True North Real Estate Development has reached an agreement to purchase the assets known as Portage Place from Vancouver-based Peterson Group and North Portage Development Corp, opening the door to a redevelopment of the site valued at $650 million.
True North has agreed to pay $34.5 million for the land, parkade, and air rights associated with the site.
“This is a generational opportunity to improve the quality of life in our downtown community, develop a leading-edge healthcare facility through an innovative partnership with the Province of Manitoba and build a significant addition to affordable housing through our partnership with Southern Chiefs’ Organization,” said True North president Jim Ludlow in announcing the deal.
Winnipeg city council met Sept. 17 to approve the purchase and sale agreement to True North. The province signed off on the deal Sept. 27.
To support redevelopment of the site, the city will contribute $40 million while the federal government is chipping in $10 million with a further $17 million possible through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
The project will transform 1.2 million square feet of retail and office space into a multi-use facility with two acres of public and outdoor meeting space.
A 265,000-square-foot Healthcare Centre of Excellence will anchor the development, and the first phase of housing will be a 15-storey residential tower developed through a not-for-profit partnership with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization.
The residential tower will have more than 200 units with up to 40 per cent rented at rates below 80 per cent of the median market rents for the area. Profits from the rental tower will be reinvested in housing and public spaces in and around the campus.
True North secured an extension earlier this year to its plans to purchase the mall. It had announced its vision for the site in May 2023, following a failed bid by Toronto’s Starlight Investments in 2019.
Starlight had offered to buy Portage Place for $69.9 million with plans for a $400 million redevelopment including two 20-storey residential towers, retail and office space. It backed out in 2021.
Work on the project will progress in phases with preparatory activities beginning this fall and foundational work to advance the health and housing towers taking place in early 2025. Completion is targeted for 2028.
