A new kind of tenant for Exchange

July 14, 2008
Winnipeg Free Press
Written by: Murray McNeill

A $4-million redevelopment project is underway in the city's historic Exchange District, and it boasts a type of commercial tenant not typically found in the downtown.

Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors plans to open its first downtown showroom next month on the main floor of a four-storey heritage building at 230 Princess St.

It will be the first foray into the heart of a city for Jeld-Wen's Canadian operations. The company's other four product showrooms, in Burnaby, Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal, are all located in suburbs.

Door-and-window showrooms are a rare sight in downtown Winnipeg -- one downtown official couldn't remember the last time there's been one there.

A new manufacturer's showroom is also a step back into the past for the Exchange District; most of the new additions to the area in recent years have been either office operations, retailers or residential units.

Even the residential component of this project is unusual in that it will feature mainly rental units. Most of the other residential redevelopments in the area have featured condos rather than apartments.

Winnipeg businessman Mark Hofer, the building's new owner and the man behind the project, said he opted for rental units because he wanted to create something that was affordable for a wider range of people.

"I think that (more affordable housing) has to happen before the downtown really takes off," said Hofer, the owner of Direct Marketing, a local marketing agency that also owns another redeveloped heritage building on Pacific Avenue immediately behind the Princess Street building.

The bulk of 230 Princess is being converted to residential space. There will be 36 loft-style bachelor and one-bedroom suites on the second, third and fourth floors, plus four or five larger penthouse suites on what is now the roof of the building.

But Hofer said the real key to the project was Jeld-Wen signing a 10-year lease for the main floor.

"They ultimately made this viable."

Jeld-Wen, which has its Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg, is leasing 7,300 square feet. About 2,800 square feet of that will be showroom space and the rest will be a office and classroom space.

Chris Sheldon, the firm's director of marketing, said the company needed to find a replacement for the small showroom it had at its manufacturing plant on Munroe Avenue. Direct Marketing does marketing work for Jeld-Wen, and Hofer urged him to consider opening a showroom in a Princess Street building.

Hofer said he was interested in buying and redeveloping the building, and once Jeld-Wen was on board, he went ahead and purchased it from its out-of-town owner.

He said the previous owner had already started gutting with the intention of converting the building to residential condos, but changed his mind when costs began to mount.

The local architecture firm involved in the project -- 5468796 -- has retained many of the building's heritage features, including the huge windows, the interior brick walls, the wooden ceilings and the timber support beams.

Owners Sasa Radulovic and Johanna Hurme said that adds to the cost of redevelopment, but Hurme added: "In the end, you get a product that is much superior."

While having a downtown showroom is a departure for Jeld-Wen, which doesn't sell directly to the public, Sheldon said the move still made a lot of sense for the company.

For one thing, the central location should be convenient for the people who will be using it -- homebuilders, renovators, architects and Jeld-Wen dealers.

The large size of the space also enables the company to display all its products under one roof -- something it couldn't do with its existing showroom.

And lastly, Jeld-Wen is placing a bigger emphasis on green products and environmentally friendly initiatives, Sheldon said, and contributing to the revitalization of a vacant downtown heritage building fit well with that philosophy.

Ross McGowan, president and chief executive officer of the city's downtown development agency, CentreVenture Development Corp., said it's encouraging to see another heritage building being revitalized in the northern end of the Exchange District, which for years had seen little in the way of new redevelopment projects.

"It's also great news for the downtown that a company of this calibre (Jeld-Wen) has confidence in an area like Princess Street," McGowan said. "We're hoping this will be a bit of a catalyst for further confidence in that area and for further development."

McGowan said he's also pleased that the Princess Street project includes moderately priced rental units.

"Make them affordable for students," he said.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Remaking part of our heritage

Facts and figures about the redevelopment of 230 Princess St.

THE BUILDING

• Location: Northwest corner of Princess and Pacific Avenue
• Size: four storeys
• Type of structure: Romanesque revival style, with brick-and-stone exterior, timber-structure interior, rubblestone foundation.
• History: Built in 1906. Occupied by Frost and Wood Warehouse from 1906 to 1944. Most recent tenant was Cassidy's Restaurant Supply. Vacant since 2000. Sold in January this year.
• New owner: Winnipeg businessman Mark Hofer, owner of Direct Marketing. Also owns other heritage buildings in the Exchange District.

THE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT

• Cost of redevelopment: approximately $4 million.
• The plan: Convert existing warehouse space into commercial and residential space, with Jeld-Wen Windows and Doors leasing the main floor and rental apartments on the top three floors. Also, four or five penthouse suites will be built on the roof. Penthouse suites will be either rental units or condos, depending on market demand.
• Size of Jeld-Wen space: 7,300 square feet, with 2,800 square feet as showroom and the remainder as office and classroom space.
• Size of apartments: Bachelor and one-bedroom units, ranging from 400 to 650 square feet.
• Cost to rent: $600 to $700 a month.
• Size of penthouse suites: 1,400 square feet
• Cost: To be determined
• Completion date: Jeld-Wen to move in within about four weeks. Most of the rental apartments to be completed by Oct. 1 this year, and penthouse suites by the end of the year.

-- Source: Mark Hofer