July 2, 2022

Winnipeg
19° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Business

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

New name for historic core building

McKim brand now adorns former Crocus site at Main and Bannatyne

By: Murray McNeill
Posted: 3:00 AM CST Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

One of the city’s century-old downtown heritage buildings has a new name.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/1/2017 (1997 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the city’s century-old downtown heritage buildings has a new name.

The Crocus Building, which is located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Bannatyne Avenue, is now called the McKim Building after one of its largest tenants — McKim Communications Group — acquired the naming rights to the building for the next 10 years for an undisclosed sum.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS</p><p>The former Crocus Building gets a new name Wednesday afternoon as workers unveil the new sign.</p>

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

The former Crocus Building gets a new name Wednesday afternoon as workers unveil the new sign.

Workers removed a cardboard covering to reveal the new sign on Wednesday afternoon. Although there was no formal unveiling ceremony, it was still a proud moment for McKim owner Peter George.

"We’re very excited about it. It’s a great building in a great location — a really busy spot," George said in an interview. "It’s definitely the realization of a long project."

He said McKim, which has been a tenant in the six-storey building since 2005, had approached the previous owner about 10 years ago about acquiring the naming rights to the building.

"But it was just not affordable at the time," he said, so the company put the idea on the back burner until about a year-and-a-half ago, when the building was converted into commercial condominiums and it purchased 2 1/2 floors (about 19,000 square feet).

"Once we became an owner in the space, it just made sense (to reapply for the naming rights). We presented our idea to the board of directors of the building, and it was approved."

George, who is a member of the condo association’s board of directors, said the name change signals the beginning of a new chapter for the building, which has played a significant role in the history of downtown Winnipeg.

Although the existing building was built in 1904-05, its roots date back to 1871, when prominent Winnipeg businessman J.H. Ashdown built a hardware store on the site. When that building burned down in 1904, Ashdown replaced it with the current six-storey structure.

The building remained an Ashdown hardware store until 1970. Since then, it has changed hands several times, underwent a $6-million renovation in the early 2000s and has operated under a number of different names, including the Big 4 Building and the Crocus Building.

The Winnipeg-based Crocus Investment Fund was a tenant in the building until its demise in 2004. A lot of Winnipeg investors lost money as a result of the fund’s collapse, but its name remained on the building long after it ceased operations.

Asked why the building’s owners waited so long to change the name, George said, "I think the thinking was that the crocus is the provincial flower, and it’s Manitoba thing, and there shouldn’t be any more to it."

"But it has been really hard to escape the association with the Crocus Fund... and in order to be successful, I really felt that it needed to be rebranded," he added.

"So then the question was what would it be rebranded to."

The Free Press | Newsletter

Want to get a head start on your day?

Get the day’s breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.

Sign up for Head Start
Sign Up

He said McKim is the tenant that would benefit the most from having its name on the building because of the added exposure it would bring, "so it made sense for us to do it (obtain the naming rights)."

The other co-owner/tenants in the building are Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, the School of Contemporary Dancers, the Winnipeg Folk Festival and Across the Board Café, which is in the process of relocating from a nearby building on Albert Street and will be opening later this month. The Government of Manitoba and Shelter Corp. also own space in the building, George said.

He noted that at one point in the early 2000s, the city was going to demolish the building. But some Winnipeg arts organizations proposed it be turned into an arts facility, which led to the $6-million renovation. Although a number of arts groups subsequently moved into the building (and are still tenants there), for some reason it never became a full-fledged arts facility, George said.

He said McKim uses about 10,000 square feet of the space it owns in the building and is hoping to find tenants to rent the remaining 9,000 square feet.

George said it would be ideal space for creative businesses, a tech business or a professional-services business such as a law office.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top