Project of the Week: The Sutton Place Hotel Winnipeg

Our latest Project of the Week will be taking pride of place in the sports, hospitality and entertainment district of Winnipeg, Canada.

The Sutton Place Hotel Winnipeg is being developed by Vancouver’s Northland Properties Corporation in conjunction with True North Real Estate Development, a division of True North Sports + Entertainment, a Manitoba-based sports and entertainment company.

Transformative mixed use

The five star hotel will be part of Winnipeg’s True North Square, a transformative mixed-use C$400 million development that features over 1.5 million sq ft of office, residential, retail, food hall, direct access to public rapid transit transportation, heated underground parking, and public plaza space in five towers.

Sutton Place Hotel is part of phase two of the construction, with the third phase seeing the development of a 19-storey tower, the fifth onsite skyscraper, that will serve as the North American headquarters for Manitoba-headquartered insurance company Wawanesa.

Two tower site

The property comprises an 18-storey, 288 hotel room tower and a 13-storey, 130-suite residential tower incorporating a five podium structure, being built just adjacent to the RBC Convention Centre and attached to it by a climate-controlled skywalk.

Northland Properties’ Sutton Place brand will bring its tradition of luxury to the city, evoking classic and elegant style with a European flair. This includes hand-crafted furnishings, silk tapestries and premium bedding. Perkins & Will’s Vancouver office took the lead on the architecture, alongside Architecture 49 Montreal.

Luxury amenities

A fourth location for the brand, following sites in Edmonton, Revelstoke Mountain Resort and Vancouver, the latest property will offer guests 430,000 sq-ft of five-star space including an indoor swimming pool, whirlpool, fitness centre, spa, conference facilities, a landscaped rooftop garden and an elaborate porte-cochère (grand entrance) to both the hotel and residence towers.

The more than 8,000 sq-ft of ground floor retail space will be anchored by the feature restaurant, Chop Steakhouse & Bar.

Construction delays

The development was first announced in 2016, with local firm PCL Constructors assigned to carry out the build. The construction broke ground in 2018 and completion was originally scheduled for 2021. However, that was subsequently pushed back to 2022 and its current completion window is now Q1 2026.

Commenting on the schedule, Northland Properties’ communications manager Pamela Jacques told regional news outlet CTV Winnipeg in 2021: “Following some unexpected delays, we plan to resume construction in the spring of 2022.” 

Luxury tradition

When the project was first announced, Tom Gaglardi, chairman and CEO of The Sutton Place Hotels said: “True North Sports & Entertainment is creating a cutting-edge development, and we are thrilled to introduce The Sutton Place Hotel brand to Winnipeg. Our philosophy is ‘A Tradition of Luxury’, and that’s exactly what we’ll be bringing to Winnipeg.”

Jim Ludlow, president of True North Real Estate Development added: “Northland Properties has always been a great partner and friend. We are genuinely pleased to introduce the Gaglardi Family, The Sutton Place brand, and its premium amenities and services to Winnipeg as part of our broad vision for True North Square.”

Northland Properties is also currently developing Sandman Signature Hotel Downtown Fort Worth, converting one of downtown Fort Worth’s most iconic properties, the W.T. Waggoner Building, into a 245-room full-service hotel. Completion is slated for Q1 2023.

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