Winnipeg Free Press

Clothing manufacturer Peter Nygard is partnering with developer Arni Thorsteinson on an $80-million project that will transform a large section of the East Exchange District with covered shopping malls, new office space and hundreds of residential units. Nygard said the project, dubbed Nygard Village, will likely take several years to complete. "We'll do it one building at a time," Nygard said in an interview from his island compound in the Bahamas. The first phase in the project is next Friday's opening of Nygard's new retail concept: a 10,000-square-foot Nygard Fashion World, in the former Athlete's Wear location on Market Avenue. Subsequent components will include a two-block-long covered atrium along the laneway between James Avenue and Market Avenue from Lily Street to Waterfront Drive, which will include shops and restaurants. The project will likely be concluded with the construction of a covered atrium over Market Avenue from Lily Street to Waterfront Drive. "This is a very exciting development," Thorsteinson said. Thorsteinson said he credited the decision by former mayor Glen Murray to stage an international design competition for the East Exchange several years ago. He said that inspired developers and designers to consider how the area could be developed.