Primaris REIT declined to comment on the redevelopment. It plans to make an official announcement in early 2026, a spokesperson said.

Primaris first announced plans to renovate six years ago. Over the past weeks, tenants Dollarama, Mobile Klinik, Spencer’s and Showcase have moved elsewhere in the mall.

Some local companies were not offered new storefronts.

“It hurts as a small business,” said Kira Kowalski, who owns one of at least two shops forced to pivot.

She’s had mall renovations on her radar for years. Antler World Dog Products — which is being rebranded as Barks N’ Purrs Pet Store — first got a spot in Kildonan Place seven years ago.

The mid-2025 notice to move was not a welcome one, Kowalski said. She said she was offered a kiosk in lieu of her storefront.

A kiosk won’t fit the freezers of raw pet food or make up for the 720 square feet of space Antler World currently occupies, Kowalski said. She’s opting to leave.

“We were obviously heartbroken,” she said. “Hopefully, we’re able to keep our … customers.”

“We were obviously heartbroken… Hopefully, we’re able to keep our… customers.”

Next-door neighbour Primos Toys will also shutter its Kildonan Place hub before New Year’s Day. It isn’t opening a new site elsewhere; it has locations at CF Polo Park and Grant Park Shopping Centre.

Barks N’ Purrs has inked a deal for a store on Headmaster Row, near Kilcona Park. It’s expanding and staffing groomers.

“It’s stressful because it’s Christmas time,” Kowalski said. “Moving in the middle of winter is not gonna be the greatest thing for us.”

Meantime, Spencer’s recently reopened in the mall, and Dollarama moved to a 15,540-sq.-ft. space. It’s left customer Jill Voth feeling like Kildonan Place “didn’t do their due diligence” in ensuring established small businesses are prioritized amid the renovations.

“While we will see some smaller temporary tenants vacating the shopping centre as part of the redevelopment process, we wish them well in their future endeavours,” Kildonan Place general manager Graham Bialek said in a statement.

“We look to enhance our tenant mix throughout the coming year.”

In 2019, an architect for Kildonan Place proposed the renovation project during an East Kildonan-Transcona community committee. The plan included a new food court, movie theatre and development to the site’s north.

Phase 1, which included Cineplex Junxion and Save-On-Foods, finished in 2022. It replaced a former Sears department store.

Architect Raymond Wan said he hasn’t received approval to provide an update on the second phase. He told the Free Press in January 2025 he hoped construction would begin mid-summer. (Construction has now begun.)

More transparency with the public is among the requests Coun. Russ Wyatt (Transcona) has made to Primaris.

Wyatt spoke to the company’s chief operating officer earlier this month. He and fellow city councillors have been “encouraging” Primaris to move forward with renovations, he said.

“We would like to see more improvements … to make (Kildonan Place) more attractive and to make it a place that people want to come to,” Wyatt said.

His ward and surrounding areas have been growing: a 2025 Shindico brochure for an adjacent development touts more than 64,000 households in the region, or a 10 per cent increase over the past five years.

City councillors’ requests include food court and shop revamps, more park and ride stalls, mature trees in the parking lot and better sidewalks, among other things.

The site’s northern half — still on the south side of Reenders Drive — could have multiple family housing, Wyatt said.

“I think the mall itself will probably need to undergo an expansion in the future,” he continued. “There’s room on the north side to be able to do that.”

Meantime, Shindico Realty is advertising a mixed-use development adjacent to Kildonan Place with at least 500 rental units on-site. The Kildonan Mile will be ready for tenants in fall 2026, a brochure reads. It’s unclear whether commercial or residential tenancy will be ready; Shindico representatives didn’t respond to interview requests by print deadline.

The development was first touted in 2016. It’ll be sandwiched between Stapon Road and Peguis Street on the north side of Reenders Drive.

“You’re going to see a lot of excitement,” Wyatt said of the area.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com