True North, Southern Chiefs sign partnership they say will be catalyst to revitalize downtown Winnipeg
'Goals of True North and SCO are, in more ways than we could have imagined, aligned': True North's Jim Ludlow
Two major redevelopment projects in downtown Winnipeg joined forces on Tuesday in what Grand Chief Jerry Daniels called "an act of true reconciliation — economic reconciliation."
True North Real Estate Development, the real estate arm of the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Southern Chiefs' Organization, which represents 34 Anishinaabe and Dakota First Nations in southern Manitoba.
The partnership will co-ordinate their projects "to shift the current spiral of Winnipeg's downtown," said True North Real Estate president Jim Ludlow.
True North has been working on a proposed redevelopment of the Portage Place shopping centre that would turn it into a downtown campus with a health-care tower, residential housing and community centres.
The plan also calls for the glass-enclosed atrium at Edmonton Street to be dismantled, while the middle of the mall would be converted into community centres, offices for community organizations and a small amount of space for retail and food services.
Ludlow said True North is now considering designating 50 per cent of the residential units as affordable housing in the new True North campus.
The SCO is in the midst of transforming the former Hudson's Bay Company building across the street from Portage Place into Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn — "It is visible" in Anishinaabemowin.
The mixed-use project includes 300 affordable housing units for elders and university students, an HBC museum and two restaurants.
There are also plans for an art gallery, office space for Indigenous entrepreneurs, a health centre, a child-care facility, a seniors centre, a new seat of government for the SCO and a memorial for residential school victims and survivors.
Public art, signs and the names of the facilities within the two projects will reflect Manitoba's First Nations population, Ludlow said.
A single contractor, PCL, will handle project management and construction for both the Portage Place and Wehwehneh projects, he said.
The SCO initially pegged the cost of its project at $130 million but that was upped on Tuesday to approximately $200 million, while the Portage Place plan has increased to $650 million from $550 million.
Daniels said the financing for the SCO project still needs to be worked out. Ludlow says Portage Place will be financed privately.
"When we started to think about acquiring HBC, we knew this gift could change our future and the lives of our citizens," said Daniels, who heads the SCO.
"We, together, will work to make downtown Winnipeg a vibrant, livable, workable and safe place. We are taking on the revitalization of downtown Winnipeg."
The combined footprints of the two buildings is nearly two million square feet — 1.2 million for Portage Place and 600,000 at The Bay.
"The goals of True North and SCO are, in more ways than we could have imagined, aligned. Both projects will be significant catalysts for the economic and social revitalization of downtown Winnipeg," Ludlow said, calling the signing "a proud moment for all of us."
"Both of our organizations have committed to advancing social, political and economic partnerships intended to reverse the current downward trajectory we are experiencing in Winnipeg's downtown."
Both Premier Wab Kinew — who was part of a drumming circle ahead of the announcement — and Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham lauded the partnership and projects, and committed to helping them succeed, though no details were provided in that regard.
Kinew said those efforts would be announced in the future, while Gillingham declared the city "will be here as a full partner in this work."
The collaboration is not only between True North and the SCO, it's between levels of government as well because its benefits have the potential to go well beyond the bricks and mortar of the structures themselves, Gillingham said.
"It is a game-changer for downtown Winnipeg. The plan will help change the core of our city — changing what it looks like, how we get around, how we experience the downtown."
The next steps in the partnership include the creation of a working group to oversee public space design and programming.
An agreement on multi-family ownership and investment will be concluded by mid-2024.
Ludlow said if everything goes well, demolition at Portage Place could begin as soon as late summer in 2024. True North has yet to formally conclude its due diligence on the project, something Ludlow said may happen sooner than the deadline of June 30, 2024.
True North has an option to purchase the parkade below the mall and the rights to build towers above it from The Forks-North Portage Partnership.
It has a separate deal to purchase the mall itself from the Peterson Group, the Vancouver-based company that's owned Portage Place for two decades.
Avtar Bains of Premise Properties, a minority partner with the Peterson Group in the ownership of Portage Place, said he and his partners were unable to do what True North and its government partners plan to do in order to redevelop the property.
A previous attempt to sell Portage Place to Toronto's Starlight Properties fell through before True North picked up the ball, he said.
"We're thrilled. We're thrilled. We had our eyes open when we bought this asset. We thought downtown Winnipeg was on the way up. Talk about a bad call," Bains quipped following Tuesday's ceremony.
"We actually had called True North before we did the deal with Starlight and we couldn't come to terms. But it's a lot easier for True North to do a deal when the counter party is on their knees, asking them to do something."
Bains said he and his partners tried for years to make Portage Place work as a retail shopping mall. Ludlow noted his presence at the signing ceremony as evidence of his commitment to the property.
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With files from Bartley Kives