Kildonan Place

Kildonan Place is a regional shopping centre located at 1555 Regent Avenue West in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The centre serves the East Kildonan area and functions as a mixed retail, grocery, dining, entertainment, and services destination rather than as a standalone consumer-goods brand. Its tenant mix has changed substantially over time as department stores, discount retailers, grocery operators, specialty retailers, and entertainment businesses have occupied or redeveloped major portions of the property. The shopping centre opened on September 24, 1980, with Sears, Hudson’s Bay, and Dominion Foods as its principal anchors. At opening, its Hudson’s Bay store was described as the largest single-floor Hudson’s Bay location in Canada. The centre was designed as a significant suburban retail destination, supported by surface parking and public-transit access. It later expanded its retail offer through large-format and in-line stores, while continuing to operate a food court and cinema facility. Kildonan Place experienced a series of anchor changes during the 2000s and 2010s. Hudson’s Bay closed its location in March 2000, and Dominion Foods also eventually departed. The former Zellers space became one of Winnipeg’s first Target stores in spring 2013, following Zellers’ closure in November 2012. Target subsequently exited Canada, and the former Target premises were substantially reconfigured beginning in 2016. The redevelopment divided the large space into smaller units and introduced retailers including HomeSense, Marshalls, H&M, Urban Planet, Hakim Optical, Skechers, CAA and HUB Insurance. Mastermind Toys, Qdoba, Coal Fired by Carbone, and Almond Nail Bar were also added as freestanding or separately accessed businesses. Sears remained one of the centre’s major anchors until the company’s Canadian wind-down. The Kildonan Place Sears store closed on January 8, 2018, leaving the property with another large vacant area. In 2019, Cineplex announced plans for a new 35,000-square-foot, six-screen entertainment venue in part of the former Sears space. The project was later positioned under Cineplex’s Junxion concept, combining movie exhibition with family-oriented entertainment and complementary food and leisure uses. Cineplex Junxion opened in December 2022. A Save-On-Foods grocery store opened in another portion of the former Sears space in April 2021, adding a substantial everyday-needs component to the centre’s offer. Current or recent anchor tenants identified for the property include Marshalls, HomeSense, Cineplex Junxion, Shoppers Drug Mart, H&M, Save-On-Foods, and Dollarama. The centre is also served by a designated Winnipeg Transit hub and provides surface parking, including facilities used for park-and-ride activity. The property has approximately 460,498 square feet, or 42,781.7 square metres, of gross leasable area and is reported to contain about 119 stores and services, a six-screen cinema, and a food court. Its positioning is primarily regional and convenience-oriented: it combines national chains with local services and entertainment, and it adapts its tenant mix when department-store and big-box formats leave the market.

Kildonan Place opened on September 24, 1980, in Winnipeg’s East Kildonan neighbourhood. Its original anchor lineup consisted of Sears, Hudson’s Bay, and Dominion Foods. The Hudson’s Bay store attracted particular attention because it was described at the time as the largest single-floor Bay store in Canada. From its opening, the centre operated as a substantial suburban retail complex with department-store anchors, food retail, smaller in-line tenants, dining facilities, and cinema-related entertainment. The property’s later history reflects the broader transformation of Canadian shopping centres. Hudson’s Bay closed its Kildonan Place store on March 25, 2000, while Dominion Foods also ceased to be an anchor. The centre subsequently relied more heavily on a mixture of specialty retail, services, food, and discount formats. Plans and development activity called for additional large-format and in-line retail space, allowing the property to adjust its tenant composition as traditional department stores became less dominant. Zellers occupied a major anchor position before closing its store in November 2012. In spring 2013, the former Zellers unit was converted into one of the first Target stores in Winnipeg. Target’s Canadian business later ended, leaving Kildonan Place with another large vacant premises. In October 2016, interior demolition began to break up the former Target space into smaller units. The redevelopment introduced HomeSense and Marshalls as significant tenants, alongside H&M, Urban Planet, Hakim Optical, Skechers, CAA, and HUB Insurance. Mastermind Toys, Qdoba, Coal Fired by Carbone, and Almond Nail Bar were among the additional businesses added during the broader repositioning. Sears continued to operate at Kildonan Place until January 8, 2018, when the store closed as part of the company’s Canadian liquidation and withdrawal. The vacancy created an opportunity to introduce uses beyond conventional department-store retail. In June 2019, Cineplex announced a plan for a new 35,000-square-foot, six-screen cinema in a portion of the former Sears space. Cineplex later stated that the site would use its Junxion banner, a concept intended to combine cinema with family entertainment and related leisure offerings. The venue opened as Cineplex Junxion in December 2022, replacing the existing Famous Players cinema. Another part of the former Sears space was converted for grocery retail. Save-On-Foods opened there in April 2021, adding a supermarket and strengthening the centre’s role as a destination for recurring household shopping. Current anchor listings also include Marshalls, HomeSense, Shoppers Drug Mart, H&M, and Dollarama. The centre is served by a designated Winnipeg Transit bus hub and has extensive surface parking, including infrastructure used for park-and-ride activity. Kildonan Place now operates as a mixed-use regional shopping destination with roughly 460,498 square feet of gross leasable area, approximately 119 stores and services, a food court, and a six-screen entertainment venue. Rather than depending on a single department-store identity, its contemporary format combines off-price retail, apparel, grocery, pharmacy, home goods, restaurants, services, and cinema-based entertainment. Its history is therefore characterized by repeated anchor replacement and adaptive reuse, particularly following the departures of Hudson’s Bay, Zellers, Target, and Sears.

• 2022

  Cineplex Junxion opens

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Cineplex Junxion opened in December, replacing the previous Famous Players cinema.

• 2021

  Save-On-Foods opens

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  A Save-On-Foods grocery store opened in another portion of the former Sears premises in April.

• 2019

  Cineplex Junxion project announced

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Cineplex announced plans for a new six-screen venue in part of the former Sears space.

• 2018

  Sears closes

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Kildonan Place Sears store closed on January 8 during Sears Canada’s withdrawal from the market.

• 2016

  Former Target space is redeveloped

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Interior demolition began to subdivide the former Target unit for multiple new retailers.

• 2013

  Target enters the Winnipeg market at Kildonan Place

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The former Zellers space opened as one of Winnipeg’s first Target stores.

• 2012

  Zellers location closes

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Zellers store closed in November, creating the large premises later occupied by Target.

• 2000

  Hudson’s Bay closes its location

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Hudson’s Bay anchor closed on March 25, ending the centre’s original Bay presence.

• 1980

  Kildonan Place opens

  [1]Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The shopping centre opened on September 24 with Sears, Hudson’s Bay, and Dominion Foods as its principal anchors.

A regional suburban shopping centre offering national retail chains, grocery shopping, dining, services, and family entertainment to Winnipeg’s East Kildonan and surrounding communities.

• Shopping centre tenant mix · 1980

  Retail stores and services

  Kildonan Place hosts a broad tenant mix spanning apparel, footwear, home goods, pharmacy, optical care, insurance, financial and personal services, toys, discount merchandise, and specialty retail. Current or recent anchor and major tenants include Marshalls, HomeSense, H&M, Shoppers Drug Mart, Dollarama, and Save-On-Foods. The centre’s mix has repeatedly been reshaped through the replacement and subdivision of former department-store and big-box spaces.

• Dining · 1980

  Food court and restaurants

  The centre includes a food court and a range of restaurant tenants. Businesses identified in redevelopment materials include Qdoba and Coal Fired by Carbone, while the broader offer is supported by casual dining and take-away options serving shoppers, employees, and cinema visitors.

• Cinema and family entertainment · 2022

  Cineplex Junxion

  Cineplex Junxion is a six-screen entertainment venue occupying part of the former Sears space. It was developed as a Cineplex banner concept combining conventional movie exhibition with family entertainment and complementary leisure features. The venue replaced the centre’s former Famous Players cinema and opened in December 2022.

• Grocery · 2021

  Save-On-Foods

  Save-On-Foods is a supermarket occupying another section of the former Sears premises. Its opening in April 2021 added grocery shopping and everyday household essentials to Kildonan Place’s retail proposition, complementing the centre’s apparel, home, pharmacy, and service tenants.

• 2021

  Add grocery retail to former Sears spaceStrategy

  Background

  Following the departure of Sears, the centre sought to reuse part of the vacant anchor area for a recurring-needs retail category.

  Action taken

  Save-On-Foods opened a grocery store in April 2021.

  Aftermath

  The supermarket strengthened Kildonan Place’s role as an everyday shopping destination in addition to its discretionary retail and entertainment functions.

  Source

• 2019

  Approve a Cineplex Junxion entertainment venueProduct launch

  Background

  The closure of Sears in January 2018 left substantial vacant space and created an opportunity for a destination use beyond traditional department-store retail.

  Action taken

  Cineplex announced a planned 35,000-square-foot, six-screen cinema in part of the former Sears space and later assigned it to the Junxion banner.

  Aftermath

  Cineplex Junxion opened in December 2022, replacing the existing Famous Players cinema and adding a combined cinema and family-entertainment offer.

  Source

• 2016

  Subdivide the former Target premisesStrategy

  Background

  After Target’s Canadian departure, Kildonan Place faced the loss of a large-format anchor and needed to repurpose the former Zellers and Target space.

  Action taken

  Interior demolition began in October 2016 to divide the premises into smaller units for multiple retailers, including HomeSense and Marshalls.

  Aftermath

  The redevelopment brought a wider mix of apparel, home, optical, insurance, toy, restaurant, and specialty tenants to the centre.

  Source

1. 1Kildonan Placeen.wikipedia.org