Portage Place turns 35: how downtown advocates want community to lead mall redevelopment

September 17, 1987. Opening day for Portage Place shopping centre.

Nine men cut a ribbon, a catchy theme song blasts from the public address system, and thousands of Winnipeggers descend on the downtown mall and its nearly 150 new stores to see what all the excitement was about.  

The $80 million complex was built to revitalize Winnipeg's then-declining downtown, and confidence in its ability to do so was high at the time. Manitoba's prominent politicians and developers sealed a time capsule filled with '80s memorabilia under the Edmonton Court clock. The capsule was to be opened in 75 years, the length of the lease agreement between mall owners Cadillac Fairview and all three levels of government, which jointly own the land the mall sits on.

Manitoba's prominent politicians and developers sealed a time capsule filled with '80s memorabilia under the Edmonton Court clock. The capsule was to be opened in 75 years, the length of the lease agreement between mall owners Cadillac Fairview and all three levels of government. (Source: CTV News Winnipeg)

But it became apparent early on that Portage Place wasn't working as intended. A 1994 presentation by the North Portage Development Corporation to the provincial Standing Committee on Municipal Affairs says just seven years in, the mall was already in financial trouble.

"Portage Place is one of the projects that is in so-called negative cash flow. It is one of about 12 projects. The reason it is in negative cash flow is that there is not enough money that is being generated out of Portage Place to pay the debt service costs. There is a debt of $56 million on the project," said the session hansard.

Business at Portage Place has continued to decline, and nearly half of its projected lifespan later, the mall is a shell of its former self. Only 30 retail stores and 13 food court restaurants remain in its mostly-empty hallways, filled with vacant retail spaces.

Cadillac Fairview sold the mall in 1997. It was sold again in 2005 to the Vancouver-based Peterson Group, which has been looking for a new buyer for several years now.

Starlight makes an offer

In 2019, Toronto-based Starlight Investments offered to buy the mall and its attached parkade for $70 million. The firm offered up concept art that showed a redeveloped mix of residential and retail space. The deal was contingent on funding from all three levels of government. The city and province committed close to $50 million in cash and incentives, while no deal was reached between Ottawa and Starlight.

The redevelopment of Portage Place was an exciting prospect for Kate Kehler, Executive Director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.

"We pulled together a committee of community organizations and community members to say okay were pretty sure this is going to go through but let's do our best," said Kehler. "Let's approach Starlight with an open mind and say 'this is what the community really needs.'"

But just as the consultation process was about to begin, COVID hit, shutting it all down.

Starlight pulled out of the deal last September and requested a refund of its deposit. No reason was given for the back out. CTV News Winnipeg has reached out to Starlight Investments for comment but have yet to hear back.

Kehler says the whole ordeal really got people talking, "There's a really strong community interest in it, that’s one thing that happened, that came out of the Starlight deal," she said.

Portage Place town halls needed

Damon Johnston, president of Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, was part of Kehler's committee.

He thinks the city should be holding Portage Place town halls to give citizens an opportunity to speak their mind.

"I really believe that we need to sort of up the ante a bit in terms of direct citizen participation in these more challenging – but they're also exciting – opportunities for our city," said Johnston.

For him, it's about improving Winnipeg's downtown, and helping those affected by addiction and homelessness. He points to what other cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, and Saskatoon have done to solve similar problems.

"Almost every western city is facing the same kind of challenges. So again, we can reach out to them for some of their good ideas," he said.

And with the recent acquisition of The Bay downtown by the Southern Chiefs' Organization, Johnston says now is the time to talk about it.

"It's certainly one opportunity," he said. "The first nations now have the Hudson's Bay, and that has always been a part of Portage Place."

Only 30 retail stores and 13 food court restaurants remain in Portage Place's mostly empty hallways, filled with vacant retail spaces. (Source: CTV News Winnipeg)

Housing is the issue

Johnston says whoever redevelops Portage Place needs to include affordable housing for those living in poverty.

"Housing is a huge issue in Winnipeg," he said. "We want supportive housing. We want programming there, we want human resource supports that work with these tenants to get them slowly steadily to a better place."

He also points out the lack of a downtown community centre, "Would we have a consensus to do something like that, and if so then how would that fit?"

Kehler believes there is an opportunity for community-led development, now that Starlight is out.

"The feds actually never even said no to the money. They just hadn’t said yes," said Kehler. "If the governments are willing to consider this amount of money for a private organization, why wouldn’t they consider it for a community-led development?"

She believes the process should begin with a Treaty One consultation to see if the land could be given back to the indigenous peoples, similar to what happened with the Kapyong Barracks.

"We would like to work with whomever is going to develop the mall so that it can be what it needs to be for the community," said Kehler.