Premier won’t disclose financial terms of Manitoba’s support for Portage Place redevelopment

Premier Wab Kinew says he won’t reveal how much the province of Manitoba has agreed to pay to lease 265,000 square feet of space in a new medical tower that will rise above Portage Place in Winnipeg.

True North Real Estate Development, the real estate arm of the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets, exercised its options Monday to buy the beleaguered downtown mall. This paves the way for a $650 million redevelopment, including a new medical tower on the east side of the property and a new residential tower on the west side.

The premier said Tuesday he will not reveal the financial terms of Manitoba’s support for the project, which comes mainly in the form of leases from Shared Health and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority for a primary care clinic, mental health and addiction services, an expanded Pan Am Clinic and rooms for surgery, diagnostics and kidney dialysis, among other things.

“I won’t do that, for an important commercial reason, which is not to say publicly what you’re paying, otherwise everyone else is going to charge you the same rate principle,” Kinew said, speaking at an unrelated news conference in Winnipeg’s Smoking neighborhood.

“As a government, we have several relationships with different landlords.”

Kinew’s statement follows the City of Winnipeg’s approval last week of a $40 million package of tax credits and grants for the redevelopment of Portage, as well as the Canadian government’s commitment to provide up to $27 million in self-financing provide.

It also comes one business day after Jim Ludlow, president of True North Real Estate Development, estimated the annual value of the county’s health care tower leases in the neighborhood of “tens of millions, for sure.”

Critics from both the left and right chastised the NDP government for failing to disclose the financial terms of the province’s 35-year lease for the coming tower.

“To be accountable to the public, the province must disclose True North Real Estate Development’s specific health care and rental expenditures,” Molly McCracken, director of the Winnipeg-based Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, said in a statement.

“If taxpayers’ money is being spent on something, it should be up to the government to make it clear where that money is going. How are taxpayers supposed to know if this is a good use of money if the government doesn’t make the numbers public? ?” asked Gage Haubrich, prairie director of the Canadian Taxpayers Association, on the phone from Saskatoon.

“When we look at the grants and tax credits that come from the city, it’s clear in the agreement what the city is giving money for and what they expect from the development in return. So we’re coming to the county [and] we have to say: why don’t you tell us the whole story? Taxpayers deserve to know.”

Winnipeg city council voted last week to approve the $40 million package for Portage Place, consisting of $14 million in tax increases over 25 years, $10 million in housing subsidies and $16 million in infrastructure commitments in and around the property. .

The municipal tax credit comes in the form of partial rebates on the new property tax revenue generated by the project.

The city plans to keep 20 percent of the new tax revenue and give True North the remaining 80 percent. This money will only be received on September 1 after the new residential tower has received a usage permit and the entire building has been revalued for tax purposes by the municipality, according to a report to the municipal council.

The $10 million in housing subsidies will be split into two payments in 2025 and 2026, using federal housing accelerator money. This money will flow to Project 92, a new nonprofit led by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization and True North, which will jointly oversee the housing component of the project.

The $16 million municipal infrastructure work includes $7.5 million to extend Edmonton Street north, $6.5 million to build a new skywalk and upgrade existing sidewalks, and $2 million to assist with construction of a community space in the middle of the shopping center.

The Canadian government’s $27 million share of the Portage Place redevelopment includes $10 million in grants for common areas in the project, and up to $17 million for housing, MP Dan Vandal (Saint Boniface-Saint Vital) said last week .

Manitoba’s Official Opposition urged the Kinew government to be more transparent in its support of a project started while the PCs were still in power.

“Responsible and transparent are two words that I know this government doesn’t necessarily have in their toolbox,” interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko said during a news conference at the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Kinew announced on Tuesday that the total operating costs of the medical facilities in the new tower are higher than previously estimated.

In April, Kinew estimated the additional cost of operating the tower at $77 million. On Monday, the Prime Minister adjusted that amount upwards to $106 million per year.

That figure includes the costs of operating medical services and lease payments to True North Real Estate Development.