May 1, 2026 "Buyers emerge for HBC stores in downtown Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver: court docs": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps on BNN Bloomberg:
Buyers have been found for four properties that used to be home to Hudson’s Bay department stores.
Court records filed this week show the defunct retailer and its ex-property partner RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust have takers for their downtown Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver sites, as well as a location at Devonshire Mall in Windsor, Ont.
Astra Real Estate Corp. wants the 8th Avenue location in Calgary,
a numbered company linked to Claridge Homes is after the Ottawa site on Rideau Street
and Onni Development Capital Corp. is eyeing the former store on Granville Street in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, Circle Retail Properties LP wants the Devonshire Mall site on Howard Street.
A receiver, which was appointed to take control of the HBC and RioCan joint venture last year, says it will ask a court next week to approve the Ottawa sale and seek permission for the other transactions soon.
Court filings do not show what the buyers have offered to pay for the properties, nor what they will do with them.
The filings were made around the same time as Brookfield Properties and Larco Investments applied to the City of Toronto to turn the upper floors of a former HBC site on Bloor Street East into a self-storage facility.
HBC closed its property at that location years before the retailer filed for creditor protection in March 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 1, 2026.
Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press
May 4, 2026 "As department stores are ‘sunsetted,’ what’s happening with the former Hudson’s Bay buildings?": Today I found this article by Kathy Le on BNN Bloomberg:
Former Hudson’s Bay buildings across Canada are being reimagined
as owners search for new ways
to repurpose massive retail spaces
following the company’s bankruptcy last year.
In Calgary, a historic Stephen Avenue location could soon be transformed into residential units after a purchase agreement by locally based Astra Real Estate Corp.
A real estate experts say the downtown location makes the building well-suited for housing,
particularly as Calgary’s population continues to grow,
though success will depend
on how the project is executed.
“It has some vibrancy.
There’s
the shops,
the retail,
the restaurants
and some nightlife as well,”
said Calgary realtor Julie Dempsey.
“If you can do something that offers
a unique aspect
and it’s priced affordably
that’s kind of the winning combination.”
Retail analyst Bruce Winder said Calgary’s growth makes residential conversion a strong option in this case,
but in other parts of the country
— particularly where markets are more saturated
— owners are having to take a more creative approach to repurposing large retail spaces.
“It’s just sort of a symptom of how retail has changed,” Winder said.
“More is being bought online.
When it comes to brick and mortar,
consumers either go to discounters like Walmart or Dollarama
or they buy online.”
He said in prime locations,
developers may divide large properties into smaller retail units,
while in other markets they may turn to
residential,
mixed-use
or even unconventional uses.
In Ottawa, the future of a former Hudson’s Bay building in the ByWard Market remains uncertain after a numbered company tied to Claridge Homes reached a deal to purchase the site.
In Toronto, a proposal has been put forward to convert much of a long-vacant former Bay location at Yonge and Bloor streets into a self-storage facility — a plan that has drawn mixed reactions.
Industry observers say adapting these buildings can be difficult due to market conditions,
the decline of large-format retail
and constraints tied to the structures themselves.
“Department stores have ‘sunsetted’ and we just don’t need the same space anymore,”
Winder said.
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