Winnipeg’s mayor is softening his stance on True North Square.
It appears Brian Bowman is trying to mend fences to get the project back on track.
Following recent meetings with CentreVenture and convention centre officials, Brian Bowman sung the praises of the development at his weekly meeting with his cabinet on Wednesday.
"I have to say if we're talking about a $400 million development in downtown Winnipeg, we should all be supportive of seeing such a sizeable development in our downtown," said Bowman.
The mayor's tone now is a far car from a couple of months ago, when he publicly criticized CentreVenture for doing what he called a secret deal with True North on the old Carlton Inn site without council's knowledge.
That resulted in an angry backlash from owner Mark Chipman, who put the proposal on hold indefinitely.
There might be a sense of urgency for Bowman to help break the impasse.
To fund its expansion, the convention centre borrowed $33 million from the city.
That was supposed to be paid back through taxes and business generated from a new hotel that never materialized.
True North Square includes a hotel.
"If they decide to proceed and the convention centre's business plan can be supported, that's a good news story for Winnipeg," said Bowman.
