Developers' holiday wish lists

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

What real estate leaders want from Santa

Santa has his work cut out for him if he plans to give real estate developer Sandy Shindleman everything on his wish list this year.

The Free Press recently asked three prominent players in the city's commercial real estate sector for a list of things they'd like for Christmas.

One of them was Shindleman, president of Shindico, one of the city's largest commercial real estate management and development firms. Another was Ken Jones, chairman of the commercial division of the WinnipegREALTORS Association, and the third was Sue Ziemski, president of the Manitoba chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association.

While Shindleman gave Santa a pretty tall order to fill, Jones and Ziemski weren't exactly easy on the guy, either. But let's start with Shindleman.

At the top of his wish list was a 300,000-square-foot tenant for the Bay's downtown department store.

Shindico has been trying for more than six years to redevelop the downtown landmark building into an office/retail complex, with the Bay occupying the bottom two floors and the basement level, and offices on the remaining four floors. Shindleman said he believes finding a new use for the building, which has far more space than the Bay needs, would be a major victory in the battle to revitalize the downtown. But while he's had extensive talks with a number of public- and private-sector organizations, so far there have been no takers.

Shindleman also had the provincial economy in mind when drawing up his wish list. He asked for "thousands of new jobs for Manitoba," which has been on a bit of job-creation roll in the last few years, but could always use a few thousand more.

Shindleman also requested more direct flights and air carriers for Winnipeg's Richardson International Airport. And for Shindico's own tenants and customers, he asked for "great sales and prosperity."

Of course, no Christmas wish list would be complete without a request for world peace and an end to world hunger, and Shindleman's was no exception. And as someone who has struggled with his weight, he also tossed in one personal request: "a good weight-loss pill."

What Ken Jones of the WinnipegREALTORS Association wants for the holidays won’t fit in a box — he wants more warehouse space, saying the city is now seen as a distribution hub

Jones used an abbreviated variation of the 12-days-of-Christmas theme when drawing up his five-item wish list. But if you're thinking calling birds or French hens, forget, it.

At the top of his list were five golden tenants, followed by four large warehouses, three investment deals, two new tenant mandates, and "a few new commercial agents."

For the uninitiated (are you listening, Santa?), a "golden tenant" is someone like the city, provincial or federal government. Not only do they increase the value and reputation of a building and help attract other tenants, but the landlord never has to worry about them not paying the rent.

"If you can bring a tenant like that to your landlord, you're a hero!" Jones said.

Four large warehouses might come in handy because Jones said the demand for warehouse and distribution space in Winnipeg is heating up, and it's coming from both local and out-of-town players. For example, he has a client from Edmonton coming to the city next month to look at warehouses for his business. If he can't find one to buy, he's willing to rent.

"I think Winnipeg is really starting to be recognized again as an important (distribution) hub," Jones said.

Three investment deals also would be nice because there are tons of investors, big and small, interested in buying commercial properties in Winnipeg right now. Not only are prices more affordable than in most major cities, but the return on investment is good. It's enough to leave real estate agents with visions of sales commissions dancing in their heads.

As for the tenant mandates, Jones said you can never have too many clients. And with the market as active as it is, the same goes for commercial agents.

"I could use three more agents right now. We could do even more (business) if we had more agents. Also, we're a mature industry... so we're always looking for some up-and-comers."

It turns out Shindleman wasn't the only one who had the downtown on his mind when drawing up his wish list. One of the things Ziemski asked for is the adoption of the downtown lighting plan proposed by the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone.

"For a relatively small investment by the building owners, downtown Winnipeg buildings could be lit in the evening (LED of course) to highlight the incredible architecture we have that goes so unnoticed," Ziemski wrote.

She also asked for more evergreen trees in the downtown.

"Our trees are so nice in the summer, but lose their attraction in the winter when they are bare. The few places along Portage Avenue with evergreens really 'spruce' up the area" (no pun intended).

And Ziemski didn't stop there. She also asked for the pedestrian barriers at Portage and Main to be lifted after the morning and evening rush hours, and on weekends.

"To me it's a tragedy being forced underground."

She also asked for a one-hour lunch break for all downtown workers so they can hit the streets for a little exercise and a lot of shopping.

"I sure hope the 2,000-plus Manitoba Hydro people get this one hour every day when they take residence in their incredible new head office on Portage Avenue," she said.

Ziemski would also like all landlords and tenants to find it in their hearts to pay "a living wage... to the people who perform the work that most of us do not want to do."

Her final request was for something for which other business people and business groups have begging for years: "Get rid of the taxes that are crippling investment in Winnipeg..."

Let's see how you handle that hot potato, Santa.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Economy, environment and putting people first

The Free Press asked three prominent players in Winnipeg's commercial real estate sector -- developer Sandy Shindleman, broker Ken Jones and building manager Sue Ziemski -- for a list of things they'd like for Christmas, mostly for their industry and the province. Here's a sampling of what they asked for:

Under the 'Think Big' category:

• A 300,000-square-foot tenant for the top four floors of the Bay's historic downtown department store -- Shindleman
• Four large warehouses to offer up to a growing number of businesses that are starting to look at Winnipeg as a great place to set up a distribution centre -- Jones
• World peace and an end to world hunger -- Shindleman

Under the 'Think Green' category:

• A new lighting plan for downtown Winnipeg to show off all that beautiful downtown architecture (LED lights, of course) -- Ziemski
• More evergreen trees to "spruce up" the downtown during those bleak winter months -- Ziemski

Under the 'Think People' category:

• Thousands of new jobs for Manitoba -- Shindleman
• Mandatory one-hour lunch breaks for all downtown workers so they can hit the streets for a little exercise and a lot of shopping -- Ziemski
• A few new commercial real estate agents to help handle all the business that's out there -- Jones
• "A good weight-loss pill" -- Shindleman
• 'Thousands of new jobs for Manitoba' -- one of Sandy Shindleman's requests for Santa