City council takes 'first step' towards potential sale of Portage Place Mall
City council takes 'first step' towards potential sale of Portage Place Mall
Winnipeg's city council has voted on moving forward with the potential sale of Portage Place Mall to True North.
"It's the first step," Mayor Scott Gillingham told council Thursday. "Portage Place Mall right now is really an underperforming piece of property in our downtown, and it is key to the health of our downtown."
The mall, built in 1987, was opened with the goal of attracting more people downtown. In the decades since, more and more empty storefronts scatter the mall as larger tenants such as an IMAX Theatre left.
On Thursday all but one councillor, Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski), voted in favour of approving an option agreement term sheet for the sale of Winnipeg's downtown mall to True North Real Estate Development.
"There are better things we could be recommending as a shareholder," Eadie told his fellow council members. He said wants to see affordable housing in whatever new development will replace Portage Place, which would include rent geared to income.
"What should happen is we, as one of the shareholders, and the other two shareholders should be engaging with the not-for-profit groups," he said. "The private sector is only offering us medium-market rents, which are quite high."
Gillingham told council this is not a vote as a shareholder to sell the property; rather this is just a step in the process.
"I'm frankly excited to see what True North will bring forward," he said.
Gillingham said included in the agreement term sheet voted on by council Thursday is a requirement for True North to do extensive public consultation. The mayor said he is looking forward to seeing the concepts and ideas brought forward through this process.
The report says North Portage Development Corporation is looking to sell the land for Portage Place and is seeking approval from the city, province and federal governments.
The provincial and federal governments have already signed off on this.
If that is all approved, True North would also need to reach a separate sale with Spruceland Mall Limited Partnership, which owns the mall building.
Danielle Smith will return to the Alberta legislature as premier after the United Conservative Party won the provincial election over Rachel Notley's NDP on Monday night.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
There's a heightened risk of wildfires across the country during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, here's where the risk is highest.
The first twister of 2023 in the country touched down near Regina over the weekend, according to an analysis from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).
One person from Estevan, Sask. is dead and another is seriously injured following a collision between a pickup truck and a motorcycle on May 28 near Fortuna, North Dakota.
In a province where there are vast distances between cities and towns, one local group is hoping to get public support for an idea to bridge those gaps with a rail line.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
Danielle Smith will return to the Alberta legislature as premier after the United Conservative Party won the provincial election over Rachel Notley's NDP on Monday night.
Over 170,000 elementary and high school students weighed in on the Alberta election and the NDP had to hope the real voters were listening, because they won the kids' vote.
Danielle Smith will return to the Alberta legislature as premier after the United Conservative Party won the provincial election over Rachel Notley's NDP on Monday night.
One long-time electoral tradition came to an end on election day, when Postmedia announced there would be no printed newspaper announcing the winner in Calgary.
The union representing the majority of Quebec's daycare workers is criticizing the government's decision to launch a skimpy 90-hour training program for people who want to be daycare workers but have no prior experience.
A Quebec driver who caused the death of another motorist when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting a family of ducks on the road has been sentenced to eight months in jail and a three-year driving ban.
The Sandy Hill Child Care Centre has an extra two weeks to get its new home up to code months after a fire destroyed its original site on Wilbrod Street.
Ottawa police are praising a local dad for quickly calling for help Sunday afternoon when he accidentally locked his keys in his car, and his infant child along with them.
Ontario Provincial Police say a driver from Augusta Township is facing an impaired driving charge after someone on Highway 416 spotted a vehicle moving erratically.
The rural Oxford County intersection where an OPP officer and a school bus driver were killed Monday was less than a month away from becoming a four-way stop when the deadly crash happened.
It was a night of indecision at Waterloo region's catholic school board as trustees went back and forth trying to find the best approach to fill a vacant seat.
On Monday, Fraser Health provided two senior leaders to address the latest letter outlining risks to patients, allegations of muzzling, and pleas for help from emergency physicians in the health authority's hospitals.
The president of the BC Trucking Association is issuing renewed calls for safety after a trailer truck smashed into an overhead pass Monday morning in Langley.
Capital Bike is encouraging Greater Victoria residents to choose cycling as a way to get around the region during "Go By Bike Week," which runs from May 29 to June 4.
