Not just another mall?

November 21, 2009
Winnipeg Sun
Written by: Chris Kitching

Ikea-anchored shopping mecca on Kenaston to feature year-round skating rink

When its doors begin to open in two years, there will be more to Winnipeg's newest shopping mecca than Swedish furniture giant Ikea, developers revealed in a master plan yesterday.

Ikea will be the main attraction and largest tenant but three additional anchor stores and several smaller shops will be part of the Seasons of Tuxedo development.

The location will also boast a variety of amenities to keep people comfortable and attract visitors, including covered shopping areas and a large ice-skating rink, according to a preliminary concept drawing.

The first of the stores are scheduled to open in late 2011.

At this point, however, developers aren't revealing which retailers have signed on or which ones they're pursuing to join Ikea on a 1.5-million-sq.-ft. site at Kenaston Boulevard and Sterling Lyon Parkway in southwest Winnipeg, one of Winnipeg's fastest growing and wealthiest areas.

Michael Nozick, president of Fairweather Properties Inc., said some new-to-Winnipeg stores will be among them.

"This won't be just a strip mall. This will be something far more exciting," Nozick said after a sod-turning ceremony.

The megaproject is a joint venture between Fairweather Properties and Ikea.

Construction crews begin installing underground services next week. That will be followed by road construction.

The plans call for Ikea's 350,000-sq.-ft. store to be built on the southwest corner of the intersection, along with a hotel and residential buildings.

On the northwest corner, there are plans to build a weather-protected shopping promenade, complete with trees, brooks and warmed walkways.

The promenade will encircle an open-air Olympic-size ice-skating rink, which will operate year-round, even in the blistering heat, developers say.

The development is part of a boom in Winnipeg's south end. The Waverley West and Ridgewood South residential developments are expected to create up to 14,000 new homes.

The projects will result in a huge increase in traffic.

Currently, 58,648 vehicles pass through Kenaston and Sterling Lyon on an average weekday.

The number will jump to 91,000 when the retail development is finished, according to projections.

chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca