SMM was challenged to re-imagine The Forks’ waterfront plaza and change the paradigm of what this public place could be. The Forks wanted to again attract, in droves, the diversity of people that live and visit the Downtown. Under the new brand name of The Forks Common, SMM accepted the challenge and completely redesigned the plaza so that it would further strengthen the appeal to families as well as the already diverse audience.

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The redesign of The Common patio has enabled The Forks to reinforce itself as an attraction from dawn to dusk, welcoming early-risers, morning meetings, workers and families at lunch and dinner times, a robust after-work meet-up crowd on weeknights, and a later-evening socializing spot on warm summer nights, or around the fire during colder seasons.

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The Common is designed to support and accommodate The Forks’ parallel year-round programming initiatives such as the winter warming huts, Red River Mutual skating trail, Festival du Voyageur, and other special events such as Table for 1200. Due to its inclusive nature, the space has also become a meeting place for increasingly popular informal organizations such as fitness and running clubs and other recreational groups.  

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It was because of The Forks’ success and initiative that they were able to create this highly utilized and highly profitable amenity. The Common allows The Forks to continue to invest in the site and plan for future phases to expand the programming at the terraces on the lower banks. A key success was obtaining the approval of provincial regulators for specialty food and licenced drinks in an outdoor community family space - a first for Winnipeg. The flexible and adaptable design of The Common has enabled The Forks to reinforce itself as an attraction from dawn to dusk, and has resulted in:

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• Increase in visitors by approximately 30% including more young and multi-generational families.
• Increase in tenant sales of nearly 10% overall in the summer months over the previous year.
• Increase in The Common sales of more than double the previous summer. Increase in revenue allows The Forks to invest further in programming in the form of community events and celebrations, public art, seasonal activities like river trail and Warming Huts along with new and noteworthy initiatives.
• Lastly, and, perhaps most notably, it accomplishes what The Forks set out to promote through their mission statement: increase the overall use of the space as a gathering space

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