Downtown Tavern United Closes 2026

The sudden closure of Tavern United ahead of the weekend caught a few people by surprise. To others, it might be that the lease has expired and there have been a number of restaurant groups looking to come back to the area. First is Moxies who have wanted back downtown ever since True North used their space to expand other areas of their business. There has been talk over the last while that The Pint might be open to a return downtown with the expansion of the entertainment district?

One thing is certain. The space with its rooftop lounge will have something located in it before the start of the next season of hockey. With the The Keg well under construction and The Chop coming along with a luxury hotel in Sutton Place, the former Tavern site is too valuable to sit empty.

Some of the gaps in restaurants which some Jets fans have been complaining about in recent years are about to be filled up. Creating an entertainment district is never easy. It can happen organically or be manufactured. In Winnipeg, True North Square is manufactured in cooperation with the city and the province. Tavern was originally part of that beginning and, by and large, been a successful part of the entertainment in the area.

It hasn't been announced but some have suggested the Tavern could simply be relocating to a Ledohowski owned property on Donald Street. Some have said the Metropolitan or the Woolworth building that the family owns are possible locations. Either would be fine. It will be curious to see if there is any announcement on this.

Still, bottom line is that once a place has a commercial kitchen, water, sewer and proper electrical, it almost always comes back as a restaurant. This is true of the Garry Street Keg as well. When they open the new location and close the old one, it is undoubtedly going to be a new restaurant. The old Tavern site is too good good to see empty for long.

A New Arena for Winnipeg Planned Soon?

The present Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg is not very old. However, it was originally built for an AHL hockey team and not a NHL one. It is the smallest arena in the NHL and even at that, in recent years it has not always sold out. The Winnipeg Jets are trying to increase the corporate seats which has not been a priority when there were so many individuals in the past buying tickets. At just over 15,000 seats, Winnipeg's arena is smallest in the NHL. Most arenas are around 17,000 to 20,000 across North America.

The AHL Moose and the Winnipeg Sea Bears basketball team also share the facility which makes for a pretty full selection of teams calling the arena home. On top of that are concerts and entertainment events. The True North organization has also been building out with real estate. Since 2004, ownership has built out north, west and south of the arena. Across the street, they partnered with others to build restaurants, offices, hotel and parking lots.

The Burton Cummings Theatre is now part of the True North organization. In part, this is to have entry level entertainment in a venue more well suited for some groups and individuals. This builds relationships and street life in the entertainment district. Street parties are held regularly in proximity to the Burton Cummings. This is important as the creation of an entertainment district cannot revolve around one sport and building. This is why True North also does concert/event work as promoter. Not all of it is at the Canada Life Center. In the past, True North has done Cirque du Soleil shows under the big tent on Kenaston. This year they are doing a two day music event at the Princess Auto Stadium. 

The Canada Life Centre has room for more concert/show events on its schedule but clearly there are limits based either on small or larger sizes and whether it can be fit in between the three sports teams that call the arena home. There are also other sports leagues that would like to come to Winnipeg but find there is no facility to host them. In particular, professional women's hockey and basketball. Therein lies the conundrum. It is the downtown arena or nothing. Even a WHL team could not survive in Winnipeg without a facility larger than the Sanford Fleming Arena at the University of Manitoba. 

It is clear Winnipeg needs another arena. But what size? Some say it should be smaller as in the 7,000 seat range. Is that thinking too small? I don't know too many people who thought the Sea Bears would regularly pack in 15,000 people for basketball games. Imagine building a 7,000 seat arena and finding professional women's hockey selling it out and then some. Could they have used a 15,000 seat arena instead?

A scanning of NHL arenas will show Winnipeg's facility is not the oldest. It is nearer to the newer ones as it closes on 25 years having being built in 2004. Many present facilities in the league are from the late 1990s. The average lifespan of an arena is considered to be 25 to 25 years. This would apply to Winnipeg's present facility. 

The next question is the location of a new arena. Some people would love to see it down by the University of Manitoba so that it could benefit Bisons sports programming. There is a good case for that. And there is likely space for it although anyone who knows how much of a crowd Blue Bombers games have and the traffic involved is probably hesitant. The 41 games that say Jets or Moose play and 4the 0,000 university population from fall to spring are considerable numbers in one place. It can be managed but it is worth considering.

The Chipman and Thomson family have put in considerable investments downtown and continue to do so. Their concern just doesn't extend to the bottom line but to the welfare of those living and working downtown. This has been aptly demonstrated in the donations and leadership of the pair over many years. To that end, I'd expect the location on a new arena would be downtown.

There isn't an obvious spot for the new arena to be located. There are quite a lot of surface lots where the beginnings of arena could be. However, it might be like how the Canada Life Center came to be and that was from the demolition of existing buildings such as Eaton's and part of Cityplace.

A big question is on whether the Canada Life Center will be expanded to 17,000+ seats or remain the size it is and another arena built of 17,000 seats. My opinion is the Jets would move to a bigger location as there are changes to what corporations want in terms of season tickets than just box seats. Many businesses are looking for meeting spaces as well attached to entertainment so some new arena designs are reflecting this. Many new arenas are also doing more to become concert friendly and that comes from initial design.

In the picture above, Hamilton's Copp Coliseum is being designed to fulfill a concert mandate in the greater Toronto area. While a single use facility might work in that part of Ontario, in Winnipeg the need is for multi-purpose facilities. There really just isn't a venue of size indoors after the Canada Life Center. An attempt to get a 6000 to 7000 facility for the Winnipeg Ice failed. One of the reasons the Chipmans might go for a new arena is to forestall a competitor such as the University of Manitoba building one.

Another important reason the True North will push for a new arena is that they have an agreement with the province to not fund any new covered facility in Winnipeg for the length of time of the mortgage, This blocked the Bombers from having a covered stadium. When the agreement expires, there is nothing preventing Bombers from going forward with a covered stadium and also getting an agreement preventing anyone from new facilities built with 25 to 30 year terms. This is definitely something the Chipman's won't want.

I don't expect anything in the next two years as True North finishes the work on new asset Portage Place as well as see Sutton Place Hotel built but expect something soon enough. The end of prohibition on government facilities and the desire for more professional teams will drive the timetable.

The Out of Town Visitor to Jets Fan Experience

 

Once again an influencer has come in to town to see the Winnipeg Jets and offer commentary on the city and its offerings when it comes to the fan experience. I won't post his links here but for those interested, it was in regards to the team playing Buffalo Sabres. The game was a loss and the crowd was not at their most animated. It happens. A dull, cold day and an afternoon game on a Sunday is more likely to attract young families, especially for last place Sabres.

Jets were ripe for the picking with some of the Winnipeg players on Sabres having great games. Good for those guys. As for Jets, the first place team is still pushing to stay on top and go to the playoffs all the way. It has drawn notice from hockey and sports fans all over North America. Some of them have come all the way to the city to experience the team. And in some cases rip the city for even having a team.

This is what happened with the vlogger who visited the city for three days and questions why the NHL ever gave Winnipeg a team. To put it bluntly, the Jets got a team because Atlanta Thrashers was just not able to succeed despite a small passionate fanbase. With only one playoff run, the Thrashers struggled and not even first round picks, big acquisitions and patience from the NHL was able to change that. Winnipeg got the team because they built a new arena, had an ownership group and ready to bail out the league if a franchise was about to go. 

The Thrashers team that Winnipeg got was a one line team with literally not much in draft and development. None of the coaching staff moved over. And yet overjoyed Winnipeg fans bought all the tickets and provided years of waiting lists. I think it is quite undeniable that the Jets have built one of the strongest franchises today for draft and development, coaching and player enrichment. They have frequently updated their facility and added the iceplex and have done much to improve the fan experience around the arena.

The ownership of the Winnipeg Jets is held by the Chipman and Thomson family. The Chipmans, known for the Birchwood Auto Group, and the Thomsons, known for Reuters. David Thomson is thought to be richest owner in the NHL. He came to be owner after a long business association with Winnipeg as owner of the Free Press and CKRC. He was also a long time fan of the Jets.

The Jets ownership, management and facility are not in question. Could the arena be bigger? Sure. It has been expanded as much as it can be in its present form. It has three professional teams that use it and has a full concert docket. It is a moneymaker. Jets owners have also purchased the Burton Cummings Theatre to help manage its concerts and event business. They have built real estate investments around the arena to enhance the entertainment district.

It is important to keep in mind that the Jets are just part of the overall business. The Manitoba Moose and owning the Canada Life Centre contribute to the True North bottom line. Rental of arena to the Winnipeg Sea Bears and concerts help pay for overall operations. Moreover, the Jets have bought Portage Place and the $3 million a year in that parkade money is now in True North's hands. The Hockey for All Centre iceplex in Headingley serves as the practice facility for the Jets and Moose and is the central tournament spot for amateur hockey in Manitoba.

Sales of tickets were up 12% as of January for Jets. Corporate sales have also gone up and it has been a focus for the True North Entertainment group since fall. Millions have been spent to enhance fan experience and most visitors to the arena usually remark at how engaged the fans are. For this year, it might in playoffs where it is most important for the Jets organization to not only fill the arena but the streets. The economic benefits of the playoffs are enormous and the good wills and community engagement is what the team can build on and for the city to prosper.

The Jets have acknowledged they need more corporate sales. How they do a re-set is something that will have to evolve. The are many companies in Manitoba and some will have to be won over again or for the first time. In other words, corporate sales are not just about what is good for the Jets but what is good for the companies. And to thread the needle, the team can't lose the enthusiastic crowd for corporate seats where people don't show up. They need to make going to the Jets as vital to regular season tickets holders as it is to companies.

One accusation about Leafs playoffs is that the regular season ticket holders can't afford the corporate price of their seats later on. And the people who can get those seats just don't respond like the fans who were there for 41 regular season games. Thankfully, that hasn't been what is seen in Jets games. That is sometimes the trade-off that seats are sold out but passionate fans are fewer. It isn't always the case but happens often enough to be commented on.

A few sports operations have reported that the attractiveness of box seats has lessened while corporate meeting rooms at sports facilities has increased. If this true, we might see a reduction in box seats as we presently have within the arena. Apparently, Toronto has started creating more business meeting spaces for Leafs games. I assume regular bowl seats suffice if there is a meeting room before, during and after the game.

Most out of town fans to the Jets come to Winnipeg from all over Manitoba, Northwest Ontario and sometimes Saskatchewan. The rare guests come from elsewhere in Canada or international. Those that travel to Winnipeg for a game are often coming for shopping, visiting family and going out to restaurants. At the old Winnipeg Arena, people used to stay at the Viscount Gort or the Polo Park Inn (later Canad Inns Polo Park). At the Viscount it was possible that visiting fans would run into the visiting team staying in the same hotel.

Today, it is not much different and out of town fans stay in their favourite hotels based on their shopping and entertainment needs. Some will stay where they have always stayed near Polo Park for water slides or for familiar hotels. Others have been staying at downtown hotels even if the shopping is elsewhere. In some ways, the old Polo Park location was already a hugely successful entertainment area. The 20 year old arena downtown is slowly building up to become an entertainment area.

Like most developments in Winnipeg, the entertainment district is years behind schedule. The discussion over the slow pace of Sutton Place Hotel has been made on this blog. It does appear that the speed should increase but it has been 8 years of waiting so far for the hotel and the restaurants that come with it such as Chop. In the good news category, The Keg is building a large restaurant at St. Mary and Donald, kitty corner to Cityplace and the Canada Life Centre. Once Chop goes up, there will be four steakhouses within walking distance of the arena.

A number of restaurants have opened in the Exchange and in Osborne Village which is an indication that restaurants are slowly coming back after the loss of so many over the last five years. Recovery downtown is much slower but the True North development of Portage Place and the new Pan Am Clinic will mean thousands of people in the area seven days a week. Expect some coffee shops, breakfast places and other restaurants to crop up around the area as the food court will be eliminated for the clinic.

It is expected the Portage Place and even further down the street Bay development will proceed faster than other projects. That is good because they have had several years of stalled work between the Canada Life Centre and RBC Convention Centre has been inconvenient and contributes to a sense of no life around the arena. The road is always an obstacle course and year after year of nothing. The moment it opens it will transform the area.

However, returning to the question of why Winnipeg has an NHL franchise. It has a a franchise because despite being a small market, it has a better facility than many other cities in the NHL. It has a richer and more stable ownership than most in the NHL. It has a very good management team that has been able draft and develop players which is what Atlanta was great at. It has owners trying to create a fan experience inside and outside the arena area. It has a good TV and radio broadcast team. It has good print coverage and a fair size podcasting coverage. It has a new strategy to increase corporate sales.

The Jets are number 1 in the league and some people keep thinking the team should be moved. It isn't going anywhere when the league has so many franchises that could be in need before the Jets are. Even the New Your Rangers could be moving to a new facility across the street. The Calgary Flames are in the process of building a new arena but the city of Calgary owns it. Salt Lake City has an old arena and no immediate plans to build a new one. Jets have one of the newer arenas with the only criticism that is should have 3000 more seats. I imagine the Jets have a soon to be announced plan for arena expansion or a second arena. The reason is that the city would like to have a women's pro hockey team, a women's pro basketball team and possibly, a WHL team. Can't very well do that with one arena.

So to those who wonder why Winnipeg has a franchise, it is because they are building an organization to that. And that will mean we'll see the fan experience from NHL to concerts become more important for putting fans in the seats. And for the out of towers, we have to make it is the best experience we can.

Will Chi Chi's Return to Winnipeg?

Excitement in the U.S. about the return of Chi-Chi's had a number of people remember when the restaurant opened on Maroons Road and St. James in Winnipeg in 1982. The above grainy picture shows Chi Chi's, Fingers and the large McDonald's that were popular places to go to when shopping at Polo Park or attending Jets and Bombers games or the Red River Ex which for many years was called Manisphere.

While the Polo Park location wasn't the only place in the city that Chi Chi's was, it had that reputation that it could be open till 4 AM on game days. The Mexican menu was a hit, the deep fried ice cream was a treat and the birthday party liquor flowed. It became very popular for hockey and football players to visit Chi Chi's. It was a very different time as smoking was permitted in restaurants but not permitted at the sporting venues except in designated areas. It meant that people went to the lounges at Chi Chi's and Fingers and smoked like crazy. Add to that legal happy hours. A smoking ban would not come till 2004. Around the same time happy hour limitations came into place.

Since Chi Chi's closed in 1992 in Winnipeg, the name has been by Hormel Foods in Minnesota which has licensed food products with the restaurant name with some success. The last restaurants before bankruptcy in the U.S. were around 2004. A Hepatitis outbreak pretty much defeated them at that time. 

The son of the former owner from Minneapolis has been given permission to start opening updated versions of Chi Chi's. At it's height, over 200 locations were across North American and beyond. They key of course is updated versions of what worked way back and none of what didn't work out and won't now. For example, most restaurants now have to be part of the pick up and delivery system. Perhaps not a drive-thru but an area of the restaurant for takeaway. We see it less in Canada but it is everywhere in the U.S.

Cost is having a huge impact on the restaurant industry. Chili's has made a bit of comeback because they have been very price conscious. TGI Fridays has struggled. And so it goes in the restaurant industry. The novelty of Tex Mex isn't a thing anymore. Shredded lettuce in abundance might have worked in the past but an improved Chi Chi's menu with some of the faves and a new offerings is probably the only thing to avoid a repeat of the previous failure.

The Polo Park Chi- Chi's was simply the biggest restaurant in all of western Canada with 400 seats. That title eventually went to the IKEA restaurant in Winnipeg which has 650 seats.

It is shocking how any people can point to work experience at Chi- Chi's, a birthday event or pre or post sports attendance at the restaurant. If two Chi Chi's are planned for Minnesota, I expect we'll see quite a few people from Manitoba visit those locations. And I fully expect there will be a few enquiries from Winnipeg on franchise opportunities. The big question is where. Polo Park no longer has the sports facilities that made it is a triple threat. Close to the football stadium seems unlikely. If it didn't work for Earls, why would it work for Chi Chi's? Downtown is possible with The Keg building a new location. Would a Chi Chi's near the arena where Jets, Moose and Sea Bears games are? Or is Polo Park still king even without sports?

Apartment and New Keg Restaurant Back on For Downtown

In 2023, a 14 storey apartment town and new Keg restaurant halted construction as economic supply chain issues and inflation raised its $40 million price up beyond $60 million. The developer was local Keg owner Gord Howard who still owns the three restaurants in the city. The apartment at Donald Street and St. Mary's Avenue was 30 per cent complete when it went into creditor protection.

It is now back on under Carrington Real Estate and called DSM (short for the street crossroads). A Winnipeg developer that is new to the downtown but with projects all over the city. The design has been reconfigured for 160 units including 40 affordable ones. The developer is hoping to access the accelerator program from the Fed in the next intake. That fund was over subscribed all over the country from developers keen to build housing. There likely be a 2025 intake but there is no guarantee that a new government will renew the program.

Parts of south Portage have been surface parking lots for decades. This is what Toronto looked like in the 1980s. Massive parking lots surrounded the bank towers of the major Canadian banks. It is pretty much been in the last 20 years that condos went up on all available space they could find. And those banks looks small compared to them. However, for all the towers in Toronto, affordability has not come.

I have said a few times here that the affordable housing for today is usually built 20 years earlier. Shortages of housing raises what those houses can go for. Cutting immigration and student visas can send those housing prices down. But it can also send Canada into recession as the universities topple on the edge and employers can't find critical workers. 

The very long period of almost know multi-unit housing going up and the slow pace of detached homes going up. Winnipeg went for quite some time with nearly no apartments going up or at such a slow pace that it is reflected in soaring house prices. Supply chain problems continue to slow down today's construction. Higher interest have had an effect but keep in mind that low interest rates didn't help on prices or supply either.

Building capacity in the system is something all three levels of government, private industry and consumers need to work on. Oddly enough, the federal and provincial governments have sat on the sidelines about building for years. And consumers often want the door shut on further building in their area once they have moved in. This eventually becomes a problem because people require different types through the course of their lives. Also, housing often needs to be rehabilitated or rebuilt. In Winnipeg, the housing stock is rapidly aging. In some cases, houses get knocked down and what is left is an empty space.

This is the story of a lot of downtown Winnipeg. Houses, offices, warehouse, hotels and other buildings have been knocked down and turned to surface parking. The corner of Donald and St. Mary's Avenue has been a parking lot for decades. It is kitty korner to Cityplace and walking distance to Canada Life Centre. It is without a doubt going to be very attractive as a destination for Jets, Moose and concert goers with a Keg there.

Once upon a time there were two Kegs downtown. There was a large location where Pony Coral was and the longtime location on Garry Street. The latter location remains and it uncertain it stays open although no one has said anything to the effect that it will close. It probably has enough of a base to continue forever. That being side, the new Keg on the ground floor of the Donald/St. Mary's location will be 10,000 square feet. To put that in perspective the Keg location on Portage Avenue is 8,000 square feet. The one of McGillivray is 12,000 square feet.

This will be the second steakhouse locate on the first floor of a downtown apartment of office in recent years. The first was Hy's when it moved to the first floor and basement of the Richardson building in 2005. It has taken quite some time for Hy's to be joined by 529 across the street in 2024. And now sometime in  2025 The Keg will up.

The new building will be called DSM which stands for Donald St. Mary's. It is a good news story for more housing on a surface parking lot and the return of a large Keg to the downtown area.

Winnipeg Jets and Road Trip Flights

Winnipeg Jets and the Canada Life Centre is a big operation. Management consists of no less than 17 vice-presidents. In addition to managing the Jets, Moose and facilities such as the Canada Life Centre, Hockey for All Centre (Iceplex), Burton Cummings Theatre, True North Square and soon to come: Portage Place. There is a lot of real estate that is part of the overall company.

I think that it is hard to fully appreciate the impact a professional hockey team has on the city of Winnipeg. The management of two hockey teams is not the only part of community engagement. The Jets employ a communications team to reach people in a variety of ways. It isn't just radio, TV and web broadcasts of the games providing information and entertainment but TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

In a post on their social media that has gone viral, the Jets showed what is involved in a road trip. It first appeared on Instagram but is has been on TikTok and drew the attention of the National Post because it sheds some light on a area of hockey operations. It follows the Jets as they board their aircraft and head off to Edmonton for first game of season.

The initial Instagram post was produced by the Jets digital team which makes all hockey content. It is a combination of pictures, video and some information about the flight preparation that the team does. Each away game involves the transportation of 2,100 kilos of equipment which is 4,700 pounds. The 26 players on the team are about the same weight. Add coaching staff, media team and air crew loads the modified Air Canada Airbus 320 to capacity.

Air Canada has a division with Airbuses called Air Canada Jetz. It has four aircraft that provide surfaces for all Canadian NHL teams and the Seattle Kraken. The livery is a dark black with the logo of the airline. When they travel for the Jets, the team logo is all over luxury leather seats. As with all airlines, food service is provided. These jets are used for other charters to including election periods.

The two tonnes of luggage includes hockey bags for every player, five sticks each, two games jerseys, multiple practice jerseys, two skate sharpening machine, sewing machine and all the supplies that come with it. The players have their own personal bags. They are required suits for business travel when heading to work.

Everything is loaded on the tarmac off a truck and Air Canada has gotten down to 15 minutes. On long road trips, no one wants to be at the airport for too long. There are 41 away games and they are coast to coast and back and forth over the border. Add play-offs and that is a lot of travel!

And this is just the Jets. Let's not forget the Manitoba Moose travel by airplane as well. I haven't heard what they travel in now but it used to a prop plane from Calm Air. They were one of the few teams in the AHL to have one.

The media team with their story on team plane travel gave insight into what a road trip was like: the business side, the social side and the human interest side. Amazon is showing what is behind the curtain and there is an audience for it. TikTok or BookTok says hockey romance novels are among the best sellers and responsible for a growing fan base of women in hockey.

The truth is that hockey teams and hockey broadcasts are evolving and social media and streaming are playing bigger roles than ever.

The End of the Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes has finally run out of time and will indeed be moving to Salt Lake City, Utah after they complete their final games of the season. The 5000 seat Mullet Arena was just not going to pass muster for four or so years with no arena deal in place. The NHL just couldn't let it go on any longer with so many cities in the wings wanting a team. Moreover, with a winter Olympics likely to return to the U.S., the league wants a team in the city that will be the host. That city is Salt Lake City.

Utah checks of the box for things the league wants. It has a billionaire owner, it has an NHL size arena, it has a plan to build its own NHL arena, it was prepared to pay an expansion fee to the NHL to buy the team. It isn't all bad for the Coyotes owner and Arizona. The city has the right to retain team name and history if they can get approval for an arena to be built within next four years. They will have an opportunity to win a franchise again if they meet the needs of the league and their own team's success in the future.

Salt Lake City is odds on favourite for hosting the Olympics again. Aside from Utah Jazz, there are no major league team competitors. If you head directly north, Salt Lake is immediately above Phoenix which puts in Central Division territory so not putting any issues by seeing major shifts in other divisions. In recent years, Salt Lake has seen real growth and should have enough people ready to become hockey fans. The Colorado Avalanche East Coast Hockey League farm club Utah Grizzlies is based in Salk Lake City. The Tucson Roadrunners AHL franchise of the Arizona Coyotes is not part of the sales to Salt Lake City. This means that Salt Lake will not own their AHL franchise. Rumour is that Tucson moves to Mullet Arena, present home of the Arizona Coyotes. This leaves Tucson without a team.

Arizona fans who truly loved hockey have to be hurting. However, unlike Winnipeg, it won't be taken as a sign of city failure, decline and for someone to turn off the lights when they leave the province. The 1990s were hard times in Winnipeg. And no one was harder on the city than ourselves. It took an act of faith to buy an AHL franchise and move it to Winnipeg as the Chipmans did. It took working with partners to get a downtown arena built and a lot of private and public money. Make no mistake. That was a complicated and controversial deal at the time.

The building of the arena has produced a slow burn redevelopment of 20 years surrounding the area.  The Chipmans have poured money back into the facility and into office, residential units and the plaza and work still continues. And now with Portage Place, it shows an even stronger commitment not only to the Jets but the downtown itself.

The Arizona Coyotes were always a tenant. They weren't actively an owner. This is mostly the problem the Jets had although Winnipeg Enterprises was part owner in the end but the Jets themselves never made concession money from being in Winnipeg Arena. Still, even if they had, the lack of a salary cap was devastating for the league and the Jets could not match was big markets could pay for players.

Coyotes at least got an arena for themselves in Glendale but the development around it was never theirs. The ownership never seemed stable enough. The team make-up was always just short of what was needed. The league gave them a huge amount of time to get it right but four or five more years in Mullet Arena just wasn't going to do.

Phoenix is still the 11th largest metro in the U.S. It will continue to grow and like Atlanta will probably get yet another chance at an NHL owner. One thing is clear though that the NHL was not going to move the team to the eastern market. Many hoped Quebec City might get the team. They have the billionaire owner and the arena and hockey-mad crown but a separatist would be principal owner. That doesn't sit well. Nor does the east want to have to shift a team to the Central to make way for a Cincinnati, Kansas City or another Toronto team.

In the west Houston, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco could all be possibles. But you need a dedicated arena, owner and willingness to build a market. Winnipeg's eventual success was to make sure they were always in the picture, linked to the NHL with a long time AHL franchise, an arena and a dedicated ownership group ready to jump in at last minute if needed. And it was needed when Atlanta was up for grabs. 

Salt Lake City kept making it's desire known and the NHL now keeps a list of boxes that need to be ticked off for success in a new market. The sudden move of a team to a new place is just not on the table. It isn't a good look and it ends a possible expansion to a city that would pay real money to the league and owners. The move to Salt Lake City pays a bit of money but it is a rescue mission and was only approved to give Phoenix once last time to get it right with a time limit of five years to get that arena. However, Salt Lake City ticked all the boxes and that is why they jumped to head of the list.

Expect an expansion within the next few years. It will probably be Gary Bettman's last expansion as he probably will retire before the Olympics as he will be 81 in 2034. But all the pieces for the NHL to benefit from that hosting will be parts that he puts together between now and then including TV agreements for NHL and new markets. It is a legitimate question to ask how many teams the NHL can possibly have and still be relevant and have quality in the play. Perhaps 40 teams are possible. Grow too big and it is possible hockey could see a split to an elite league with relegation to lower leagues if play falls below a certain level as we see in the English League of Football. The Premier League split in 1992 into 20 elite level teams. However, fall below standard and a team is relegated down and another team is relegated up. The NHL does not work that way. And teams don't move to another city.

I expect Salt Lake City will be a good franchise but we likely haven't seen the end of the Coyotes. However, if they don't get their own arena, it will never work. Winnipeg Jets were never going to return until they had their own arena. It was a major box to tick off as it should be for any city looking to get an NHL team.

 

Jets Season Tickets Are Down - Will They Leave?

Gary Bettman has always had a contentious relationship with Winnipeg. It broke our hearts when the original Jets team moved south. The city survived it but the 1990s are were a hard time and it took several years for the people to feel we were making progress on a fairly hard 1990s,

It seemed not enough was done to save the Winnipeg Jets when they moved to Arizona. Some of the changes the league made with better supports for expansion teams and salary caps came after the team left. The fan base here gave the Jets years and years of sellouts but it came inside the smallest arena in the league. And all the while, the team got the smallest corporate support. For a long time, that was enough. But now, there is no waiting list.

The value of the franchise has risen dramatically since the days of the Atlanta Thrashers. And for the True North real estate division, the Jets and the arena have been part a building strategy that revolves around True North Square. Were it not for the slow build of Sutton Place Hotel and Suites, the Chipmans might have been said to have brought that project to completion. As it is, they will probably be making their announcement on Portage Place soon which should have some goodies in there if the Pan Am Clinic tower, a grocery store and University of Winnipeg residential tower is included.

Those are all things that indicate a NHL owner is determined to stay. Moving the team would de-value all the other assets that have been built up around the arena and the team. The arrival of Bettman was more a promotional visit than one full of threat and menace. He is well aware that moving teams means less chance of expansion money that the whole league shares. It isn't good for the league at all.

The fact that the NHL seemed relatively calm about the whole thing feels more reassuring. It is also good that Chipman seems to know that the Jets have to market themselves better. Finding out why season ticket holders have left and addressing their concerns is important. Most say they want more flexibility on their tickets and less added costs and hassles. Other are asking for better food, more tiered priced and value prices.

Some fans have said they wish there was more food options outside the arena. Some restaurants have closed such as Pony Coral and Moxies that were faves. A new Keg that was going up is now stalled and likely won't be built. Chop is a year or two away. A lot of things seem to be a year or two away. The Chipmans can only control what happens in their buildings. To that end, the Hargrave Food Market has been a big plus. If the Chipmans control Portage Place, we could see a return of Moxies and new restaurants as the mall will cease to exist as we now know. This is true for the food court as well.

As far as the product goes on the ice, the Jets have made the player changes and performed amazingly well. Will it gain the excitement that occurred in 2018? It is possible but there were a lot more people working downtown back then compared to now. However, there are a lot more people living downtown too with apartments along Assiniboine, Main and other conversions that have happened since then. It is a slow process but more housing has gone up along west Broadway as well as the art gallery area.

The Bay will start seeing some work on the outside in weeks. Raising the level of activity in this end of downtown and adding some food options can only help the Jets and any other business in the area. A darkened building is toxic to an area. Large areas of downtown parking spaces may be good for parking for arena events but it also means no street life of restaurants, shops or downtown residential units. 

The Jets record is probably the biggest ingredient for filling seats for the rest of this year. The next year and after will be about the Jets trying to create more excitement, more fan and season ticket support, more corporate partnerships and less hassle about making changes to tickets. Will the Jets leave? If they respond positively to what fans want and are innovative, they will manage to overcome what happens to almost every team in the league at some point. The result will be a team that will be continue long into the future and then the question might be: Do they need to expand the building?

The Portage Place Proposal

The ideas presented by True North and Architecture49 for Portage Place in this series of pictures is a far better proposal than we have seen from developers thus far. The cost is estimated to be about $500 million and there will be a taxpayer component for some aspects of it. A 15 storey health tower will be built on the western pad. The foodcourt will give way to a first floor of elevator banks and possibly a walk-in clinic and primary care clinics with extended hours. The second floor will remain a main corridor in the skywalk system to connect the arena, the former Bay Building as well as Investors Group.

It is noteworthy that the Pan Am Clinic is involved. Prior to the pandemic they had made arrangements to build a facility on the old mini-golf course adjacent to to the Reh Fit Centre. A bit of a coming home for them as they started way back decades ago in the building. Alas, as soon as it was announced, a panic ensued as the underpass at Waverley which had been cancelled since 1984 Mulroney was finally approved. The Pan Am was cancelled. And thereafter, their onsite physio had to move for lack of space at the clinic. They have been over capacity ever since.

To say the Pan Am Clinic has been waiting patiently ever since is an understatement. The parking lot behind the Pan Am Pool is filled daily with those attending appointments or being told walk-ins are filled by the first hour. A 15 storey Pan Am tower for an Advanced Musculoskeletal Medicine sounds like the they type of  innovative centre that downtown used to be known for. The Boyd Building, Medical Arts Building and the Winnipeg Clinic were where people went for the specialist appointments. Most are closed or downsized from their one prominent position in the city.

Some new suburban offices have opened for doctors but the Pan Am Clinic is in need of space for diagnostic equipment, surgical suites and space for a growing demand in treatment of pain and therapeutic and surgical treatment. It is a long time coming. There appears to be a pick up and loading area for the clinic but better pictures are needed to see if it is adequate. Edmonton itself appears to be a through street although it isn't entirely clear if it is only for pedestrians or one where vehicles can use even in a limited way.

The first floor that has today's present food court appears to be all clinic space. The above floors will have 50,000 square feet of ambulatory and orthopedic surgery space. A concussion clinic is set to operate on on site and a 26,000 square foot dialysis space will be set up. The latter has been desperately needed. Altogether, this is 220,000 square feet of health space and a $300 million investment. 

The above alone would be a huge deal. It is worth pointing out that many cities across North America have hospitals in their downtown areas. Health Sciences Centre is not downtown. Nor is St. Boniface Hospital. Look at Toronto or Saskatoon to see hospital districts. They are 24 hour drivers of social, health and economic opportunity. I sometimes wonder if Health Sciences Centre blocks away from downtown would have been better closer in. As it stands now, we'll never know. For St. Boniface, it is close by but better for the core district surrounding the commercial neighbourhood of the French Quarter rather than downtown.

The Access Clinic on Main Street with its parkade was a multi-million investment in health north of City Hall. However, street friendly, it isn't. It is closed at 4:30 PM every day and closed weekends. Heroic work might be done inside but it is unlikely a single business, restaurant or residential building benefits in ways that St. Boniface Hospital benefits its district or Health Sciences does for its area (although in recent years that part of the city has gone through difficulties).

It is without doubt that a downtown Pan Am Clinic along with primary care and dialysis treatment will be utilized and see many people use the facility. And with 1000 car parking space below, parking should not be considered an issue. However, the foodcourt and some retail, services and the old theatres will make way for this development. Public input is ongoing. It is uncertain what the reaction will be to the loss of the foodcourt as it presently stands will be. Many in the community are attached to it as a place to sit and gather. Some indigenous groups had wanted the mall turned over to them as a community spot. Still, this has to be weighed against the advantage of primary care, addictions care and dialysis in one spot. All of these things are also needed by the downtown community and by indigenous people.

A pocket park along the Edmonton throughway should open up north and south access which could see and increase of people being present. While people could enter and exit via the mall, the north entrance had been the source of security concerns in recent years. With a large health facility present, thousands of people per day from all over the city will be going back and forth. Such is the reputation of the Pan Am Clinic that you if you are in pain, suffering a concussion, you don't care where it is, you care that it is.

As stated, if the only news on Portage Place was this, it would be astounding good news. However, there's more. The western portion of the mall looks to continue hosting long time resident Prairie Theatre Exchange. Manitoba Chamber Orchestra also calls the third floor home. The Expo Live! part which is owned by by True North looks to be making way for a 14,000 square foot grocery to yet be named.

There is no doubt this is good news. Despite what anyone thinks, there are quite a few residential units that have gone up in recent years on north Portage via the University of Winnipeg. There is a lot of housing behind Portage Place and Central Park. And more housing coming atop Portage Place itself and in the Southern Chiefs owned Bay building. 

Some naysayers will talk about grocery stores attracting theft. That happens whether it is in St. Vital, St. James or parts in between. Much like how the liquor stores had to add a layer of security. it could come to that for grocery, pharmacies and the like. I have seen more security guards posted at banks recently all the way out in St. James. Many grocers are going to a single entrance and some sort of gate to cross through. Many have security and police posted. This may be the new normal till we deal with drugs, cost of housing and homelessness.

Regardless, a grocery store is excellent news and the customer base is already in place with so many apartments either connected to the skywalk or walking distance. A 16 storey apartment above the grocery is exactly the type of synergy you need in a mixed development. The other parts of the west side of Portage Place is probably where we will have some discussions. A Service Canada office is in place and should remain a part of the building. What else goes inside should probably be determined by the needs of the people living and working in the area. A Shopper's Drug Mart is there now and still seems a good match. As are many of the cellphone companies operating inside. A new food court seems unlikely a few coffee shops and quick service restaurants seem very likely.

It is unclear what sort of residential units will be going up on the west pad. There was mention of student housing and there is no doubt that downtown has multiple schools that can use it including the University of Winnipeg, Red River Polytech and a host of private colleges. One thing that can be said about schools is that they are great drivers of economic activity. And many choose to be downtown because it makes sense logistically for them to do so.

The University of Winnipeg by the very early 1980s had taken over both it men and women's residences for offices. There was no capital budget, student populations were going up and the feeling was that there was enough apartments and rooms for let near the university. Or that many students lived at home and commuted.  Some of that is true. But a lot of it wasn't. There was inadequate housing for decades and the U of W was suffering for it.

It bears repeating that in 2019, Winnipeg and by extension Manitoba, was doing pretty well. The previous year play-off run by the Winnipeg Jets had brought tens of thousands downtown. Many businesses were in expansion mode, festivals downtown and theatres were running at capacity. By 2020 that all changed with the pandemic. Many small businesses were lost and closed down and others have not recovered due to the continued change in work patterns.

The addition of a medical component and a residential component to Portage Place will make the building busier, less a magnet for trouble, more open with public space and not a three block wall on one of the busiest streets in Winnipeg. The proposal thus far along with upcoming public consultations is the best we have seen. It gives a strong reason to go downtown. If someone needs medical treatment, it is better if it is an all and one place with diagnosis, treatment and doctor and specialist visits. With any luck, we will see a deal complete and work beginning soon.

New Hampton Inn By Hilton to Open Fall 2023

The former Charter House and a Best Western Plus since 2002 is under construction and adding two more floors. This picture in 2022 shows the work in progress and opening is scheduled for September 23, 2023. The entire interior was gutted for a completely new configuration. There will be a change in branding too from Best Western to Hampton Inn by Hilton.  This will be a return of Hampton Inn to downtown as the Humphrey Inn used to be a Hampton. An increase from 87 rooms to 134 will make it easy for convention groups in town can stay in one hotel. The former seven conference rooms will be reduced to two. There will continue to be balconies on the west side continuing a tradition of hotels in town. Yes, it's true. 

The old hotel with the Rib Room and Tivoli Cafe was a popular destination  for the business and lawyer crowd for years. The hotel was originally built in 1959 and had additional floor built in 1960 and for a time had 96 rooms. It also had one of the first patios and a swimming pool. Built as a motor hotel, it served the car traveller coming to town for leisure and business. In 1960, Winnipeg's downtown was hopping with business, shopping and entertainment.

Above is the supplied picture of what the new hotel will look like. It is not the only hotel is progress right now. It seems that work by the Sandman has been going on for years. The Windsor, the Pembina and the Cambridge all gone. The Marlborough is for sale. If one had to guess, it would not be too far fetched to think it might be a candidate for conversion to apartments.

While downtown Winnipeg is not the shopping mecca it once was when the original Charter House Hotel went up, the expanded RBC Winnipeg Convention Centre and the Canada Life Centre are quite close by for out of town guests in for a hockey game, concert or a convention. Some who live in the city might question those outside of Winnipeg about the hotels they choose to stay in but consider this: If you are coming in for an Eagles concert from Dryden, you might want to stay downtown to avoid having to find a place to park your car if you had stayed in the airport hotel area. Likewise, if you are attending Ai-kon over three days the RBC, you might want a hotel close by to go back and forth in your anime costume. 

The entertainment district being built piece since the 1975 construction of the convention centre has accelerated in recent years. The new arena downtown was built in 2004 connected the two buildings via skywalk system. The doubling of the convention space by 2015 has triggered a long awaited hotel and condo complex. True North has also added and continues to add office, residential and event space in the former parking lots that had marked the area for decades.

It is easy to see why two floors was being added to a hotel only steps away from the arena and convention centre. The business actually sees quite a future ahead. They are also trying to get work done before Sussex Place Hotel and condos are complete to re-establish their bonifides for the motoring crowd who have stayed there since the 1960s. 

There has been tens years of construction in this area, seven towers, a double sized convention centre and coming out on the other side from the pandemic. Expect to see more business announcement i the surrounding area as Portage Place, The Bay and Portage and Main begin their construction phase.

The Forks Comeback 2023

Early in the new year, The Forks turned around their numbers for people coming the site to pre-pandemic levels. Measured by trackers at entrances and seen in actual numbers at events, January 2023 looked more like January 2019. Space to gather has been a hallmark of The Forks and key events, unique merchants, special food experiences and tourist attractions makes it different from other areas. Crime scares and protests groups have had an impact but renewed security may be helping. Random attacks cannot be dismissed as overreacting. If people are afraid they will stop going to a place. In fact, they will flee. And the recent occurrence of protest groups using The Forks for gatherings can and has resulted in problems. One of the reasons in the past we have not seen this is that the park area has been that it is intensely busy with festivals, concerts and recreation. Hard to have a protest when so many people are there already for other reasons. Usually celebrating.

The Forks has to walk a fine balance. Their next stage of development announced some time this year will probably be some sort of apartments across from the Human Rights Museum. The risk is that new residents take a dislike to some of the long term activities that have existed for decades such as concerts and festivals. Or perhaps new residents ask that the more than the century railway line be moved once apartments are up. It is not beyond the pale. It may be that new residents ask that the skate board park be removed. Certain we know that fireworks will no longer be part of Forks celebrations. Perhaps they will get an order for them to be stopped at Goldeyes Park as well.

Things evolve to be sure. Assiniboine Park no longer has fireworks and the same applies to The Forks. Tens of thousands used to go to both and stay for the fireworks. Arguments can be made about how it scares animals and annoys a great number of people but, in the case of Assiniboine Park, it means they shut down for the night quite early for activities. In recent years there have been calls to end concerts outdoors as well even if they earlier in the day. If The Forks goes down the same route, it is likely most outdoor activities might be limited due to residential complaints, especially at night.

The parkade at Portage Place continues to be cash injection every year at The Forks, They have at least moved to charge for parking that they do have including their own parkade which for the longest time was free. They have also started renewing leases at more market set rates. Local innovation in food, retail and recreation has differentiated it from a regular mall. Returning revenue into improving the area marks it differently as well since the money isn't sent to investors in Toronto.

The recent offer from True North to buy the land lease and parkade along with the mall at Portage Place looks to net The Forks $34.5 million. They have publicly stated that they would put it in savings and use the interest to fund things. Do the government parties have a say on this windfall? That is a lot of unassigned money.

Sustainability is important because after the last sections are developed, it is unrealistic to think that cash injections from three levels of government will come. There are indications that revenue to support the site and the programming therein is a priority.  That comes from charging for parking they have on site, lease money as landlord of the area and site rentals for festivals. Mandate creep could see The Forks tasked to develop other land but we have see what happen from the North Portage experience. The Forks diverts the money to themselves. In a lot of ways, North Portage would have better staying as a separate entity as revenue would have stayed in the area. The Forks, on the other hand, would have gone bankrupt in 1994.

Winnipeg downtown is not the only place trying to pivot during the pandemic for downtown areas. Toronto has found it very painful and the closure of Nordstrom's in Eaton Centre and many other retailer has hit hard. And like a lot of North America, people are slow to return to the office. Nevertheless it is growing and plans are for 100 new condo towers a year for the next ten years. But will people be working in offices or from home? And what will become of downtown office towers and attractions? Or old neighbourhoods? Below is Toronto in 1989.

In the 1980s through 1990s Toronto was like Winnipeg in that it had football fields of parking space and industrial land/rail yards open. Above from Toronto Archives in 1989 is what Toronto looked like. The area in red was the railyards. In 2023, the entire area is filled with offices, condos/apartments and the like. However, the 1990s were marked by a real estate collapse was pretty widespread across Canada including Toronto and Winnipeg. It really is the last years that Toronto residential towers have exploded so that they literally dwarf the five big banks downtown.

Both Toronto and Winnipeg developed their rail yards and in the case of Toronto, their port. It can be argued which did better. I think Winnipeg did better at creating public space and a sense of centrality to the city that Portage and Main lost or never had, Toronto certainly created big sport and convention centre facilities but in all that rail land, where is the great public space? It is all condos now.

Sometimes being about 20 years behind has helped Winnipeg avoid mistakes other urban areas have committed before us. For example, Calgary demolished its warehouse district. Toronto in a rush to fill waterfront area with condos had insiders grab units and the buildings created a wall of glass and concrete from the shore. At The Forks, development has been slow and thoughtful and each piece has been well considered. Once again, it was money from Portage Place that made it possible not too just fill it with condos.

Developers would love to build in The Forks. There are really only two spaces left but is unlikely a large tower or two that will be built because of the scale. Public and political pressures will limit the height and frown on restricted public access. It will more clear what comes soon enough. Presently, the parking lots are revenue generators so The Forks are not in a rush to see them closed for development that could take two to three years. The question of having public parkades below the new development and/or public transit/active transportation is still being discussed. 

The above picture sourced from The Forks. The Human Rights Museum is a national museum next to a national park. The expectation is that the area will always have school buses, public transit and active transportation to it. Accessible parking, loading zones, tourist parking need to be accounted for. When Railside and Parcel 4 are removed, will they have a public component for a tourist/visitor to park, walk through, get a meal and access The Forks attractions be part of the equation?

Picture from Forks documents. The rail line makes for a walled area for the The Forks and Goldeyes Park. The shaded red area is where announcements will be made in due course of what will go up on the surface parking lots. There is certainly enough parking just outside the rail wall. However, it is beyond the mandate of The Forks so matters of security, accessibility and availability end at Main Street. Why this matters is that should be of high concern to The Forks of how people come to The Forks. Do they avoid it because it is too far away, too unsafe, hard for for those with mobility issues? Is it too expensive? No place to bring a tour bus in? A school bus. No place to have buses waiting? The very long term success of The Forks turns on these questions.

Ironically, the other charge in the North Portage Forks mandate, Portage Place might have a more solid future once it is sold and have more opportunities for future public and private investment. The above picture from Forks documents shows the huge area it covers. And yet other parts of downtown are in need of some sort of planning to help with sustainability.  It is a little bit like whack-a-mole. One area of downtown gets attention only for another are to collapse. Recent example, the closure of the The Bay.

The 2023 comeback for The Forks will have to focus on safety with the large numbers of people that come through. This is not just limited to crime but in terms of crowd control, traffic control, water safety and events that are celebrations of community. It would be a shame if the Forks has to shut out mid-evening for events because of noise concerns. As mentioned, fireworks will just continue somewhere else...like Assiniboia Downs. They just won't be accessible to those without a car.

Sometimes your success causes you to cancel things because of neighbourhood rejection. Things like Days of Wine on Roses were cancelled on Corydon and New Year's celebrations in Osborne Village because business and residents reject them. And so the concern at The Forks is that someone says: no more parades. And maybe that happens as people push to make the area less friendly to those outside their region.

There seems some certainty that in 2023/2024/2025, The Forks will have tens of millions from Portage Place sale. And even without much of a coordinated development plan for downtown, there are a number of projects that will all likely be coming on stream at the same time. Expanded hotels, apartment buildings and office towers are going up within blocks of The Forks. This contributes to more people living and working close to the largest green space by the Red River. Moreover, more traffic on riverwalks/sidewalks, skating paths and biking lanes are a reflection of how close some people are to the area. It doesn't make sense if you live in an apartment in St. Boniface a baseball throw away from a festival in The Forks to drive your car less than several minutes away.

If safety and public access to The Forks remain a priority, it can succeed in attracting people and unique stores, restaurants and festivals. The success of the area going forward should trigger further exciting development in nearby opening spaces. Surface parking lots are a poor use of downtown space. This is why True North chose to develop the former Eaton's parking lot into buildings and a square to enhance the value of their entertainment district. There are 200 parking spaces underground which is about the amount that the same amount occupied by the surface lot.

Winnipeg remains a car city but certain neighbourhoods like Osborne, St. Boniface, parts of Henderson and others make it possible to actually walk to a grocer, bank or pharmacy. That is to say, they are closer and easier to step out of your door and walk to than to get in your car and drive. Even in Brightwater, there are plenty of people who are in walking distance of the grocery store and other amenities.

The Forks is many things but it isn't that neighbourhood described above. If people live across from the Human Rights Museum, The Forks Market nearby is not a full grocery, nor pharmacy or local bank. More of the empty spaces near The Forks will have to be filled with such things or residents will have to head out of the area to patronize them. It isn't likely that a large national grocer will be built on the site but numbers of residents spreading out along Waterfront and two apartments built on Main in the last year means means a place like Winnipeg Square might service nearby residents longer hours and offer more grocery items at their Shoppers Drug Mart.

The real test this year for The Forks will be how they handle summer starting in June. There will be many assessing the safety of large festivals, how Canada Day will be celebrated and if protests and rallies become increasingly part of the public space as a substitute for the Legislature. And most importantly, will attractions becomes less public or require a charge, Will their hours be reduced? Will attractions be pushed out? All eyes will be watching on this. The comeback will only become permanent if the vast majority of people believe we all have ownership in the area.

True North Puts Bid in for Portage Place

Well, here we are again. Portage Place has received an offer locally this time from Jets ownership and the True North partnership.  The price had dropped like a stone. Starlight had offered just under $70 million that included the mall, parkade and skywalks. The mall owned by B.C. developer Spruceland Mall Limited Partnership (formerly Peterson Group and Peter Young) was valued around $22.5 million. The parkade and land lease which is owned by Forks North Portage Partnership around $47 million.

True North has bid $34.5 million for parkade and land lease. A separate deal has to be struck for the mall. It appears a number of groups have already signed off on the deal including The Forks, the province and the feds. A number of social agencies have said the deal should be rejected and the negotiations with First Nations and Metis should be begin. However, in two years no one (and that means no one) has actually stepped forward with any type of proposal till now. There have been wish lists but no actual plan.

The True North Real Estate Development is the lead on the proposal and consultations are allotted a 12 month window. Jim Ludlow, president of the company, has talked about deconstructing the mall, opening it up  and have housing as a component.  He says it won't be a mall anymore. Beyond that, I suppose it is anyone's guess what it will all turn out as. The one thing they have managed thus far is offering money and a timetable. The Forks North Portage agency has said there has be a re-evaluation of the monetary value of the site but they haven't released anything.

Social agencies have said the space should be open 24 hours and have laundry, showers and community space. Others have said affordable housing. A group of interested parties listed a number of things they wanted but no budget was given. It is likely they believed the three levels of government were going to hand over $400 million that Starlight wanted. However, if some of the governments balked at supporting that, they're not likely to going to hand two blocks to someone else with no plan in place or organization behind it.

Governments are more likely to back things like the Mclaren's Hotel's $12 million housing project to covert all the hotel's rooms in to 150 tiny homes with more modern amenities and and supports for under $550. Now that is a real project, with real management with real costs and timetable. It saves an old building and puts home pride behind it.

The Bay has a redevelopment plan coming and affordable housing is being supported there. And that truly is indigenous-led. The Metis have their Portage and Main development, a hotel planned and just finished social housing on Main Street. Treaty 1 has major work on the Kayong site. Is there an indigenous group ready to take over Portage Place with so much on the go already? If there are interested parties, maybe we will hear a counteroffer. However, nothing yet.

Criticism of True North simply to dismiss them does not solve the issue of Portage Place. Not at all. It remains for sale. Put up a workable plan. That is the benchmark for anyone and everyone out there. Don't ask for $400 million and not have any idea what you would do with it. Don't think you won't pay the mall owner and the parkade owner and get Portage Place for a $1. Unlike The Bay, the building is not nearly as distressed as the department store was. There is value there and saying it is worthless is dishonest.

A few critics blamed the Jets for gentrifying the area making the downtown too expensive. Some are still upset the Eaton's building was torn down. Some blame capitalism, colonialism and and a host of other things. This all might be true. But it doesn't offer solutions. Making up a shopping list of fixes if the goals are not achievable or sustainable is an exercise in frustration. Asking for housing where there are units with washers/dryers, dishwashers, two bedrooms+, pet friendly with utilities included for $600 a month may not support the maintenance of the building in the future. Just ask Lion's Place. A real plan is needed.

Truth is we need tens of thousands of units built every year for years to come. The best strategy might be to support renters and buyers directly rather than getting into building government structures. We have already seen the University of Winnipeg develop several buildings with market rate and below market rate rents. It has formed a cluster of apartments all around the art gallery and more are coming.

Speed is of the essence. It can take years upon years to get something approved. And people can be very contrarian. Many say they support more housing but not near them. This was from a 2023 poll in Toronto and is reflective of the whole country. Almost every housing project seems to draw a long zoning debate even if it is adding space to your own home. In recent months, density has been considered a threat. Thirty years ago most older neighbourhoods had more people living in them now and were considered good places to live.

Portage Place mall has been in place for 36 years and has had pads atop east and west and no apartments ever built. They money siphoned off to The Forks since 1994 could have made a difference. But then maybe we would be talking about how The Forks went under. Our large downtown has meant focus on developments is ever shifting. A crisis happens in a new place every decade. The development on north Portage had quite a lot of housing built but those final two spaces remained empty. And cash spent on the parking never went to anything else on north Portage. It is easy to see why disdain for the area grew as nothing was ever re-invested.

From the perspective of True North Real Estate, Portage Place represents a distressed asset across from all of of their developments. The most important part of the mall is the 1000 car parkade. Without it, no deal can be made. The parkade is the jewel in the crown. It makes money. It has always made money. It just doesn't have money go to mall owners. That changes if all of Portage Place is owned by one entity instead of several. I have lots of questions about the $34.5 million of the parkade and land rights sale going to The Forks but will save for another post.

The mall itself has little value but it will have to be paid something to the tune of under $20 million. Portage Place has been for sale for years but it does have some fine tenants like Prairie Theatre Exchange and Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, dental offices, phone companies, university offices and Expo Live. But there are too many retail vacancies and the food court is considered is struggling as well.

Some people have said they think True North is nuts to buy Portage Place but the money spent can be made back on the parkade alone. Taken from hints from what Jim Ludlow has said, it is very likely the mall will be broken up with Edmonton Street once again passing through to the other side. It won't be a motorway in the traditional sense. Likely, it will be one lane only with wide sidewalks connecting to the Promenade on the other side. A second floor enclosed skywalk will fulfill the government's request to maintain connectivity all the way to The Bay. However, it also is an important link for the True North's arena to have direct connection to the 1000 indoor parking spaces of Portage Place.

The interesting part will be the west portion of Portage Place. It is the widest section, also has a pad for a tower on it and has the walkway that goes all the way to The Bay which should have a plan announced soon. Is that west section big enough for a future arena? Now I know you are saying...hold on, we have an arena. Yes, we do but we also have two hockey teams. And Winnipeg Ice are looking for a new home. Do we also get a lacrosse team? A basketball team? A women's hockey team? Could we be looking at two arenas? Don't rule it out. 

The entire length of Portage Avenue is important to the vitality of downtown. The entire reason for Portage Place's development was that while south Portage Avenue was vital with stores, north Portage was seeing more vacancies and in some cases, one building burned down and wasn't replaced. There were some bright spots to be sure such as Kennedy Street and some specialty shops but no new investments and a few hotels that were particularly rough.

By 1980, Manitoba was in a deep recession. Huge businesses had shut down. The first of tens of thousands of people were leaving the province, moving headquarters, closing factories and production. It was awful. In 1981, the Core Area Initiative was formed as a three levels of government program to cover a huge amount the inner city with a budget of $196 million over ten years. That is $600 million in today's dollars. Led by Lloyd Axworthy from the federal side, this was the creative force behind housing renewal all over the inner city, The Forks, Portage Place, social programming and private investments from Air Canada, Investor's Group, Cadillac Fairview, small businesses everywhere, The program ended in 1991 and by 1994, The Forks was almost bankrupt. 

A new Winnipeg Development Agreement was made from 1996 to 2001 but it was city-wide and did not carry on with nearly as much money. At $75 million, it went fast and when support ended, some projects began to whither just like The Forks did in 1994 without money from some other revenue sources. From 2001 on most city councillors have been focused on massive infrastructure further and further away from centre of the city. 

Places like Portage Place and North Portage have been stuck. The mall owner doesn't want to invest too much because they can't make the margins that other malls make. And since they didn't own the land, there was far fewer reason to change the building to another function. True North has worked on several building projects both north and south of Portage Avenue. They have been working on indigenous partnerships as a business longer than many companies. They have also been able to leverage money from governments for projects and other private businesses have joined in on the efforts.

The last time North Portage was shown some love tens of millions was spent by other businesses and organization. The criticism of the mall ignores the hundreds of housing units built. It ignores the hotel built, Investors Group moving its headquarters there, the Free Press building being restored to government offices, IBM building offices, Winnipeg's first IMAX, Prairie Theatre Exchange and Air Canada offices. 

It is unlikely that True North will abandon if they take the reins. And they certainly won't transfer future revenue to The Forks like what has been happening since 1994. It will be interesting to see what happens from here but these are no carpetbaggers like the last bunch who came to town to fleece the taxpayers. The Chipmans and True North have added considerably to the employment, tax base and downtown since 2011.