Premier won’t disclose financial terms of Manitoba’s support for Portage Place redevelopment

Posted on October 1, 2024 by Peggy

Premier Wab Kinew says he won’t disclose how much the Province of Manitoba has agreed to pay to lease 265,000 square feet of space in a new medical tower slated to rise above Winnipeg’s Portage Place.

True North Real Estate Development, the real-estate wing of the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets, exercised its options on Monday to purchase the beleaguered downtown mall. This paves the way for a $650-million redevelopment that includes a new medical tower over the east side of the property and a new residential tower over the west side.

The premier said Tuesday he will not reveal the financial terms of Manitoba’s support for the project, which primarily comes in the form of Shared Health and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority leases for a primary-care clinic, mental health and addictions services, an expanded Pan Am Clinic and spaces for surgery, diagnostics and renal dialysis, among other medical services.

“I won’t, for an important commercial reason, which is don’t say publicly what you’re paying, otherwise everyone else is going to charge you the same rate principle,” said Kinew, speaking at an unrelated press conference in Winnipeg’s Tuxedo neighbourhood.

“We have multiple relationships, as government, with different landlords.”

Kinew’s statement follows the City of Winnipeg’s approval last week of a $40-million package of tax relief and grants for the Portage redevelopment as well as the Government of Canada’s commitment of up to $27 million of its own funding.

It also comes one business day after Jim Ludlow, president of True North Real Estate Development, pegged the annual value of the provincial leases in the health-care tower in the vicinity of “tens of millions, for sure.”

Critics on both the left and right chastised the NDP government for failing to disclose the financial terms of the province’s 35-year lease in the forthcoming tower.

“To be accountable to the public, the province should release the specific health and lease spending at True North Real Estate Development,” Molly McCracken, director of the Winnipeg-based Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said in a statement.

“When taxpayer dollars are spent on anything, it should be up to the government to be clear on where that money is going. How are taxpayers supposed to know if this is a good use of money if the government won’t break out the numbers?” asked Gage Haubrich, prairie director for the Canadian Taxpayers Association, speaking over the phone from Saskatoon.

“When we look at the grants and tax relief coming from the city, it’s clearly laid out in the agreement what the city is giving money for and what they expect in return from the development. So we come to the province [and] we have to say, why aren’t you telling us the whole story? Taxpayers deserve to know.”

A drawing of an office tower along Portage Avenue. — An artist’s conception of the health-care tower True North Real Estate intends to build as part of its proposed redevelopment of Portage Place. The municipal and federal governments have committed packages of support for the project valued at $40 million and $27 million, respectively. The provincial government won’t disclose the financial terms of its commitment. (Architecture49/True North Real Estate Development)

Winnipeg city council voted last week to approve its $40-million package for Portage Place, made up of $14 million worth of tax-increment financing over 25 years, $10 million worth of housing grants and $16 million worth of infrastructure commitments in and around the property.

The municipal tax relief will come in the form of partial rebates of new property tax revenue generated by the project.

The city plans to keep 20 per cent of the new tax revenue and provide True North with the remaining 80 per cent. This money won’t flow until the first September after the new residential tower has an occupancy permit and the entire property is reassessed by the city for tax purposes, according to a report to city council.

The $10 million worth of housing grants will be split into two payments in 2025 and 2026, using federal housing accelerator money. This money will flow to Project 92, a new non-profit organization directed by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization and True North, which are jointly overseeing the housing component of the project.

The $16 million worth of municipal infrastructure work includes $7.5 million to extend Edmonton Street to the north, $6.5 million to build a new skywalk and upgrade existing sidewalks, and $2 million to help build a community drop-in space in the middle of the mall.

The Canadian government’s $27-million part in the Portage Place redevelopment includes $10 million in grants for community spaces in the project, and up to $17 million for housing, MP Dan Vandal (Saint Boniface-Saint Vital) said last week.

Manitoba’s Official Opposition urged the Kinew government to be more transparent with its support for a project started when the PCs were still in power.

“Accountable, transparent are two words that I know that this government doesn’t necessarily have in their toolkit,” interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko said during a press conference at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Kinew did reveal Tuesday the total operating cost of the medical facilities in the new tower is higher than previously estimated.

In April, Kinew pegged the incremental cost of operating the tower at $77 million. On Monday, the premier adjusted that figure upward to $106 million a year.

That figure includes the cost of operating medical services as well as the lease payments to True North Real Estate Development.