'I have a bit of a spring in my step': Next steps about what to do with downtown Bay building could come in spring

An air of mystery swirls around the Hudson’s Bay Company building at 450 Portage Avenue, easily one of Winnipeg’s most iconic structures. Shuttered for over a year—after nearly a century in operation—Winnipeggers are left wondering: What will the future hold for the grand structure?

An air of mystery swirls around the Hudson’s Bay Company building at 450 Portage Avenue, easily one of Winnipeg’s most iconic structures.

Shuttered for over a year—after nearly a century in operation—Winnipeggers are left wondering: What will the future hold for the grand structure?

“What’s going to go there? What’s it going to be?” said Winnipegger Krista Blackburn, as she stood by the roughly 650,000 square-foot structure.

“Are they going to fix it? Are they going to invest in it?” she said.

“It’s a part of Winnipeg.”

Originally opened on November 18, 1926, The Bay building closed its doors 94 years later, in November of 2020.

A month later, the City of Winnipeg created an advisory committee to craft a redevelopment plan for the long-time Downtown Winnipeg fixture.