That potential of losing the PP food court is definitely a concern. Although I wouldn't rule them out just yet (depending on what the new landlords will do to Portage Place).

If they can keep those "mall food" restaurants in place as an affordable alternative to the Hargrave Street Market and Food Hall, then by all means. I'm not saying the Food Hall will be expensive per se. I'd just tidy up the existing food court, like they did in Garden City Mall, and just continue the food services there. That's it.

And if/when the Hargrave Street Market and Food Hall are a huge hit, then that would definitely force Starlight to step up their game.

Not sure where the fear of losing the space and the status quo of Portage Place came from, but what I can say is that this was brought onto ourselves for what it is right now, and I feel that something needs to be done right now. Whether it to be tear it down and reunite Edmonton Street, or do a complete renovation by recladding/reconditioning the exterior, new curtain glass, new reclad the skywalks, and pretty much bring the whole mall into the 21st Century, not stuck in 1987.

I mean I admit, I do like the charm and the colours for its time, but frankly, it's time for it to move on. Hell, even Polo Park got out of 1986 in 2012.

And obviously, with the current "riff-raff" that hangs out there, it's obviously a more deeper issue than potentially losing a "community space" in Portage Place. I'm sure a compromise can be done though. :shrug:

I believe part of the agreement is transfer of ownership of the skywalks so maybe we will see some reinvestment in them hopefully a more narrow sleeker look.

I'm also not sure why people expect the food court to disappear. It's an extremely strategic location right on Portage, and if hundreds of students are living directly above, it's only going to get busier. The new Hargrave food hall is serving a totally different market.

The exterior brick cladding of Portage Place still looks great. And honestly, I think the interior has aged pretty well too (aside from the food court). OK, teal and coral are not exactly trendy colours anymore, but it's still a brighter and more pleasant space than CityPlace, which is so bland and beige. If they renovated the interior of Portage Place and made it look more like CityPlace, I think that would actually be a step down...

I don't think that it needs too much work aesthetically but there's still lots that can be done in terms of functionality. I hope whatever the plan is includes bringing the theatre back online.

while I completely understand that the food court is an important social space for the surrounding neighbourhoods, it is being portrayed as a public space. It isn't. It is a private business and can be shut down tomorrow. The sale has no bearing on whether it stays open or not and blocking a sale doesn't ensure it remains open.

Teenage girls (normally) from the 'burbs who visit suburban malls don't go around getting into fights, stabbing or shootin' people at the mall though.

They're there to SHOP and possibly have a snack at the food court with their friend(s) ... or their Mom.

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Yeah, neither do the people who hang out inside Portage Place... Sure there are incidents in the bus shelters outside and the alley out back. But I've eaten lunch in that food court many times and I can't say I've ever seen anyone do anything wrong in there other than being poor and not white. The mall is depressing as hell and I'm ecstatic for it to be redeveloped but still, whenever that mall is discussed it is pretty shameful to see how terrified the average Winnipegger is of poor brown people.

I agree with every word of this. Very well put. It seems that for many "average" Winnipeggers, any group of Native people is automatically considered sketchy or scary.

Funny, I was just thinking of the number of times I have walked through that mall and never been accosted by anyone. I think the new ownership (provided the sale goes through as many of us hope) might have to really work to demonstrate the security of the area once revisions are done. I am certain there are a lot of people just waiting for the first sign of anything that smacks of criminal behaviour to denounce it as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" (if that doesn't get me into copyright trouble).

For sure, the winnipeg sun will be first in line to make a massive front page headline of it and make it called the most unsafe mall in canada lol.

The winnipeg sun does more harm to this city then any other thing tbh.

To be fair, our "legit" paper has bee trending in this direction as well for the last decade. It's as if the LOCAL media thoroughly enjoy displaying this city in a negative light to the rest if the world. I will never understand it for as long as I live.

Not sure of that.

I've witnessed "brown people" fighting on a late Sunday afternoon while I was walking thru Edmonton court a few years back.

I've seen "brown people" on YouTube fighting inside Portage Place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Hagj3umPY



And years back an "brown person" was kicked out of the PP Food Court because the security thought he was loitering. That incident made the news.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exw-KCX_x-s


9 yrs. ago street "drama" in front of PP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGOHQTKl0-A

Exactly. I think all the people (prominent ones at that) who are making a big fuss over losing this "public space" are confused. They're acting like the government is selling the mall to be redeveloped – which isn't true, they don't even own the mall. They own the land and parkade, and have zero control over the mall. Mall ownership could shut it down any second and you'd have an empty mall on government land.

Totally, and WFP picking up Tom Broadbeck has all but ended the legitimacy and respect of local newspapers.

^^ I also wondered at the tone of the recent Bartley Kives piece telling readers not to "panic or celebrate" about the Portage Place sale. Apparently the fact that developers feel they can make a profit re-developing downtown Winnipeg properties is not cause for "celebration". Really? I would think seeing private money being invested in downtown was great news.

“Average” Winnipeggers should reach out more often to actually speak to aboriginal residents, they would find that they are regular people.

Absolutely!

I wish i knew as well, but if i were to guess, I would say the negative slant is a way of demonstrating "legitimate journalism" to their peers. It's as if a positive story is dismissed as a fluff piece, and one is only a "serious" journalist if they write something damning about their subject matter. Does anyone here have any experience with journalism? Is this a thing?

I think that is a factor. Another thing is that on a psychological level, bad news and negative things usually provoke reactions and emotions more quickly than the positive ones, hence media outlets can use negative things to boost actual readership. Not exactly a healthy thing for the readers, but surly a way to make newspapers more profitable!

This phenomenon can be seen on the Internet in general, too. Whenver someone posts edgy or negative comments, you see the engagement is far more than when someone posts positive things.

this forum is about portage and main crossing please talk about that

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