Winnipeg Square

Winnipeg Square (also known as "The Shops of Winnipeg Square") is an underground shopping mall located at 360 Main St. in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was built in 1979 by Smith Carter Parkin for the Trizec Corporation, and is located downtown at Portage and Main with 45 stores and restaurants.

Shops of Winnipeg Square

Shoppers Drug Mart and the food court
Location	Downtown Winnipeg
Address	360 Main St. Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3Z3
Opening date	July 24, 1980 (July 24, 1980)
Developer	Trizec Corporation
Management	Frank Sherlock
Owner	Crown Realty Partners (until June 2010), Artis REIT (since June 2010)
No. of stores and services	45
No. of floors	2
Website	Winnipeg Square Website

It also includes the 300 Main apartment block, 330 Main surface level retail complex (both under construction), and the 360 Main Commodity Exchange Tower, also called the "Trizec Building."[1]

Winnipeg Square is connected to the Winnipeg Walkway through the Concourse which links all four corners of the city's main office district via an underground roundabout.

History

The mall was purchased from Oxford Properties Group and GE Capital Canada Inc in September 2007 by Crown Realty Partners, a Toronto-based company.[2] The purchase included both the Winnipeg Square shopping mall and the former Commodity Exchange tower, now known as 360 Main for approximately $102.5 million.[3]

In 2008, the owner of the Shops of Winnipeg Square began a $3 million upgrade to Winnipeg Square and the lobby to 360 Main.[2] In 2010, Artis Real Estate Investment Trust acquired the remaining 62 per cent stake in the former Commodity Exchange Tower/Winnipeg Square complex for $70.7 million.[4]

The Winnipeg Square parkade is a 936-stall heated parking garage located between the Portage Avenue and Graham Avenue, and Main Street and Fort Street.[5] According to city documents, the parkade made a $1.5 million profit in 2008.[5] In 2009, the City of Winnipeg sold the parkade to the owners of the Commodity Exchange and Winnipeg Square for $23.6 million.[6] The sale involved $400,000 in real-estate fees paid to Shindico, the Winnipeg firm that brokered the deal.[7]

It has been estimated that 16,000 people pass through Winnipeg Square each weekday.[2]

Next to Winnipeg Square was the prairie regional headquarters of Scotiabank, at 200 Portage Ave., a five-storey building that opened on September 13, 1979.[8] Scotiabank has since moved their headquarters to the more modern True North Square at 225 Hargrave St., while maintaining a branch at 200 Portage Ave. featuring a more prominent street entrance (under construction).

As part of the 42-storey 300 Main apartment complex construction, Winnipeg Square is getting a makeover. A pair of escalators were constructed. A GoodLife fitness gym is being constructed at 330 Main that will open in 2020.

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  Shops in Winnipeg Square
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  Shops in Winnipeg Square
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  Shops in Winnipeg Square
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  Restaurants in Winnipeg Square
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  Plaque commemorating opening of Phase I

External links

• Winnipeg Square
• Artis REIT

References

1. "Trizec Building; Commodity Exchange Tower". Winnipeg Architecture Foundation. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
2. McNeill, Murray (25 August 2008). "Winnipeg Square Gets an Update" (PDF). Downtown Winnipeg Biz / Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
3. "Winnipeg" (PDF). Global Views 2008. DTZ Barnicke. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
4. McNeill, Murray (1 November 2010). "Banner year for commercial sales". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
5. TURENNE, PAUL (25 March 2009). "City seeks parkade offer". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
6. Kives, Bartley (14 March 2011). "City unveils plan for parkade sale revenue". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
7. Kives, Bartley (26 November 2009). "Katz hopes to reduce surface parking lots". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
8. "Bank opens new building". Winnipeg Free Press. September 14, 1979. p. 18.