Vendors and artists worry as U-Haul eyes old Sears building

From silk-screened T-shirts to handmade candles to mini-figurines and meat, the Centennial Market is one of the more unique shopping experiences in Regina.

But its days could be numbered.

The market is one of a few tenants who’ve taken up residence in the old Sears Outlet Store building at the Centennial Mall at Broad Street and Seventh Avenue. There are also artists who use the space and a nerf archery range on the second floor.

U-Haul, however, has applied to amend the zoning for the building so that it can buy it and change the building into more self-storage. U-Haul has been leasing a small part of the mall for self-storage since last fall.

“It’s a good space, it’s a good space for the neighbourhood, it draws people in, and it has been awesome for me and a lot of other vendors in the area,” said Matt Thompson with Tall Grass Apparel.

Thompson has shirts in some stores around the city, but his only retail space is in the Centennial Market. That’s also where he makes his clothes. He said the change would displace him completely.

Jeff Lockridge, manager of media and public relations for U-Haul international, said if the company gets the zoning change and buys the building, it will start creating self-storage space on the second floor. It will expand once that fills up, so the market won’t have to move for one to three years.

Thompson said he doesn’t quite trust that timeline, as he said he was originally told the market would never have to leave.

Thompson said the change would be a terrible thing for not only the market, but the area as well. The Sears Clearance Centre closed in 2017 and the smaller tenants have been moving in. In addition to the market and an antique mall, there are also artists who use studio space in the building, like Jeff Nachtigall.

He said letting U-Haul change the building would be an incredibly short-sighted change.

“There’s an incredible potential here and I see this as a cornerstone in this neighbourhood. And once you lose that cornerstone, I think everything else becomes a little shaky, and I’m not sure what else is going to come in,” said Nachtigall.

He said the Centennial Market area could become like The Forks in Winnipeg or Granville Island in Vancouver.

U-Haul is a big company, and Nachtigall said it can build a self-storage site anywhere it wants. He noted there are parts of the city zoned for that.

“I don’t necessarily have a problem with progress or development — I’m all for that — but this is an incredible, historic building that serves a purpose right now,” he said. “There’s a community that is making use of this facility now.”

Both Nachtigall and Thompson feel the change to the building will have a negative impact on the community, possibly discouraging other residential or commercial development in the area.

U-Haul applied for the zoning amendment in June, and it’s set to be heard by the city’s planning committee in August.