The demolition and redevelopment of Portage Place is underway, and True North Real Estate Development (TNRED) says work is right on schedule. TNRED purchased the mall in 2024, with plans to redevelop the land into housing, a 300,000-square-foot Healthcare Centre of Excellence, and the new home for expanded Pan Am Clinic programs. Work started on the $650 million project last fall. Now, according to True North, the focus over the next few months will be on getting deconstruction work for the 12-storey health-care tower finished by spring, before the building phase can potentially begin in the summer. “We’re deconstructing the building. It’s not really demolition, so we’re taking it apart very selectively to make sure that we preserve the part of the building that we want to actively reuse in the new facility,” said senior construction manager at PCL, David Van Hooren. “What that allows us to do is take pieces apart, separate materials so that we can send them for recycling, so they are not contaminated with other materials.” Van Hooren said some of the items that will be recycled include concrete, asphalt, masonry block, and metals such as copper wire and aluminum. “Seventy-five per cent of the materials we’ve taken away have gone to recycling,” he said. A tower crane for new structure work is also expected on site in the spring. Meanwhile, senior director of strategic communications for TNRED Sean Kavanagh said work on the 15-storey housing tower is also slated to begin soon. “There will be affordable and deeply affordable units available in the space, and we hope to see construction started on it later this winter. I can’t give you an exact date,” he said. In order to keep portions of the mall operation, TNRED said it built a wall to separate construction zones. “It was important to us to try and keep the heart pumping. A lot of people use the building,” Kavanagh explained. The popular skatepark in the facility, though, is being temporarily relocated. Pihtikwe Skatepark will be moving to 323 Portage Avenue during the construction process as part of a partnership between TNRED, Access Credit Union, and the province. TNRED said providing temporary space for skaters during the work is important for maintaining downtown community engagement. “We’re very excited,” said Kavanagh. “If you want a vibrant, healthy downtown, recreational opportunities for young people is a critical part of that, and they are going to get to skate away.” Kavanagh said TNRED hopes to have the temporary location open by the end of March.
