Chipman fires shot at mayor

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This article was published 05/02/2015 (3924 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A visibly angry Mark Chipman railed against Mayor Brian Bowman and others for “impugning the reputation” of True North Sports & Entertainment over its plans to develop two parcels of downtown Winnipeg land.

In a news conference inside his MTS Centre Wednesday, the True North chairman expressed disappointment with Bowman and regretted publicly supporting his run for mayor during an attempt to set the record straight over True North Square, a development planned for either side of Carlton Street.

Chipman revealed for the first time a promotional video of his firm’s grand $400-million plan to build two towers and a public square on a Manitoba Public Insurance-owned surface-parking lot at 225 Carlton St. and a third tower on the CentreVenture-owned Carlton Inn site at 220 Carlton St.

He said he showed this video to Bowman and provincial cabinet minister Kevin Chief in mid-November, following a Winnipeg Jets game. Bowman has said he only knew “rumours and rumblings” about the True North project.

“It’s not our practice to allow someone to accuse us of doing something improper or stand idle and allow for a complete mischaracterization of the facts to occur,” said Chipman, adding he doesn’t understand why Bowman claimed the video — also viewed by Jason Fuith, the mayor’s chief of staff — was imprecise in its details about where the project was located.

The video shows the locations, on a map, of the proposed development on both the 220 and 225 Carlton St. properties. The proposal calls for housing, a public square, retail space, a hotel and office space, possibly for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, which is in the midst of choosing a company to build or renovate its new headquarters.

Chief, who serves as jobs and economy minister and is also minister responsible for the city of Winnipeg, confirmed he saw the video and said he was clear about what it depicted.

“You could tell the streets that were involved with the project,” he said, adding he was “blown away” by its scope and did not understand why it has caused such controversy at city hall.

Bowman said he saw “a video” but was not clear about what properties it depicted, and certainly was not made aware of the city’s financial stake in 220 Carlton St. Bowman said he was only in office for weeks and had not been briefed on the file.

“Showing someone a video before they’re apprised of what we now know doesn’t constitute public disclosure,” the mayor said from Toronto, where he is attending a big-city mayors’ conference.

“The facts are the facts, regardless of whether I saw the video. My actions have always been, ‘Let’s get the facts before council, involving two contracts for two developers at the same land.’ “

Until last week, construction company Stuart Olson was obligated to build on the former Carlton Inn site. Chipman said he stepped in after Stuart Olson made it clear in April it had no intention of building a hotel on that land.Chipman said True North’s proposal, years in the making, still requires detailed planning and would take three or four years to develop. He said the project is now on hold until trust can be re-established with city hall.

“We’re very excited about the prospect (the project) has for our city,” Chipman said. “In my personal view, it can be transformative.”

Chipman also said he doesn’t understand why Bowman claimed to be left in the dark about the project when he was been provided with summaries of the option agreement on 220 Carlton between True North and CentreVenture, the city’s downtown-development agency.

He said Bowman’s repeated descriptions of the project as secretive and his portrayal of the deal as similar to the real estate scandals of the past three years was offensive.

“The reckless use of those kinds of terms is in fact extremely damaging to all of us involved,” he said. “Not only is that offensive, it’s flat-out false.”

Chipman said the suggestion True North has done something wrong requires “True North Square” to be placed on hold. “We have to pause here and really consider whether or not we can do a project of that magnitude in this environment,” he said.

‘It’s not our practice to allow someone to accuse us of doing something improper or stand idle and allow for a complete mischaracterization of the facts to occur’ — True North chairman Mark Chipman

Chipman nonetheless conceded he only learned of the availability of the CentreVentured-owned 220 Carlton site in early 2014 because he sat on the agency’s board. He said he recused himself from any discussions about True North’s bid for the property and resigned from the board in July.

Chipman rejected the assertion his position on the board conferred any advantage over another developer. CentreVenture’s volunteer board chairman, Richardson International CEO Curt Vossen, said his agency opted to deal with True North rather than look for other developers.

Vossen said CentreVenture was aware hotel operators approached construction company Stuart Olson about 220 Carlton, but didn’t believe those operators remained interested in the property when the agency signed its option with True North.

Along with releasing Stuart Olson of its obligation to build on the site last week, council voted to demand CentreVenture open up the land to other developers. Chipman said this contravenes True North’s option on the land.

“Such actions show a cavalier and flagrant disregard for the legal position of CentreVenture and, by extension, the City of Winnipeg,” said Chipman, while vowing not to sue. “This is not a threat.”

Chipman said he does not regret supporting Bowman’s 2014 mayoral run, but does regret doing so in public.

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Bowman said this saddened him, but his primary concern is safeguarding the public trust.

“There’s the personal and the professional. I’m focused on looking out for Winnipeggers,” the mayor said. “For me, it’s not about the people. It’s about the process.”

Bowman said True North’s arrangement is with CentreVenture, not city hall.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca

Who do you believe? Mark Chipman or Brian Bowman? Join the conversation in the comments below.