Heritage Winnipeg would like to congratulate True North on their confirmed purchase of Portage Place Mall. At a press conference on Friday, September 27th 2024, True North Real Estate Development announced that they plan to redevelop this 1.2 million square foot building for multi-use space, for residential, health care, and community support, in partnership with the Southern Chiefs Organization. This project is being supported by all three levels of government.

This large scale downtown revitalization project will be done in conjunction with the Southern Chief Organization’s, Hudson Bay Company Downtown redevelopment project, “Wehwehneh Bahgahkinagohn”. The announcement was accompanied by a new financial partnership, a non-profit organization called “TN-SCO” that will be created to support redevelopment.

Portage Place Mall, built in 1987, has a 120-year-old clock. At the centre of the mall, a bell tower hovers over shoppers with a clock that stands out from the late-80s design of the building. This clock once sat at the top of Winnipeg’s iconic second city hall, known by many as the “Gingerbread City Hall”. While the his building itself was constructed in 1886, it didn’t receive its clock until 1903. Significantly, it was the first public clock in Winnipeg, a sign of the times at the turn of the 20th century in Winnipeg. We are grateful that this clock was preserved in such a public manner, and we trust going forward that it will continue to be protected.

Heritage Winnipeg is excited for this new downtown development to take place and we are hopeful that both the Portage Place project and Wehwehneh Bahgahkinagohn will bring continued revitalization to our downtown, and will benefit the Indigenous community by providing housing, physical and mental support, and cultural education.  

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(Featured image: Portage Place Mall in the 1990s, taken by George Siamandas for Heritage Winnipeg)