The Polo Park Plaza Target might be closing on April 12 but plans were already afoot for the 600,000 square foot complex north of Polo Park. The retail present currently located there is Marshalls, Bed Bath & Beyond, Mark’s, Atmosphere and Destination Maternity. In recent month’s a Cora’s has opened up adding the to the amenities.
The loss of the Target is a blow to be sure but interest in the site the building stands on has to be high. It is a modern building with a parking lot protected from the elements. Some suggested Lowe’s Home Improvement but I don’t see that happening as most lumber yards require a drive in area to pick up supplies and unless substantial changes are made to the site, it seems unlikely. More possible takers might be Nordstrom’s or la Maison Simons from Quebec that is expanding their department stores across Canada.
Even if the Target building has to come down before it is palatable to to another operator, I suspect the location will be too goo to pass up indefinitely.
Interestingly enough, other spots inside Polo Park Plaza may help solidify the whole mall as a hot spot. Shindico as developer wants to put an office, hotel, other bigger retailers and a 150,000 factory outlet mall with underground parking on the site.
Given that Outlet Collection of Winnipeg is well underway at Seasons of Tuxedo, this could be a foot race to to see who gets done first. My bet is that there is no way to catch up with Tuxedo although the appeal of being close to Polo Park might be a siren call for some.
It is a tough time for retailers to be sure. Several retailers have stumbled and failed or had to re-organize. All things considered Winnipeg could have been much worse hit by the closure of Future Shop. Winnipeg only lost two stores in the 60 plus stores shut down. A Regent Future Shop closed several months ago as well. Online sales from giants like Amazon are changing the market. Is it no wonder that Amazon is looking at drone delivery of product? At some point, when does the market reach saturation point on the roads for delivery service?
The one thing that the Polo Park area would probably like to put in in his housing. That option is off the table due to the nearby airport. If the rules had been in effect a few years ago, no apartments would have gone up in that area of St. James. The rules pretty much make the option difficult of not impossible to do today.
Target might be closing by Polo Park Plaza is probably going to be successful and once the location of the store becomes available, there are likely to be retailers bidding for it.
This has been a guest editorial by John Dobbin.
To read more from John, visit his blog Observations, Reservations, Conversations
