Cost of redeveloping former Bay building in Winnipeg now $310M, Southern Chiefs says

Bartley Kives · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 3:43 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The outgo of redeveloping the erstwhile Bay gathering successful downtown Winnipeg has risen much than 50 per cent and immoderate of the amenities that were planned person been scaled backmost oregon removed altogether.

The Southern Chiefs' Organization announced Wednesday it volition outgo $310 cardinal to alteration the Hudson's Bay Company's 99-year-old Winnipeg flagship into a mixed-use improvement called Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn.

The task was primitively slated to outgo $130 million in 2022, erstwhile the Hudson's Bay Company announced the transportation of the six-storey, 655,000-square-foot gathering astatine the country of Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard to the SCO, which represents 34 Anishinaabe and Dakota nations successful confederate Manitoba.

The projected outgo was raised to $200 cardinal successful 2023.

SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said the outgo summation is owed to much close budgeting and a much elaborate plan for a complex, adaptive reuse of a practice building.

Construction ostentation and the outgo pressures from the Canada-U.S. commercialized warfare besides played a relation successful the higher cost, helium said.

"The interaction is going to be connected the materials that we person to buy. So that's going to change and fluctuate prices," Daniels said pursuing a quality league connected the main level of the erstwhile section store, wherever the walls and ceilings person been stripped down to their basal components.

Three levels of authorities person pledged a combined $141 cardinal successful cash, loans and taxation alleviation to enactment the $310-million Wehwehneh project.

Daniels said the SCO plans to rise the remainder of the backing for the project.

"We volition get there, and I warrant that our squad is well-prepared for that," helium said.

Federal furniture Minister Terry Duguid, the Liberal MP for Winnipeg South, said his authorities has not been asked to lend much funding. The national authorities has promised $96 cardinal successful currency and loans for the project.

The provincial government, which promised $35 cardinal successful loans, did not nonstop a typical to the SCO quality league and did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected immoderate further backing request.

The City of Winnipeg, which is providing $10 cardinal successful property-tax incentives for Wehwehneh, besides has not been asked to lend much to the project, said a spokesperson for Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.

Some antecedently announced amenities planned for the task person besides been deleted oregon scaled backmost due to the fact that of outgo pressures, Daniels said.

The task volition nary longer see assisted surviving units for First Nations elders, a governance spot for the SCO nor a depository and gallery, the expansive main said. 

A monument for survivors of residential schools and time schools has been scaled back, portion the SCO is "not firm" connected whether Wehwehneh volition inactive see a health and healing centre.

Daniels said the SCO has not changed plans for Wehwehneh to include 373 lodging units, a child-care centre, 2 restaurants, rooftop gardens, bureau abstraction for the SCO and a cardinal atrium.

In bid to physique that atrium, a crane erected on Memorial Boulevard volition soon commencement removing portion of the roof of the building, helium said.

The task is present slated to beryllium completed successful 2028, 2 years aboriginal than initially planned. Daniels said the SCO inactive plans to clasp immoderate signifier of ceremonial successful 2026 to people the 100th day of the archetypal department store.

Financial occupation astatine the Hudson's Bay Co., which is nether creditor protection, does not jeopardize immoderate facet of the Wehwehneh project, Daniels said.

With Bay stores elsewhere successful Canada facing imaginable closure, Daniels said the SCO is prepared to counsel First Nations funny successful acquiring section store existent property of their own.

1st Daniels comments since leave

Daniels' quality astatine the Wednesday announcement was his archetypal since helium took a month-long permission of lack aft helium was hospitalized pursuing an early-morning altercation successful Ottawa successful December.

Daniels described what happened to him successful Ottawa arsenic an "unfortunate incident" and said helium is grateful to stay expansive chief.

"I'm perfectly thankful that I've been capable to get the enactment of the communities and get the enactment of the chiefs," helium said.

He besides thanked staff astatine Aurora Recovery Centre for helping him with what helium described arsenic idiosyncratic issues.

The announcement astir Wehwehneh was also the archetypal for SCO since it replaced main enforcement officer Joy Cramer with Ryan Bear.

"We're present to marque a connection that this task is good connected its way to completion," Daniels said.