City hall to keep closer eye on CentreVenture after public dispute

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/11/2015 (3066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

City hall is tightening its reins over CentreVenture.

A proposal to city hall next week calls on the agency to remain as the city’s principal downtown development body but will require it to report regularly to city council.

The proposal follows the very public dispute earlier this year between Mayor Brian Bowman and CentreVenture officials over the handling of a Carlton Street hotel project.

But there was no sign of any lingering hard feelings between the two in a joint statement released late Friday afternoon.

“The motion coming forward reaffirms CentreVenture’s mandate and recognizes that CentreVenture is a key agency in facilitating downtown development growth,” Bowman states in the release.

“We are extremely pleased with this reaffirmation of (CentreVenture’s) mandate and are excited about moving forward on new plans and ideas for downtown Winnipeg,” Angela Mathieson, president and CEO of the agency, states in the release. “I want to thank Mayor Bowman for his leadership and city staff for their collaboration over the last year.”

There didn’t appear to be much “collaboration” going on between city hall and CentreVenture back in January, when the agency’s officials were called to the floor of council to explain their actions in the hotel dispute.

Bowman went public with his displeasure over what he called CentreVenture’s interference with the convention centre’s attempt to get a hotel built on Carlton Street.

While the convention centre was pressuring the contractor of its expansion to secure a partner to build a hotel on the site of the former Carlton Inn, CentreVenture offered True North Sports & Entertainment and exclusive option to build a hotel as part of its $400-million True North Square project.

There were accusations that CentreVenture’s involvement led to the contractor backing out but CentreVenture maintained the contractor had abandoned the hotel project and it became involved at the invitation of former mayor Sam Katz in a bid to save the hotel project.

Bowman said CentreVenture withheld key information from his office and council – a position which CentreVenture strongly denied.

CentreVenture maintained that Bowman, his office and senior city officials were regularly provided updates on the hotel project.

The construction of a four-star hotel on Carlton Street north of the convention centre was part of city hall’s arrangement for a $33-million loan to the convention centre for its expansion project. Property tax revenue from the new hotel was to pay off part of the loan, while the convention centre would use the hotel to attract additional business that would generate revenue to pay off the remaining portion of the loan.

Without the hotel, city council approved a plan to use proceeds from the hotel tax to cover the loan repayment until a hotel is built.

True North announced at the end of September that it will build a 21-floor hotel as part of its project and is negotiating with a hotel developer to build and manage it.

Bowman appointed Coun. John Orlikow to head up a working group to review CentreVenture’s mandate. The group’s report has been repeatedly delayed but Friday’s announcement stated the working group is recommending the mandate be extended but with conditions.

The working group proposes that CentreVenture’s oversight, accountability and reporting mechanisms be strengthened by including performance indicators and targets, and a regular reporting schedule to council.

The working group proposes that similar oversight mechanisms be put in place for other agencies receiving funding from city hall.

The proposal will be considered at Wednesday’s executive policy committee meeting.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca