Location, location
November 9, 2007
Portage Daily Graphic
Written by: John Cairns
The relocation of The Source by Circuit City to a new location at Royal Plains is more positive growth for the development.
That is according to John Pearson, the broker for Winnipeg-based Shindico Realty, Inc., which is developing the property.
“Our momentum continues to move forward,” he said.
Pearson said at the moment, the Source is the latest tenant—but not the last one—to locate in the development.
The Source moved out of the Portage la Prairie Mall, closing its store there in October when its lease ended.
The new store is now open for business at Royal Plains and has been serving customers since Nov.1.
“It is happening at some point,” said store manager Chris Day, but he could not give a firm date.
The new Source space is twice the size of the previous store at the mall, allowing the store to carry a lot more product.
“We’re classified as a higher-class store now,” Day said.
Pearson said talks are going on with other national retailers and chains, but no deals are finalized, and he could not disclose who the negotiations are with. However, Shindico is “continuing to market the property,” looking for potential new businesses.
Shindico already has deals in place to develop property for Superstore and Home Depot at the Royal Plains site. Construction for those two properties is expected to commence sometime in the new year.
Meanwhile, at the mall, there is no news about whether Giant Tiger stores will be moving in. Officials at Giant Tiger said recently they are in talks with Portage Mall, but no official announcement has been made by Giant Tiger or by the Northwest Company that operates the discount department stores in Western Canada.
The most recent store announcement by Giant Tiger was of a move into the Saskatoon market, with a new store set to open there on Nov. 17.
Kris Mutcher, of Colliers Pratt McGarry of Winnipeg, which manages Portage Mall, said there are no new deals at the mall.
“Still working hard to get more deals done, but nothing new to report,” Mutcher said yesterday.
Colliers Pratt McGarry has been seeking an anchor tenant at the mall to replace Canada Safeway Ltd., which closed its store in February.
Portage Mall has seen new tenants Hildebrand Music and Kassie’s Jewelry move into the mall and the new RONA store opened for business in late September. The Pet Valu store, located in the west end of the mall is planning to relocate to a larger space near the M&M Meat Shops. That move is expected to take place sometime in the new year.
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