Share your vision for Portage Place with us
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2022 (405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
On Thurs., March 31, my office hosted a telephone town hall meeting to discuss the future of Portage Place and community priorities for the mall. Nearly 1,600 residents joined the call to imagine what a community-led vision for the space could look like.
The community needs to be at the centre of any new development of the mall; this hasn’t been the case in the past. Recent developments downtown have been built with the aim of bringing people downtown, rather than to benefit the families and individuals already living there.
Since the recently proposed sale of the mall broke down, our team has been working alongside the community to engage with residents, answer questions, and listen to the many creative ideas for the mall.
Portage Place is currently relied upon by many residents as a warm gathering space and de facto community centre. But downtown needs so much more than that! We heard this loud and clear from those on the call and in follow-up communications with our office.
There is a clear desire for the mall to be a community hub, with meaningful investments in things like social housing, youth programming, learning spaces, childcare, a grocery store, a seniors centre, and safe public spaces and services. This is an opportunity to create real community safety through robust investments in critical infrastructure severely lacking in downtown Winnipeg.
The Central Park neighbourhood is one of the densest in the city and roughly 20 per cent of the people living in the area are under the age of 14. Yet the neighbourhood still doesn’t have a community centre. This is unacceptable.
We have an opening to work together and support a vision for the space that benefits all. The town hall meeting is only part of our ongoing effort to engage with residents about their priorities for the mall. If you live in Winnipeg Centre and would like to discuss Portage Place, please email leah.gazan@parl.gc.ca, or call 204-984-1675.
We are also gathering feedback on our website, leahgazan.ca/portage_place, to the question: What would a Portage Place that meets local residents’ needs and builds on the strengths of downtown communities look like?
Please visit our website to answer the question, listen to a recording of the town hall, and read a longer recap of the event.
Leah Gazan
Winnipeg Centre constituency report
Leah Gazan is the NDP Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre.