Winners is coming, major renos planned
There are big plans in the works for the revitalization of Winkler’s Southland Mall.
The Property Brokers Real Estate Group announced last week that Winners is coming to the Norquay Dr. shopping centre, sparking a renovation project that will change the look of the 38-year-old mall both inside and out.
The department store will be located in space north of Shoppers Drug Mart, with its own entrance out into the west parking lot.
“People are going to have to be a little bit patient. There’s a lot of work to do in advance of Winners coming,” cautions Wes Harder of Property Brokers, which has been tasked with leasing out space in the facility.
Portions of the existing building are slated to be demolished and rebuilt not just to make room for Winners but also to create several other newly redesigned rental spaces and entrances.
“Over the next year we’re going to be seeing them do a fair bit of work with demolition on the outside, putting in some storefronts along the front of the mall,” Harder says. “You’re going to see it happening beside Staples. You’re going to see it beside Shoppers, which will be Winners. And directly beside Winners will be another vacant space that will be an option as well.
“And same with the space on the south side of Shoppers—there’s going to a new facade going in there with clearer signage.”
All this work will take place in 2024, with Winners opening sometime in 2025.
These plans have been met with a great deal of excitement by the community.
“There’s been so much talk around the mall for years now of what it could be or what might be,” Harder says. “There is something happening now and it seems the community and the region is just excited that there could be some life breathed back into this building.”
In the days following the announcement, Harder says he fielded numerous calls from potential mall tenants eager to learn more.
“It really seems like people want to see this work. They want this to happen.”
Details about available units and renderings for the renovation project are available on the Property Brokers’ website: thepropertybrokers.ca.
“There’s a variety of spaces and sizes that can be combined to make them bigger, or smaller. Various price points,” Harder says.
A map of the renovated mall shows Staples, Dollar Tree, Friesens Insurance, Scotiabank, Landmark Cinemas, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Valley Fiber (who just recently moved into office space at the south end of the building) will all remain.
Discussions with other current tenants are ongoing.
“You can see that some will be impacted,” Harder notes, “but the hope would be that we don’t lose anybody, that it only benefits everyone.”
