Polo Park

Polo Park
Location 1485 Portage Ave.,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Opening date May 1, 1959
Management Cadillac Fairview
Owner Cadillac Fairview
No. of stores and services 200+
Total retail floor area 1,202,000 square feet (111,700 m2)
No. of floors 3
Website www.polopark.ca

Polo Park is Winnipeg's largest retail and entertainment district, located at 1485 Portage Avenue. It is the largest mall out of the eight malls in the city. Situated on the former Polo Park Racetrack, the Polo Park Mall was built in 1959. The mall opened on August 20, 1959. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Winnipeg when a roof was added in 1963.[1] It was one of the earliest covered malls in Canada, the first being the Park Royal Shopping Centre in 1962.[2]

The mall of Polo Park has over 200 stores including The Bay, Sears, Marshalls, and the Cineplex Entertainment movie theatres which also includes an IMAX venue. It is the 12th largest shopping centre in Canada and the largest between Toronto and Edmonton.

The original mall department store anchors were Eaton's and Simpsons Sears. In 1986, they were joined by Bretton's but the department store folded in 1996.

The district was once the sports hub of Winnipeg, with the Winnipeg Arena, Canad Inns Stadium, and Winnipeg Velodrome all formerly located at Polo Park. The Velodrome was torn down in the 1990s to make way for a strip mall that includes Home Depot and Chapters. The arena and stadium have also since been demolished and replaced by new retail and office complexes.[3]

The CKY building was situated near the stadium and the arena. Until 2006, it housed the city's CTV Television Network affiliate, CKY-TV. For many years, it was also the home of CKY radio and FM 92 CITI. The building was also the original home of the WTN network. In April 2010, Corus Radio Winnipeg announced that it would relocate its radio broadcast facility to the former CTV building, as part of a lease agreement between Corus Entertainment and Cadillac Fairview. The relocation to Polo Park was originally slated for January 2011. CJOB 680, CJGV-FM 99.1 and CJKR-FM 97.5 would become the anchor tenants, occupying the entire second floor of the three-story building. This move will expand its radio, production and business operations to 17,500 square feet (1,630 m2). The move was completed at the end of February 2011. All three stations are now operating from this state of the art location.

Expansions

In 1986 the mall got a $75 million renovation that added a second story. Some downtown Winnipeg merchants foresaw how it would negatively affect their stores and spoke out about it during city hall hearings in 1984.[4] However Council approved of the expansion plan regardless.[5] The expanded shopping centre opened in mid-August 1986.[6]

In 2007 Polo Park earned itself a $30 million expansion and renovation, adding 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2).

A new $49-million expansion to Polo Park opened October 1, 2014 in the former Zellers space on the mall's second level. The redeveloped space contains 114,000 square feet of retail space and 17 new stores.[7] The new stores include Nine West, Fossil, Journey's, Watch It!, Saje, Thomas Sabo, Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters.[8] The latter two stores, which opened for business October 16, 2014, embody "a decidedly rustic and vintage feel" and include design elements such as wooden barnyard floors, hay bales, spruce trees, and a pair of old leather hockey skates. [9]

In recent years, Polo Park also added new retail complexes which are located on properties adjacent to the north of the mall. Polo North is located on the site of the former Winnipeg Arena, while The Plaza at Polo Park is currently being developed on the former Canad Inns Stadium grounds. [10]

Anchors & Majors

Canad Inns Stadium was located just north of Polo Park

References

  1. ↑ "The Mall Turns 50". Winnipeg Free Press. August 16, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  2. ↑ "Our History". HBC. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  3. ↑ "There's a new Marshalls in town". Winnipeg Free Press. March 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Downtown merchants criticize Polo Park expansion plan". Winnipeg Free Press. September 7, 1984. p. 3.
  5. ↑ "Polo Park expansion approved by council". Winnipeg Free Press. September 6, 1984. p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Refurbished Polo Park mall overwhelms shoppers". Winnipeg Free Press. August 14, 1986. p. 2.
  7. ↑ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/were-talking-shopping-here-277852551.html
  8. ↑ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/were-talking-shopping-here-277852551.html
  9. ↑ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/brand-spanking-vintage-279533432.html?cx_navSource=d-top-story
  10. ↑ "There's a new Marshalls in town". Winnipeg Free Press. March 3, 2013.

External links


Coordinates: 49°53′02″N 97°11′56″W / 49.8838°N 97.199°W