DOWNTOWN Winnipeg’s hotel landscape is undergoing a transformation and some observers say it could significantly impact how visitors and residents alike come to view the city in the not-too-distant future.
Winnipeg Downtown and Sutton Place — are currently under construction in the city and a handful of other existing hotels have recently completed or are undergoing major renovations worth tens of millions of dollars.
“When you add those up together, that’s hundreds of millions of dollars in investment happening in just the hotel market,” says Olivia Billson, director of communications and public relations for the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone (BIZ).
“That of course is going to have a positive benefit to the downtown and to the city.
Those places are employing folks, they’re bringing folks in from out of town and out of country. And a lot of them have restaurants and other venues within their spaces that give people reasons to spend time and money downtown.”
Jino Distasio, a professor of urban geography at the University of Winnipeg, says one of the major drivers of this transformation has been the expansion of the RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg.
That $180-million expansion, which was completed in 2015, nearly doubled the facility’s footprint to 832,000 square feet and created a surge in demand for high-end, short-term accommodations.
“Beginning a few years back, momentum began to build on getting more hotel rooms, premium hotel rooms, in and around the convention centre to really grow the conference and event capacity between Canada Life Centre and all the other sort of meeting places in the downtown,” says Distasio, who is also the U of W’s current interim president.
“That’s kind of the emerging standard for a lot of conferences or events. A lot of organizations like to see that physical connection or a very close proximity (to hotel accommodations).”
THAT will certainly be a major selling point of the luxury Sutton Place Hotel, which is scheduled to open in 2028. The $140- million multi-tower development being built at True North Square will provide nearly 300 upscale rooms and is located just a stone’s throw from the convention centre. It will connect to the convention centre via a skywalk link.
“That will be key for the convention centre to attract even more large-scale, high-quality events, having that direct connection into the hotel … and it will sort of finish up that section of our SHED (Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment District),” Billson says. “I think it’s going to be a big asset and a great addition to our community.”
The other newcomer is the boutique-style, 140-room Hyatt Centric hotel slated to open later this year in a converted office building at 325 Broadway. The nearly $40- million facility will be the first Hyatt Centric hotel in Western Canada and is expected to create up to 70 hotel jobs within the next three years.
BILLSON says the decision to build the venue in that location is an indication of the growing confidence the business community has in Winnipeg’s core.
“I think the fact that we’re seeing new brands coming into the downtown market is a sign they’re doing their research. They’re not going to come here if it’s not going to make sense for them,” she adds.
New life is being breathed into two of the city’s most prominent and long-serving downtown hotels.
The Fort Garry Hotel recently underwent a $1-million upgrade to its first floor as part of its Vice Regal Collection of 12 high-end guest rooms, three luxury suites and a private executive lounge.
Meanwhile, the Fairmont Winnipeg at the corner of Portage and Main closed this summer to facilitate a massive $120-million renovation aimed at elevating the 21-storey property to five-star status. It is scheduled to reopen next spring.
Billson says the BIZ and its members are excited to see the project moving ahead and are looking forward to it bringing more attention to the area and what it has to offer.
“I think the significant investment that they’re putting in that space really shows the confidence that they have in our downtown community and our city’s future. For sure, there’s some short-term pain with it being closed. But I absolutely think there’s going to be some long-term gain,” she adds.
But the news isn’t all rosy when it comes to Winnipeg’s downtown hotel scene.
In August, Canad Inns announced it is looking to sell the Radisson Hotel, along with the adjacent Somerset Building and Metropolitan Entertainment Centre, in an effort to divest itself of property holdings
along Portage Avenue.
Distasio says the potential sale of those two properties should not be viewed in a negative light.
“It’s not uncommon for assets to be bought and sold. I don’t think it signals anything. Take the sale of Portage Place, for example. That was a long time coming and it’s gone from a sale to a half-billion dollar project on Portage Avenue,” he says.
Billson believes all of these hotel projects are going to play a major role in not only transforming how the city’s downtown is going to look in a few years, but also how people think of it.
“Hotels play a key part in our downtown ecosystem and a big part in how people experience our city. If they’re having that positive experience, they are absolutely more inclined to come back and spend more time and support local businesses that are within our area.”
