Winnipeg Construction X

[pegcityfan]

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/portage-...iday-1.4494386


"
Portage Place up for sale; city councillors to be briefed Friday

Winnipeg’s Portage Place Shopping Centre may soon be changing hands.

Winnipeg city councillors have been invited to a closed door meeting Friday morning to discuss the possibility of a sale.

A memo obtained by CTV News reads:
“North Portage Development Corporation have entered into a purchase and sale agreement to sell Portage Place Shopping Centre, and the associated land and parking, subject to shareholder approval. As the City of Winnipeg is a shareholder of the NPDC, its approval is required in order for the transaction to proceed. The City is also required to consent to the assignment of related skywalk agreements.”

The memo does not say who the buyer is and it does not say what is planned for the future of the mall.

One source tells CTV News the deal is significant.

The provincial and federal governments are also shareholders.

The Forks North Portage Partnership owns the land and a private company owns the mall itself.

A spokesperson for The Forks declined comment until next week.

The mall opened in 1987 with the aim of revitalizing the downtown area on and around Portage Avenue.
"

[dmacc]

This would be Awesome!!!

[esquire]

So the mall and underlying parkade could have the same owner... interesting.

It will also be interesting to see what kind of return Peterson gets on the mall after 14 years of owning it... if the deal goes through.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by esquire

So the mall and underlying parkade could have the same owner... interesting.

It will also be interesting to see what kind of return Peterson gets on the mall after 14 years of owning it... if the deal goes through.

We may never know bring a private sale.
I wonder if FNP needs to see the portage place assets in order to buy parcel four from the city.

[drew]

Once this mall can finally get access to the parking revenue (and the ability to set aside for tenants) - I think shit's gonna get real - in terms of future development opportunities (i.e. pad sites).

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

We may never know bring a private sale.
I wonder if FNP needs to see the portage place assets in order to buy parcel four from the city.

You would think, but I seem to recall the figure of $15 million being floated around when Peterson bought the mall from Consolidated Properties in 2005. I'm not sure how accurate the number is, though... in hindsight, maybe it was just a broker or whatever giving an estimate. I'm not sure.

I'm still cautious in my optimism as I think the marketability of the site is less than ideal. It's a tarnished asset in the eyes of many Winnipeggers, I'm not sure that it will ever be a true retail destination (or office, or hotel/condo...) again, even with a full makeover. It will be a hard sell compared to something like Winnipeg Square.

[dmacc]

^whether you are right or not about PP being at all salvageable, it should at least be in a significantly better portion to succeed with an owner who controls both the mall and the parkade. Maybe this is this other project Biff was talking about for downtown? Development of one or both of the pads would be significant.

[trueviking]

^its an interesting idea. stay tuned.

[cheswick]

I'm a bit confused. The mall itself is not owned by FNP right? But they're orchestrating the sale of the mall part and parcel with the land and parking?

Regardless, there was talk a few years back about the potential of developing on the pads but it was dependent on controlling the parkade which at the time FNP was unwilling to part with. So this is a positive.

[ediger]

I just hope they find something interesting to do with the movie theatre/IMAX area. But, like, keep the IMAX entrance.

[Wpg_Guy]

Maybe this is True North’s next big move.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by cheswick

I'm a bit confused. The mall itself is not owned by FNP right? But they're orchestrating the sale of the mall part and parcel with the land and parking?

Sounds like it. There must be ample incentive for FNP and PIG to coordinate their efforts as it sounds like their assets are likely worth more when they have the same owner.

ediger mentioned reinvigorating the theatre and IMAX area... I agree, I'd love to see that happen. As it stands, a large chunk of the 3rd floor is just wasted space now.

[armorand93]

Salvage the clock tower and keep it for future generations - absolutely, whatever happens to the rest of the mall, keep the clock tower!

Other than that, keep the outer shell, raze the rest and throw in some 30-floor residential.

Boom, problem solved forever.

[optimusREIM]

Build out the pads as tall as possible, convert some space to proper office, find a movie theatre tenant, make it the epicenter of the SHED. Fingers crossed there's TN in this somewhere, could be big!

[trueviking]

the catholic church is buying it!

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by trueviking

the catholic church is buying it!

This is a terrible game to play, because you could actually be serious yet no one would believe it

[Wpg_Guy]

Rumor mill is spinning:

[wardlow]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Rumor mill is spinning:

Hmm, well the Catholic Church *is* a large institution with a 2,000-year track record...

[esquire]

Is Place Promenade going to be part of the deal? After 30+ years, that complex could use a bit of a refresh, especially if residential is going to be the focus of the site moving forward.

[Coldrsx]

I wonder if it is LaSalle Investment Management Inc.’s Canadian real estate arm, Montreal-based developer Canderel and North American Development Group... as we are likely to see very soon for our Downtown mall.