It was a busy summer at Garden City Plaza, located at 2211 McPhillips Street in Winnipeg, this year. There were a multitude of construction projects over a 10-month period including a sewer replacement, parking lot restoration, roof membrane replacement, common area upgrade, and façade redevelopment.
The sewer line was in poor condition and replacement was the only option; this work started at the beginning of March. The roof work to replace the membrane on both buildings started shortly behind. The roof membranes on both buildings were beyond their useful lives and this work was coordinated with the façade redevelopment. As part of the roof work, the R value was increased significantly to R25 meeting Power Smart standards to increase efficiency resulting in decreased energy costs.
The façade work commenced in May to modernize the overall aesthetics of the property and to provide a greater and more professional signage opportunity for our tenants. All of the lighting at the property has been upgraded to LED to both brighten up the common areas while further decreasing the energy costs. The lobby and second floor office areas were painted throughout, and new carpets and furnishings installed.
The original entrance to the second-floor office space was non-descript and difficult to locate if you were not familiar with the property. The new entrance is now clearly distinguishable, surrounded by cultured stone, black tinted window area, and a new canopy. The entranceway now features new LED ‘halo’ address moniker signage that appears black during the day and glows white at night creating quite the contrast. A similar cultured stone canopy entrance concept was completed at the Assiniboine Credit Union. This look will also be incorporated in the pylon sign redevelopment already underway, consistent in design with the facades incorporating a cultured stone base, dark frame, larger tenant panels and LED back lighting for dominance.
We have also completed a full parking lot restoration. This work was completed in three phases to lessen the impact on the tenants and to minimize disruption.
Completing all of these projects on time and on budget was a major challenge, however all our efforts have clearly paid off. The improvements have had a significantly positive impact on the operations, visibility and appeal of this location. We have received extremely positive feedback from our tenants with reports of the increased awareness, traffic and sales – mission accomplished! We are currently finalizing offers from several new tenants – stay tuned to find out which new businesses are coming to Garden City in the very near future!
Sandra Sumner
Associate Vice President, Property Management
