The massive amount of reconstruction along St. James is the aftermath of Canad Inns Stadium being demolished and the land redeveloped.
The promise was that money would be used to re-build the woeful roads around CF Polo Park, Manitoba’s largest shopping centre. One of the roads fixed and enhanced was St. Matthews. The better roads have contributed to a number of businesses (old and new) moving into the Polo Park neigbourhood.
The retail strip on St. James Street that contains Best Buy, Save on Foods and Hockey Life is getting an addition to its north side. Buy Buy Baby is a sister store of Bed, Bath and Beyond and specializes in all things baby related.
Bed, Bath and Beyond already has one store in Winnipeg by Polo Park so Buy Buy Baby will be new to the local market. In recent years, some retailers have focused on babies as a niche market so this might not be the last retailer to be seen entering the market here.
The intersection of St. James and St. Matthews looks to be busy as in addition to Buy Buy Baby, the former Target has now been converted into Marshalls, Winners and 24-7 In Touch call center. Several other retailers and restaurants have announcements coming up soon as well.
Still no word on what is coming to Sears Polo Park but it unlikely another Christmas will pass with it empty.
This has been a guest editorial by John Dobbin.
To read more from John, visit his blog Observations, Reservations, Conversations
