BANFF – Space left vacated by the the closure of the landmark Hudson’s Bay store on the 100 block of Banff Avenue is still available for lease.
While a prominent commercial real estate broker and national retail expert Michael Kehoe earlier indicated Arc’teryx was opening up in one of the spaces left vacant by the closure of the landmark Hudson’s Bay store on the 100 block of Banff Avenue, the listing agent said this is not the case.
“As it stands, neither space has secured a tenant and have only been on the market a relatively short time,” said Brandon Lau, vice president of Avenue Commercial Real estate Solutions who is handling the lease.
Lau said the roughly 10,000 square feet of space, including 6.400-square foot above grade located at 123 Banff Ave. is currently available for lease.
“So far the response to/interest in our listing has been very strong and we don’t expect it to remain available for lease much longer,” he said.
Hudson’s Bay owned half the building at 123-125 Banff Avenue, and another family-run Calgary company owns the other side. In February, the closure of the Banff Bay store was announced by owners, New York-based NRDC Equity Partners. It closed in mid-August.
The Town of Banff’s planning and environment department is reviewing two permit applications for the former Hudson’s Bay site.
One of those is an application from Findlay Group Inc. to divide one unit into two units at 123 Banff Avenue, while the other is a proposed exterior facade change and removal of the Hudson’s Bay sign at 125 Banff Avenue.
“We’ve received development permit/building permit applications to split the space back into two units, but no change of use applications,” said Dave Michaels, manager of development services for the Town of Banff.
“If it’s going to be retail again then we won’t need a development permit but we’ll see a sign permit application for a new business … but we haven’t seen any yet.”
Kehoe said the space left vacant by the closure and sale of The Bay is prime downtown real estate on the coveted 100 block of Banff Avenue, on the sunny side of the street.
He said he doesn’t consider the closure of Hudson’s Bay a loss, noting retail is always changing.
“That store hasn’t been relevant for 15 years,” he said.
“This is the bullseye of Banff Avenue from a commercial real estate standpoint … it doesn’t get any better than there.”
Hudson’s Bay opened its Banff store in 1935 in a location called Caribou Corner at 202 Banff Avenue, before moving to its current location at 125 Banff Avenue in 1947. In 1979, The Bay expanded the store to include space that was formerly occupied by Adrienne’s restaurant.
With its point blankets and multi-striped products that have become a well-recognized symbol of the company and Canada, The Bay in Banff has been a place for residents and visitors to buy men’s and women’s apparel, bathroom and kitchenware, cosmetics, souvenirs and more.
Founded on May 2, 1670, the Hudson’s Bay Company opened its first department store in 1881 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The company announced in February that it planned to lay off two per cent of its total workforce, estimated to be about 250 employees, in corporate roles largely within Canada.
