Graham flexes retail muscle

September 24, 2007
Winnipeg Free Press
Written by: Murray McNeill

8 new businesses set up shop on avenue in last two years

It's been referred to as Portage Avenue's little brother, but Graham Avenue is finally showing signs of emerging from its big brother's shadow and flexing a little retail muscle of its own.

At least eight new businesses have set up shop on the downtown street in the last two years, including two in the last three months, according to the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone.

There are now 58 businesses on the nine-block avenue, which runs parallel to Portage between Vaughan Street and Main Street. That leaves only five vacant storefronts, including one -- the former Shoppers Drug Mart store at Graham and Kennedy Street -- that has been conditionally sold, said Stefano Grande, executive director of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ.

Grande said that's a big improvement from the 21 vacant store fronts that littered the avenue in 1994 -- the year the City of Winnipeg announced it was developing Graham Avenue as a mixed-used transit mall.

Grande and others describe that development as a turning point in Graham Avenue's fortunes. Like the downtown in general, Graham went through tough times in the 1980s and '90s as shoppers and businesses fled the downtown for the bright lights and big crowds at the city's regional shopping malls.

What the transit mall did was funnel hundreds of Winnipeg Transit buses and tens of thousands of bus riders onto Graham during weekdays. According to the latest Winnipeg Transit figures, 1,650 buses and 24,900 passengers now converge on the street each weekday, Grande said.

That creates a vibrancy on the street that's hard for retailers to ignore. And it's one of the driving forces behind the street's gradual revival, said.

It was certainly one of the big attractions for two of the newest businesses to spring up on Graham -- Priscilla's Elegant Shop, a clothing and gift boutique which sells things like women's plus-size clothing, handbags, jewelry and household decorations; and Price Peelers, a discount store that sells a variety of household items, giftware, toys and jewelry priced at between $1 and $30, with most in the $5 to $15 range.

"The traffic is great because all the buses come along here," said Priscilla's owner Shirley Ankrah. "So there's lots of walk-in traffic... and you need lots of walk-in traffic."

Price Peelers manager Sandra Morley said it also relies heavily on walk-in traffic.

"During the lunch hour a lot of people come in and look around and then come back after work and pick up whatever they were looking at," Morley said. "It's been very positive."

Grande noted Winnipeg Transit and the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ also have spent more than $1.2 million over the last year on street renovations and improvements on Graham. And that also helps make the street more attractive to retailers.

"There is always retail coming and going," he said, "but what we're seeing for the first time in a long time is more coming than going, not just on Graham, but all through the downtown."

While he said he feels progress is being made, Grande also admits there's still a long way to go.

"Definitely there is much more improvement that needs to be happen when it comes to Graham Avenue and the downtown. I don't want to paint a picture that everything is perfect. We really want to see more office workers and more downtown living."

That's why the completion of Manitoba Hydro's new downtown office tower is so eagerly anticipated. Its expected to be a major catalyst for further retail and business development on Graham and other nearby streets, Grande said, in much the same way the November 2004 opening of the new arena helped to spur new commercial development in the area.

Morley and Ankrah said they're certainly excited about the pending arrival of more than 2,100 Hydro employees. The 22-storey, $278-million office tower is being build on a one-square-block parcel of land between Portage and Graham and Carlton and Edmonton streets, and is to be complete next May.

"This (Graham) will be a very prime location, I think, because there will be thousands of employees there and they'll be going out during their lunch hour to shop," Morley said.

"That's one of the reasons I want to stay -- to find out exactly what impact that is going to have," added Ankrah.

One property owner whose holdings include three buildings on Graham Avenue said it's great to see more new businesses opening on the street.

"There is definitely a revival happening in that area," Ellery Broder, owner of Broder Co. Development Inc., said in an interview.

Broder is also excited about Hydro project and the positive impact that could have.
"No single project is a panacea, but I think it's going to be very good for the area," he said. "I think it's going to generate an incredible demand for goods and services... "

Like Grande, Broder said he believes the successful revitalization of the downtown is dependent upon attracting more businesses and residents. The latter would help generate more retail activity during evenings and weekends, which Ankrah said are now dead times for most downtown retailers.

To that end, his company is looking into the feasibility of adding three floors of condos to the top of one of its Graham Avenue buildings. He said a decision will likely be made within six months.

He also repeated his earlier call for tax breaks and other government incentives to help lure more boutique retailers and restaurants to the downtown and to encourage upgrades and improvements to existing properties.

"I think it would definitely move things... along much more quickly," he said.

Know of any newsworthy or interesting trends or developments in the local office, retail, or industrial real estate sectors? Let real estate reporter Murray McNeill know at the e-mail address below, or at 697-7254.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Improvements along the mall

Here is a breakdown of the more than $1.2 million worth of Graham Avenue street improvements completed in the last year by Winnipeg Transit and the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone:

• Repairs to pedestrian lighting poles (including new shrouds at base of poles);
• Repairs to roadway, curbs, catchbasins, sidewalks, and fences;
• Installation of additional bike hoops/racks (seven);
• Installation of new information kiosks (six);
• Installation of newspaper box anchor hoops and signage;
• Retrofitting the mall to comply with the city's universal design policy to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities. The work included implementation of a revised sidewalk paving pattern to provide a clear path of pedestrian travel along the sidewalks, of a detectable waiting area at the head of each bus stop (for use by persons with sight disabilities), and of detectable paving stones at all intersection crosswalks.

Here are improvements being completed by late October or early November at each bus stop on the Graham Mall:

• A new heated shelter;
• A new illuminated sign structure;
• New transit route/schedule information displays;
• New benches.
• As well, new street banners are being installed along Graham which use an art-deco theme to help provide a recognizable identity for the businesses along the street. Local artists also will be painting new murals on the walls of some Graham Avenue buildings and on 10 utility boxes along the street.

-- Source: Winnipeg Transit and the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ