Province signs off on sale of Portage Place

The Province of Manitoba has signed off on the sale of Portage Place.

The announcement came Friday at a news conference inside the mall. The province said it has signed an agreement with True North Real Estate Development (TNRED), authorizing the sale of Portage Place, and committed to a long-term lease agreement for the Health-Care Centre of Excellence.

According to the province, the center, which will be part of the planned revitalization of the shopping centre, will have a primary care clinic, along with mental health and addiction services, surgery, diagnostics, renal dialysis, and an expanded Pan Am Clinic.

“I’m very emotional because this is truly historic, a historic event that is going to lead to our people getting help that they need to deal with past trauma from the residential schools and all those colonized systems that have done so much damage to our children and families for generations,” said Margaret Swan, a knowledge keeper with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO).

The SCO is partnering with TNRED for the project.

“We are now going to take over a facility that is going to help us deal with homelessness and addictions as a result of the trauma from our past.”

TNRED said in a news release the Government of Canada is contributing $10 million towards the redevelopment, with another $17 million from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

On Thursday, Winnipeg City Council unanimously approved $40 million worth of subsidies, including tax grants, for the $650 million project.

TNRED said foundational work on the redevelopment – specifically for the health and housing towers - will begin in early 2025 and is expected to be completed by 2028.

This is a developing story. More to come.

-With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele