Winnipeg moving too fast on Portage Place mall sale, critics tell city council

Winnipeg city councillors heard from critics today who say the city is moving too fast and with no consultation as a deadline on the sale of the Portage Place mall looms.

Delegations to Winnipeg's city council's last meeting before summer break took the opportunity to strike out at a deal that would see the North Portage Development Corp. sell the land and parking lots at the mall site to Toronto-based Starlight Investments for $69.9 million.

Mareike Brunelli, the director of Central Neighbourhoods, a community organization, said the sale of the mall has come "too fast, with no consultation with the neighbourhood."

You all made the public library inaccessible. Don't do that with Portage Place mall. Remember whose land you are on.- Community worker Jenna Wirch

Brunelli told councillors "this is public land, Indigenous land, stolen land," and asked the councillors why revenue from the sale "floated over to the Forks?"

The Portage Place mall building is privately owned, while the land and its parking lots are owned by North Portage Development Corp. (NPDC).

The deal — the offer is for the building, land and parking garage — must get approval from the city, provincial and federal governments, all shareholders in the property through the NPDC.

If the sale goes through, NPDC's share would placed in trust and the interest would be used by the Forks for operations and future development.

The clock on the deal is ticking as the sales agreement with Starlight includes a $1.5-million penalty if NPDC does not have the approvals in place by July 19.

Community worker Jenna Wirch told councillors the mall was a place where she grew up and kept her off the streets, as well as a place where Indigenous people and newcomers get together.

Wirch reminded the politicians of their treaty obligations, telling them "if you are not Indigenous you are still a visitor to this land," and referred to recently adopted security measures at the Millennium Library.

"You all made the public library inaccessible. Don't do that with Portage Place mall. Remember whose land you are on," Wirch said.

The mall has been widely acknowledged as focus of criminal behaviour in the downtown, but the current building owner has indicated it is not interested in any redevelopment of the property.

West End resident Sandra Sommerville asked councillors "what's the rush" to do a deal so quickly, and noted the absence of Starlight Investments at the meeting.

"Why aren't they here? Why aren't they answering your questions — and the community's questions — about their plans?" Sommerville asked.

Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy says she welcomes the community voices who spoke at the meeting, and believes despite relinquishing ownership of the property, the city still would have a say in how the mall would be developed.

"Any kind of changes to the scope of what Portage Place could look like — through different planning processes — it would have to come through [the] planning department, and we could require that during that stage," Gilroy said.

Where the profits go

Transcona Coun. Shawn Nason and North Kildonan's Jeff Browaty entered a motion to "revisit"  the transfer of proceeds of the sale of the mall to the Forks.

The two councillors say because the Forks has several new revenues streams (parking, beer garden), perhaps it doesn't need the proceeds of trust money to operate.

"Perhaps part of it can go to the north Portage neighbourhood to address some of the concerns that were raised today," Browaty told reporters.

Both councillors said they supported the sale, though Nason admitted "the openness and transparency of this deal is a bit challenging."