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This article was published 30/1/2015 (2059 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A CentreVenture board member engaged in downtown-development double duty by helping a Crown corporation make a land decision now crucial to True North Sports & Entertainment's ambitious plans for land south of Graham Avenue.

The Free Press has learned CentreVenture secretary/treasurer Richard Olfert was hired by Manitoba Public Insurance in 2012 to evaluate proposals to develop the surface-parking lot at 225 Carlton St., whose development rights were eventually awarded to a firm in partnership with True North.

Olfert's simultaneous involvement in MPI's downtown land evaluation and CentreVenture board volunteer work has raised another question for Mayor Brian Bowman about the relationship between the downtown-development agency and the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets.

True North is working on a plan to build a hotel, office space, retail space, housing and a public square on at least two adjacent parcels of land: the MPI-owned surface-parking lot at 225 Carlton St., southwest of the MTS Centre, and the former Carlton Inn site at 220 Carlton St., north of RBC Convention Centre.

Bowman, already critical of CentreVenture for signing an option on 220 Carlton St. with True North in 2014, now wants to ask the downtown-development agency about its board member's role in the 2012 award of 225 Carlton St. to a True North partner company.

"The connection between 220 and 225 is not clear to council," Bowman said Thursday in an interview, adding he intends to learn more about True North's land assembly from CentreVenture and will ask "hard questions" about Olfert's role in the 225 Carlton St. award.

"That'll be part of the discussion we'll have with CentreVenture," Bowman said. "We've got many questions for CentreVenture in terms of ensuring that their mandate, their governance and their processes are in keeping with the expectations of council and Winnipeggers."

True North's proposed development is expected to exceed $100 million, generate millions in new tax revenue for the city and has been described as the largest private development in the history of downtown Winnipeg.

Over the past two weeks, however, the plan has come under scrutiny at city hall because CentreVenture signed an option on the Carlton Inn site with True North while another firm, construction company Stuart Olson, was still contractually obligated to build there.

On Wednesday, city council ordered CentreVenture to issue an expression of interest call to develop the Carlton Inn site, even though it signed an option with True North. That option was signed on Sept. 24 but effectively back-dated to June 12, before True North chairman Mark Chipman resigned from the CentreVenture board.

Olfert, who works for Deloitte Canada, has been a CentreVenture board member since 2006. In 2012, MPI hired Olfert to evaluate respondents to an expression-of-interest call for the development of the Crown corporation's surface-parking lot at 225 Carlton St.

In June 2012, MPI awarded an option on the land to a partnership between the Artis REIT and Longboat Development Corporation. The latter firm is part of the Stevenson Group, a family of companies that shares ownership with True North.

Originally, Artis and Longboat planned to build a public plaza and office towers on the land. Late last year, True North confirmed it took over the lead in developing that land as part of project now known to include both 225 Carlton St. and the former Carlton Inn site at 220 Carlton St.

Olfert said this week via email he could not comment on his Deloitte work for Manitoba Public Insurance due to confidentiality reasons.

MPI spokesman Brian Smiley said the Crown corporation hired Olfert solely to assist in the evaluation of seven proposals to develop 225 Carlton St., noting Olfert did not take part in the final decision to award the land to the Artis/Longboat partnership.

"The evaluation committee was made up of seven MPI executives and one government rep," Smiley said in a statement. "Olfert and a member of our legal team assisted, but ultimately were not decision-makers."

MPI initially awarded the Artis/Longboat partnership a one-year exclusive option to develop 225 Carlton St. That option was later extended up to December 2015, Smiley said.

"The Artis REIT and Longboat Development Corporation partnership best met the criteria of development and was then awarded the option to prepare a proposal for the development of the site," Smiley said.

"In the initial response to the EOI, the Artis REIT and Longboat Development Corporation partnership had a number of partners, including True North."

True North spokesman Scott Brown confirmed in December his company has taken the lead in developing 225 Carlton St.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca