BIRKS BRINGS BACK THAT OLD TIME PANACHE

It’s the kind of place Holly Golightly might drop by for lunch. Occupying the first floor of the Union Trust Tower at 191 Lombard Ave., is the new Winnipeg location of luxury jewellers Birks.

Officially placed on Winnipeg’s Heritage Conservation list in 1983, the UTT (also known as the National Bank Building) is an architectural gem that, after many years, has now regained its former lustre.

Located on what was once known as Banker’s Row, it’s a living artifact of Winnipeg’s turn-of-the-last-century glory days, when business boomed, wallets swelled and the moneyed consumed. That such a high-profile, long-established luxury retailer wants to restore the location’s old-time glamour could be taken as a sign that Winnipeggers are looking for the good times to roll again.

The present move is in fact something of a homecoming for Birks, which opened its first Winnipeg location on Main Street in 1903 as Henry Birks & Sons. Although it has had ongoing retail operations in Winnipeg since then, 1993 saw major changes for the company, which was acquired by Regaluxe Investment. An executive decision was then made to scale down operations in Winnipeg from five stores to one, located at Polo Park.

At the same time, however, the way was being paved for the present relocation, as Birks teamed with Oberto Oberti Architecture and Urban Design to restore an historic property in Vancouver. For this, Oberti won a 1994 heritage award and an ongoing relationship between firm and client was forged. Oberti designed and restored Birks’ flagship store in Montreal, winning the 2007 Greater Montreal Real Estate Board award; it was to Winnipeg that the collaborating companies next turned their sights.

“We’ve stripped it back to its more-or-less original historic state,” says Oberti vice president Denis Bruneau of the new Birks interior.

After walking through the corner entranceway, you’re immediately compelled to look up at the 17 foot-high, ornate neoclassical ceilings. The original marble columns anchor the open-air space enclosed by marble walls. Perhaps the most fascinating features of all, however, are the bank vault doors, which clearly display their intricate locking mechanisms—and sometimes require two people to close.

“The space is exquisite,” says store director Caroline Ksiazek. “You come in and you just stop in your tracks.”

In renovating the space, Oberti had to work within strict parameters. Care had to be taken not to damage any heritage features; this meant nothing could be hung from the walls, and a suspended light system that wouldn’t damage the ceiling had to be devised. Finally, Oberti used 3-D modeling to design the display cases around the columns.

“These are small, but dream projects, with unique artistic value,” says Oberti. “It is not often that we have an opportunity to work on such projects.”

A.S.H. Management Group Inc., which has managed the Union Trust Tower for over a decade, had plenty of parties express interest in the space since the National Bank vacated the premises in 2005; however, as A.S.H. director of leasing Jack Hurtig says, both A.S.H. and the building owners wanted a tenant that would utilize its unique beauty.

For Birks, the location fit like a glove, harmonizing with the luxurious, world-class image they have been cultivating for the last 15 years. The company still recognizes the allure of what spokesperson Donna Battista calls a “total experience” – the perusal of luxury goods in a luxury environment.

The goods on offer in the new environment largely represent Birks’ higher end merchandise. There is an increased volume of particular items that were previously accessible to Winnipeggers only in limited quantities – 'Birks’ Amorique diamonds, for example, as well as work by in-house designers Jose Hess and Tony Cavelti. The inventory does include many more affordable pieces, including several by the French-born Esty.

Still, it’s the high-end, professional and business class consumer that Birks is targeting, which makes the new location, smack in the heart of Winnipeg’s business district, a masterstroke. As Hy’s has already discovered, life still beats in the heart of the city, and Ksiazek says the business has a renewed sense of connectedness and vitality: “You can glance outside and see all the action.”

It certainly represents a vote of confidence in the area to move here from a mall, says Lisa Holowchuk, executive director of the Exchange District BIZ. In fact, it’s reflective of the resurgence of Exchange boutiques; the area is fast becoming more of an overall shopping destination.