Open this photo in gallery:
This rendering depicts Portage Place after its major redevelopment. The project includes the creation of a new health centre.True North Real Estate Development./Supplied
When Winnipeg’s Portage Place Shopping Centre first opened its doors in 1987, the mall boasted 130 shops. At the time, developers wanted to draw Winnipeggers to the city’s core while they flocked to the suburbs.
Almost four decades later, shopping habits have evolved, and so, too, has the future of Portage Place. The mall is undergoing a $650-million redevelopment.
Anchoring the project is the $300-million Health Care Centre of Excellence. The 300,000-square-foot, 12-storey centre will offer a range of services, such as primary care and mental health and addictions support.
The broader redevelopment plan, at 1.2 million square feet, includes housing, a grocery store, green space and neighbourhood services.
The province says the health centre will make it easier for Manitobans to access care in a central location and will also help revitalize the heart of the city.
Open this photo in gallery:
Portage Place, in 2011.Francis Vachon/The Canadian Press
While health care clinics have popped up in malls in many other cities, such as Saskatoon and Peterborough, Ont., the redevelopment of Portage Place is a much larger undertaking. It involves both provincial government support and backing from True North Real Estate Development, a prominent Winnipeg-based firm.
Manitoba First Nations, prominent developer sign agreement that could revitalize downtown Winnipeg
The Health Care Centre of Excellence will include a new Pan Am Clinic.
In 1979, the Pan Am Clinic started out as a private facility focused on treating sports-related injuries. It was converted into a division of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in 2001, bringing it into the public health care system.
Jeff Leiter, the executive director of Pan Am Clinic Foundation, which raises funds for research and education, said the plan to repurpose a once popular structure sends a powerful message. It shows the continuation of a vision, he said.
“How do we build on our history?” he said. “How do we take some of the structures that were a cornerstone of the downtown and evolve them and make them accessible to the population we want to serve?”
Open this photo in gallery:
The redevelopment plan includes housing, a grocery store, green space and neighbourhood services.True North Real Estate Developme/Supplied
Mr. Leiter said the plan for Portage Place amounts to “a first in health care for Manitoba.”
“Space wise, the expansion is quite significant,” he said. “Obviously, that will allow us to see more patients.”
Along with primary care and mental health and addictions support, Manitoba has said the facility will include new MRI and CT scan units, X-ray machines and surgical suites, as well as access to dialysis, to bolster the province’s health care capacity with an aging population.
As of the last week of August, concrete was being poured at the site. The project, which is expected to be complete by late 2028, is a result of a 2024 agreement between the Manitoba government and True North Real Estate Development.
Winnipeg’s famed Portage and Main – shut to pedestrians for nearly half a century – has been reborn
True North Real Estate Development is the real estate arm of True North Sports + Entertainment, which is co-owned by David Thomson, chair of The Globe and Mail’s board.
The real estate development firm says the health care centre will be a catalyst to revitalize Winnipeg’s downtown and a step forward in health care.
Open this photo in gallery:
The downtown Winnipeg mall, seen here in 2011, first opened in 1987.Francis Vachon/The Canadian Press
In April, 2024, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew weighed in, saying, “This project will fundamentally change what our downtown looks and feels like for the better.”
At the time, the province said it signed a letter of intent with True North Real Estate Development for a 35-year lease agreement for the centre.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham was also enthusiastic about the plan in 2024, saying it would be one of the biggest downtown developments in generations.
“This agreement will pave the way for one of the largest private sector investments in downtown Winnipeg’s history, supporting a $650-million redevelopment of a tired shopping mall into a dynamic centre for health, recreation, arts and retail.”