The Q1 2024 Downtown Snapshot is now available. This quarterly report by the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ highlights developments during the past quarter and builds understanding of downtown’s current economic landscape.

Q1 kicked off a 2024 full of promise, bringing more people downtown than this time last year!

In 2024’s first quarter, our downtown continued to build off the momentum we experienced in late 2023. Five new businesses opened their doors and overall visitation increased by 14.7% compared to Q1 in 2023. We heard more exciting announcements about downtown projects, and some of those projects got off the ground or wrapped up. Downtown has been in the spotlight, especially with a focus on our city’s most famous intersection.

That said, we still have work to do. While on the rise, customer traffic remains unpredictable and hasn’t fully recovered since the pandemic. Despite businesses returning to in-person work, downtown continues to struggle to fill empty office space, especially in older buildings. As always, people want to know they can feel safe downtown – something we’re continuously advocating for and working to help improve.

READ THE FULL REPORT

Thank you to our incredible partners and community members for making our annual Spring CleanUp a huge success!

With nearly 700 participants, this year’s event saw a record number of individuals rolling up their sleeves to support our efforts in creating a thriving downtown that is clean, attractive and accessible for everyone.

Thanks to your helping hands and team effort, we were able to make a significant impact in our community:

• Over 415 bags of litter picked.
• 700 volunteers pitched in, representing 64 organizations and individual volunteers.
• 350 CleanUp kits packed and distributed (for additional community clean-ups)

Thank you to our incredible partners and sponsors, Manitoba Hydro and Wawanesa Insurance, and to the City of Winnipeg, Recycle Everywhere and Panda Tea for their support in this year’s event.

Last month, the Manitoba government hosted a public safety summit to help guide its efforts in developing a provincewide Public Safety Strategy. The summit brought together a variety of community leaders from across the province to discuss ways to reduce crime, enhance community safety, and tackle the underlying causes of crime.

The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ was pleased to be invited to participate in this summit and was represented by two of our Board members – Louise Blanchard from Birch Wellness Center and Andrew Parkes from Eph Apparel Inc. – both of whom have unique experiences and understanding of these issues as business owners and service providers in the downtown community.

We look forward to seeing this provincial strategy come together to help improve public safety – a key focus of our advocacy efforts to ensure a thriving downtown full of people that drives economic activity.

Learn more

Congratulations to InterGroup Consultants on their remarkable milestone of 50 years in our downtown, now situated at the Paris Building on Portage!

Since 1974, they have been providing invaluable support and innovative solutions, offering a wide range of consulting services.

Thank you for your decades of service and commitment to our vibrant downtown. Here’s to celebrating this extraordinary year and to many more!

LEARN ABOUT INTERGROUP

As part of CentrePlan 2050, the City of Winnipeg's long-term downtown plan, the city has initiated the process of designing a re-imagined Graham Avenue.

The goal of this project is to establish a signature street in our downtown—an inviting space to meet up on patios, attend a market, host an event, read a book in the shade or enjoy a dog walk.

The public is encouraged to learn more about the project and view the draft designs at an Open House on Wednesday, May 15.

Time: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. CDT
Location: Carol Shields Auditorium, Millennium Library, 251 Donald St.
Format: Drop-in at your convenience

These plans will be presented to the City Council for consideration in the coming months.

MORE INFO

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions:
204-958-4640
info@downtownwinnipegbiz.com

Thank you,

Kate Fenske, CEO
Downtown Winnipeg BIZ