Building owners oppose plan to close concourse beneath Winnipeg's iconic Portage and Main

An organization representing property owners around Portage Avenue and Main Street says it opposes a city plan to close the underground concourse.

In a letter sent to Mayor Scott Gillingham and councillors on Thursday, the Building Owners and Managers Association of Manitoba warned the city is rushing to a decision that will hurt its bottom line.

Three of the five property owners around the intersection have said they support Mayor Scott Gillingham's proposal to open the intersection to pedestrians for the first time since barricades went up in 1979. 

The Manitoba Métis Federation, which owns the former Bank of Montreal Building at the southeast corner, also said it supports the plan to close the city-owned circus beneath the intersection. 

All other property owners have reserved comment on the question of the fate of the concourse, until now.

"I think we have a consensus position that more information needs to be provided to council before they make a rash decision on decommissioning the concourse," Tom Thiessen, executive director of the association, said in an interview.

Richardson and Sons, which owns the Richardson Building, and Harvard Developments, which owns 201 Portage Ave., have both expressed support for reopening Portage and Main to pedestrians.

Richardson and Sons declined to comment on the BOMA letter, while Harvard did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Bell MTS, which owns a tower at the southeast corner, also declined comment. Artis Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns the office tower and Winnipeg Square mall at the southwest corner of Portage and Main, did not respond to requests for comment.

Harvard, Artis and Bell MTS are all listed on the BOMA website as members of the association. Also a member is BentallGreenOak, which manages the Richardson Building.

In an email statement, Gillingham said all the owners told him "they support opening the intersection to street-level pedestrian crossings.

"A few of them needed time to consider plans to close the underground concourse, and I promised we'd have further talks about how to ease the transition."

Gillingham announced he favoured opening Portage and Main to foot traffic, after a city report estimated work to replace the waterproof membrane under the intersection would cost $73 million, and take up to five years — work that would need to be repeated in another few decades.

A rough estimate of $20 million to $50 million would be required to decommission the concourse. A further $13 million would be required to demolish the barricades and install pedestrian crossings, along with other upgrades.