Federal government needs more details before spending $20M on Portage Place

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This article was published 06/08/2020 (1505 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As a key deadline approaches, the federal government says it needs more information before deciding if it should provide $20 million for the redevelopment of the Portage Place mall.

Developer Starlight Investments has said it won’t proceed with the $400-million project unless the governments of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Canada each commit $20 million by Aug. 27.

While the city and province have approved funding, a federal minister said his government needs more details to determine the public value of the project.

“They haven’t yet exactly shared the details of the project with the public service thus far, at the federal level. Certainly, I understand the value of the project… If we’re going to invest millions in Portage Place, we need to know where the money’s going,” said Dan Vandal, Manitoba’s only federal cabinet minister, in an interview Wednesday.

Vandal said Western Economic Diversification and Starlight discussed the matter this week, which he called a “very good step.”

“And I get — I understand, as a local member of Parliament and former (Winnipeg) city councillor, the importance of Portage Place. But we need a lot more information before a decision’s made,” he said.

Vandal said once the public service has more information, it can assess the public benefit of the project and make a funding recommendation to elected federal officials.

With its August target date still in effect, the federal funding is needed for the project to proceed, said Starlight Investments spokeswoman Marni Larkin.

Larkin said Starlight is assessing the $20-million incentive package offered by the city, which includes $11.3 million of property tax rebates over a 20-year term and other targeted grants.

“The model is far more complicated than I think most give it credit for, so we’re just not there yet to be able to make a comment… There’s a number of different assets to it, so it’s making sure that the timelines fit and the phasing works. We’ll be back to everyone as soon as we possibly can,” said Larkin.

She said the provincial government’s pledge to devote up to $28.7 million for the project, through an education tax rebate, does appear viable.

Larkin said there is a clear public benefit to the project that is worthy of public funding.

“It’s larger than external walkways… It’s larger than the community space. It has financial impacts that are significant for the province and federal government that are long-lasting,” she said.

The federal assessment period contrasts with the quick approval of the project’s city funding.

Several city councillors complained about being rushed to vote on the incentive package in July, hours after they learned the city was set to quadruple its original $5-million contribution.

Council cast a nine-to-seven vote to hike the incentive to $20 million.

Most councillors did speak in favour of the redevelopment itself, which proposes to create 500 housing units and almost 500,000 square feet of office and retail space, as well as a 10,000-square-foot community space.

— With files from Dylan Robertson

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga