Has Osborne Village lost its cool? More vacancies crop up in iconic Winnipeg neighbourhood

When Jorge Requena Ramos moved to Winnipeg in 2005, he fell in love with Osborne Village.

It was an artsy, cool neighbourhood, with a plethora of restaurants, record storesand underground music venues the exact kind of place a young person would want to live in.

"The village was kind of like an idyllic, cool neighbourhood for a young person to hang out," said the musician and artistic co-ordinator of the West End Cultural Centre.

"For me coming from Mexico City, it felt almost quaint. It was like the right size. You know, everything you needed was within walking distance."

The neighbourhood looks much different 15 years later. There were already numerous vacant spots before the COVID-19 pandemic pummelled the economy, but nowthose gaps are widening.

Stella's announced last week that it was closing its Osborne Street location, citing declining commerce and foot traffic in Osborne Village. Segovia also recently announced it was closing down, and Snap Fitness has moved out of the neighbourhood.

Tenants moving in

Brian Timmerman, executive director of the Osborne Village BIZ, said this is part of the ebb and flow of the neighbourhood, and there are tenants planning to take over some of the vacant spaces.

A Mary Brown's chicken and a cycling shop are planning to open in the neighbourhood soon, and some of the other vacant buildings in the area will likely be turned into office spaces, he said.

Osborne Village's density is part of what makes it unique inWinnipeg, he said.

"There's no place like it in the city, and I think that densification is something that will hopefully ignite another boom," he said.

Still, many businesses have concerns about declining foot traffic, he said.

"What that indicates I really don't know at this point," he said.

"The people are there, there is no question about it. It's how do we bring the people and keep them in Osborne Village, because for a lot of the people that do live in the village, they're doing it because it's a very walkable community."

Ramos, who lived in the neighbourhood for eight years, said he thinks rising rents have driven out a lot of students.

When he moved there 15 years ago, he paid about $500 a month for a one bedroom apartment, but rents skyrocketed a few years later, and he was soon paying double for an even smaller apartment, he said.

"If you have a $2,000 budget a month, and I think that's generous with the majority of students that are going to U of M or U of W, you can't afford the rent in Osborne Village. So the village has lost all of that," he said.

He thinks the village has lost its edge. Over the years, the unique shops and restaurants that made the neighbourhood what it was have moved out, taking the foot traffic with them, he said.

"There just isn't the cool element to the neighbourhood anymore."