Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries cancels plan to relocate downtown

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL) is cancelling its plan to renovate and move into a downtown building, which would have cost $75 million.

On Monday morning, the crown corporation announced it was pulling the plug on the move.

In September 2015, the plan was to move the MBLL head office to 233 Kennedy St., at the Medical Arts Building. The company was going to purchase it for $7.9 million with another $66 million in redevelopment and expansion.

The company also planned to move 400 of its staff from five different properties to the downtown location. The process of relocating to a new building began in June 2014.

READ MORE: First look at new downtown location of Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries

However, after the corporation’s new board of directors reviewed the project, they said they found the move unnecessary.

“Our review concluded that the corporation’s existing office space is sufficient to meet the ongoing needs of staff,” said board chair Polly Craik.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Our review concluded that the corporation's existing office space is sufficient to meet the ongoing needs of staff," said board chair Polly Craik.

“We could not support spending a minimum of $75 million of public funds for a project that would see Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries operating as a commercial property developer, well outside of its core mandate.”

The crown corporation also said renovating the older downtown building faced “significant risks of cost escalation.”