Hudson’s Bay Company to give historic Winnipeg building to Indigenous organization
The Hudson's Bay Company is giving its historic downtown Winnipeg building to an Indigenous organization, to be used in part for affordable housing.
The company is expected to announce the gift Friday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other government representatives will be in attendance.
The six-storey, 655,000-square-foot building is being given to the Southern Chiefs' Organization.
An anonymous source told The Canadian Press that Manitoba is pitching in $10 million, and that Winnipeg and the federal government will also contribute. The store closed in November 2020.
The building opened in 1926, and is one of the company's original six flagship stores. At the time, it was the largest reinforced concrete building in Canada, according to HBC's heritage website. On opening day, it served around 50,000 customers. The store has been home to multiple restaurants and several subletters including a liquor outlet and a CIBC branch.
The building, which was recently granted heritage status, is in need of renovations, as it was built almost a century ago. However, it underwent major renovations in the 1980s, to the tune of several million dollars.
Over the years, the company scaled back retail operations at the store as consumer habits shifted. Meanwhile, conversations arose about how best to use or even redevelop the building. In 2012, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that HBC offered to sell the building to the University of Winnipeg for a nominal cost" -- as low as a dollar.
At one point, not long before the pandemic began, a real estate company valued the building at zero dollars, due to how much money it would take to bring it up to code.
The landmark location finally closed as the pandemic battered retailers everywhere. Last year, the provincial government announced a $25-million trust to help preserve and enhance the building. At the time, HBC said it was in discussions with several organizations on how best to use the site.