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Welcome to My Point of View

September 7, 2006

Point of View is your source for some of my thoughts and insights as the CEO of The Forks North Portage Partnership (TFNPP). At times members of our management team will also be adding to the discussion. We will be commenting on topics relevant to our mandate including The Forks, IMAX Theatre, North Portage properties and downtown revitalization. We may be sharing some of our experiences as they relate to other communities who seem to be ‘getting it right’.

TFNPP is a rather complex organization and I think we can give you a better understanding of who we are by providing our point of view. I look forward to an open exchange of ideas and viewpoints and welcome your thoughts on what you see posted.

This being my first entry I thought that I would give the readers some background of how TFNPP has come to exist in its present form.

We are unique in the country, and in fact may be unique in North America. And what makes us unique is our ownership structure and the tri-level partnership between three levels of government that lead to the creation of North Portage Development Corp in 1984, and a subsidiary of North Portage being The Forks Renewal Corporation established in 1987. Both of these corporations evolved out of a major urban revitalization initiative that took place in Winnipeg between 1981 and 1991 – The Winnipeg Core Area Initiative (CAI). The two corporations amalgamated under one management team in 1995.

These two companies have objectives to revitalize Winnipeg’s core area within limited geographic boundaries. Although similar objectives the two sites differ greatly. North Portage is a key part of Winnipeg’s central business district while The Forks consists of 56 acres of land at the historic junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and operated as a rail-yard for most of the 1900’s.

There is no question that The Forks has become the jewel of Winnipeg. In fact it is hard to imagine Winnipeg without The Forks. And while The Forks receives a great deal of attention, mostly positive, it is our land holdings and parking revenues at our North Portage development that allows us to have adequate funds to run The Forks as a quality project.

So over the previous 15 to 20 years we have juggled our downtown mandate to ensure The Forks prospers as Winnipeg’s premier meeting place, while North Portage remains a viable mixed-use commercial development.

Over the weeks to come I will talk about opportunities on Portage Avenue, The Forks Foundation, our sponsorship program, and a recent user survey of visitors to The Forks. I also look forward to comments you may post and where possible I will deal with topics suggested by others.

I am looking forward to this ‘new’ form of community dialogue and expect to post a new message on a bi-weekly basis.

Jim August

CEO

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