Polo Park Expansion
 

This is my first post. I actually discovered this site by accident while researching the possibility of Winnipeg getting an NHL team back.

Here are my questions:

1) Does Polo Park own the vacant area where the Winnipeg Arena used to be located and if they do, are they planning on eventually developing that area by expanding the mall?

2) What are the chances that Polo Park would or could purchase the area that the stadium currently sits on once a new stadium has been built and the old one demolished? Is it possible that the mall would expand past Maroons Road?

I go to Polo Park more than any other mall in the city and I think that it has a lot of potential. If they could somehow expand to those properties, Polo Park could eventually become Winnipeg's own smaller version of the West Edmonton Mall.

no shindico owns the old arena site and its slated for more big box stores

I call Polo Park, Polio Park the first rise of suburban malls that killed shopping downtown.

Inertia! After Juba left office, the city and province failed to plan properly.

Welcome to the site.

The current plan to build a new stadium requires the development of a retail area where the stadium is now. www.blueandgold.ca

hmm this is interesting

CJOB, siblings moving to Polo Park

By: Staff Writer
8/03/2010 11:28 AM | Comments: 0

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CJOB has confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in the Winnipeg radio business.

The city’s No. 1 station has bought the old CTV building in Polo Park and hopes to move there, along with its Corus-Entertainment-owned sister stations, by as early as Jan. 1, 2011.

The stations’ general manager, Garth Buchko, formally told his staff Monday morning.

"Corus is making a significant investment in capital for the new home of CJOB, Power 97 and Groove FM," Buchko wrote to the Free Press in an email.

"Construction begins as soon as possible. Our goal is to be in the building by Jan. 1, 2011."

The stations are currently based at 930 Portage Ave. That building is now being put up for sale, Buchko says.

Early Buchko had said that plans for the empty CTV building at Polo Park, owned by Cadillac Fairview, call for a redevelopment into a combined commercial-retail space. The Corus stations would take one floor.

"The location is perfect," Buchko said. "The plans for the retail development (of the entire former Winnipeg Arena footprint) are quite spectacular."

The move has been in the works for three years, Buchko says, and must take place because the stations have outgrown their current location.

CJOB moved into the Portage Avenue building, a former post office, in 1962. The station is Winnipeg’s perennial ratings leader. In the most recent fall ratings period, it captured a 16.2 share of the market.

Power 97 came in 8th a 6.3 share and Groove (the former Cool FM) 12th with a 1.4 share.

Trust me (and this is an Edmontonian speaking). You DON'T want that. Nothing kills a city like a megamall. You need to invest in your downtown, and in all the cool urban-retail strips that Winnipeg has all over the place, create more continuity (infill) between Osborne and Corydon, keep improving Osborne South, St. Boniface, Sherbrook, Academy, Ellice, Regent through old Transcona, and I could go on and on and on. THOSE are the places oozing with potential in Winnipeg, not Polo Park.

i would have to agree but polo park also servers as a shoping hub not just for winnipeg but also for the province of manitoba

I agree with 0773, the more places within the city to hit up, the better.

wow. that was a refreshing post. thx!

I agree with you.

Just looking at Edmonton's downtown... it's so lifeless. :/

At the same time, Polo Park is just going to get bigger and bigger, and the only way to "counter" that is to aggressively advertise and invest into downtown.

A major thing for that to happen is mixed-use development, and a lot of residential properties. Not just condos, but also apartments, which we sorely need.

Polo Park has enough retail. However, if a retailer with no current Winnipeg store wants Polo Park, and will not accept an alternative location, then that should be permitted. The city & developers needs to persuade retailers to open elsewhere, a la Portage Place or Cityplace (assuming they will have retail space in the near future). The best thing Portage Place can do is convert empty space into office space which will remove competing space, and open up possibilities for new retail in other areas of downtown.

Also, there is the Ikea site...so that will detract from Polo Park.

Imagine this along Main Street...or Graham?

http://tokyofashion.com/wp-content/u...2009-001-b.jpg

http://www.myrandomshih.com/images/h...0528%20193.jpg

^ Exactly what city needs.

Might be tough in the Winter though...

Yeah, and at the same time, there's the issue of crime as well. I won't go into details, as it's another topic to discuss (there's a topic about Crime in Winnipeg already), but if we solve the crime and social problems that are rampant in downtown, the psychological idea of "Winnipeg's downtown is dangerous" would be less in the minds of people.

That is one important piece of the puzzle.

Well, if the Downtown Biz actively recruits retailers, its new report has positive information, which retailers would love to see.

http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/r...rends_2010.pdf

how do people shop on that second street photo? the masses of people must be like hell :haha:

why is it so dead?

The picture might have been taken on a Sunday morning.

I recognize those stores (BR and Nike). They are along the Waikiki strip in Honolulu. It looks like a great day in that picture, so it might have been really quiet for shopping that day!

or just prior to open.

I have been it those two stores as well, thank god they had air conditioning. We were walking from the beach to the convention centre and it was so hot we had to stop in to cool down. The Banana Republic stores doors are open.