Hudson’s Bay potential closure could open prime real estate, uncertainty for landmark buildings

As the Hudson's Bay Company waits for the court to decide its fate, questions are being raised about what could happen to all its buildings.

Financially-troubled Hudson’s Bay’s flagship stores are located in the centre of many of Canada’s major cities or else serve as anchor tenants in many of the country’s biggest shopping malls, which means a lot of prime real estate may soon be on the market.

The iconic Canadian retailer has pursued creditor protection and is awaiting a judge’s decision to fully liquidate inventory across 80 stores nationwide.

The Hudson’s Bay on Stephen Avenue is an architectural jewel in Calgary, that some Calgarians told CTV News they would miss if it disappeared -- even if they don’t shop there much anymore.

“I really don’t like when you see these large businesses closed and their buildings tend to stay vacant for a really long time,” said Melissa Tucker.

“It looks nice. I would be disappointed if it were to go,” said Justin Collier.

‘Location, location, location’

The company’s potential collapse could mean central locations in Canada’s largest cities would be up for grabs.

“That’s a lot of real estate coming onto the market at one time,” said Greg Kwong executive chair for Alberta with CBRE Ltd.

Kwong said he could see the downtown Calgary location adapted into a residential building, or even possibly as a grocery store.

“The other option is just to split it up and turn it into a bunch of little smaller retail shops,” he added.

Although heritage advocates are hopeful new owners or developers would maintain the building’s 1913 facade and distinct archway, that could change.

“The building is not designated as municipal or provincial historic resource. And in order for it to be legally protected, the property owner would have to initiate that protection,” said Josh Traptow, CEO for Heritage Calgary. “So it could be significantly altered or demolished.”

As for mall locations, some retail experts said it’s difficult to imagine a comparable department store filling the void left by The Bay, which was incorporated in 1670 as a fur-trader.

“When you lose businesses of this size, you don’t just lose the businesses,” said Omar Fares, retail researcher with Toronto Metropolitan University. “There are so many other retailers in the same space that rely on the (continued) existence of these anchor stores to (continue to) exist.”

He added that the retail landscape has shifted with an increase of online shopping, but said mall shopping spaces are still important and aren’t going away.

For retailers to thrive, he suggested shifting focus to increasing the experiential aspect of shopping.