Montreal's downtown Hudson's Bay store may be turned into a $400M cultural landmark

Montreal's old Hudson's Bay building on Sainte-Catherine Street could soon look very different.

On Thursday, the James Bay Eeyou Corporation and JHD Immobilier announced plans to acquire the vacant property and invest nearly $400 million to transform it into a cultural and heritage site.

The proposal includes:

• A museum focused on the fur trade and the centuries-long relationship between the Cree Nation and Hudson's Bay Company.
• An Indigenous cultural centre and experiential spaces.
• Retail storefronts and mixed-use areas.
• A hotel complex.

Developers say the project is meant to serve as both a space of reconciliation and a new downtown landmark.

"This building represents much more than a commercial acquisition: it embodies more than 350 years of shared history between our people and the Hudson's Bay Company," said Henry Gull, president of the James Bay Eeyou Corporation, in a press release.

For the Cree Nation, the initiative is about more than real estate. It's a way to honour their past and build new cultural spaces in the heart of Montreal. The project is expected to open in 2029 if it gets city approval for zoning changes and support from all three levels of government.

The announcement comes just a few months after Hudson's Bay shut down the Sainte-Catherine store following the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Once one of Canada's most iconic department stores, The Bay filed for creditor protection in early 2025 with debts of more than $1.1 billion.

In its final months, the Montreal flagship location held liquidation sales that drew long lineups and stripped shelves bare.

If the new plan goes ahead, the site would mark one of the most ambitious Indigenous-led cultural developments in the country. It would also ensure that a piece of downtown heritage is preserved and reimagined for the future.

AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog's Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards page.