\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4468610_web1_260811-Downtown-00382.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Manitoba Business Minister Jamie Moses announces new funding for downtown businesses on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Eligible small- and medium-sized businesses located in the area bordered by Portage Avenue to the north, Hargrave and Donald streets to the east (excluding Canada Life Centre), St. Mary Avenue to the south and Vaughan Street to the west can now apply for grants of up to $200,000 each.<\/p>\n
Projects from businesses that are locally owned, bring new or \u201cunderserved\u201d goods and services downtown, fill previously vacant storefronts, extend operating hours, face Graham Avenue and\/or create \u201cnew street-facing activity\u201d will be given priority.<\/p>\n
Grants could pay for lighting, signs, windows, entrances, accessibility upgrades, landscaping and some interior improvements visible from the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want businesses to thrive in the downtown, so now there is incentive to make an investment in their storefronts and in their spaces to attract more customers,\u201d said Mayor Scott Gillingham.<\/p>\n
After the announcement, some Graham Avenue business owners shared mixed views about the idea.<\/p>\n
The owner of Bison Books said a former bus corridor along Graham brought thousands of people to the area each day until Winnipeg Transit removed it in June 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s left this area in a bit of a no-man\u2019s land,\u201d said Aimee Peake.<\/p>\n
Peake said ample summer construction is now snarling traffic and eliminating parking spots, making it harder for even the most loyal customers to visit her store. In that context, she said storefront improvement grants miss the mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cTelling us that they want our businesses to look prettier when I don\u2019t own this building is ridiculous. If you were going to give us some kind of relief to help offset the damage \u2026 then that would be one thing. But making the front of my business more appealing is not going to bring more customers to the street,\u201d said Peake.<\/p>\n
She would prefer money be spent to attract more businesses downtown, bring back more bus traffic or provide direct financial support to companies affected by the loss of the transit corridor.<\/p>\n
The owner of Other Places Books, which opened on Graham earlier this month, likes the idea of storefront grants.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s certainly something I\u2019d look into. I certainly support the idea of having more foot traffic on Graham (Avenue). That\u2019s something that would be good for us,\u201d said Didi Chanoch.<\/p>\n
Chanoch, who uses they\/them pronouns, said their support is tied to the general idea, noting exact details of the program will determine how successful it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nicer the street is, the street-facing stores, the likelier people are to see this as a place to shop,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Mayor Scott Gillingham (left) and Downtown Winnipeg BIZ CEO Kate Fenske at the press conference announcing new funding for downtown businesses on Tuesday.<\/p>\n When asked about concerns over scarce foot traffic along Graham Avenue, Gillingham said a late June change now brings the D19 Winnipeg Transit route closer to Graham. Its path now passes through Kennedy Street and Graham, as well as Vaughan Street and Graham, stopping about 50 metres from Graham, the mayor\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank business owners who continue to invest along Graham Avenue. We\u2019re going to continue to work on this until it gets stronger,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n The mayor stressed \u201cexciting\u201d redevelopments of Portage Place and the former Bay Downtown will help revitalize the city\u2019s core, including Graham.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, safety concerns continue to create challenges for some downtown businesses.<\/p>\n On Monday, a co-owner of Boujee Restaurant told the Free Press he no longer plans to rebuild, after three fires ripped through the Main Street building since October. Kanish Sood said repeated crime and vandalism instead convinced him to move on.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Gillingham declined to weigh on in the business owner\u2019s opinion but stressed downtown is showing positive momentum overall.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t speak to what that individual property (owner) is doing \u2026 but I know that right behind that property, Railside at The Forks has remarkable investment happening, with multiple buildings going up, which means there will be hundreds of residents living within a stone\u2019s throw of that property. I think that property is prime for the right development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n CentreVenture Development Corporation and the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ will help the city and province review applications for the storefront grants, which will continue until the money runs out. Deadlines to apply are set for Sept. 30, Dec. 31 and March 31, 2027.<\/p>\n joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n