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The city has given the go-ahead to sell Portage Place Mall despite urgent pleas from community members to hold off.

On Thursday, Winnipeg city council unanimously voted to support the sale of Portage Place Mall and the accompanying parking lot for roughly $70 million to the Toronto-based company Starlight Investments.

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The vote comes with the frustration and disappointment of a group of members from the city’s downtown community, who pleaded with the city not to sell the land. The community members said they were frustrated with the lack of public consultation leading up to Thursday’s vote.

A resident of the community, Jenna Wirch said the mall had become a meeting place for Indigenous and newcomer communities. She fears this meeting place would be lost if the land is sold.

“Portage Place Mall is a place where Indigenous and New-comers, we gather. We gather to share food, to share stories, to share experiences with one another,” Wirch said. “If that is taken away from us, then what do we have?”