While there is not yet much to see of what will eventually become Winnipeg's largest urban redevelopment project to date, the sight of cranes, hoarding, and heavy equipment have taken over a sizeable portion of real estate south of Portage Ave. True North Square is set to rise on former surface lots and become something akin to Toronto's Maple Leaf Square or Edmonton's Ice District. 

True North Square excavation site, corner of Graham and Carlton, image by Flickr user Dave Shaver via Creative Commons

Built by PCL Constructors on behalf of the developer and owner of the Winnipeg Jets and related MTL Centre, True North Sports and Entertainment Limited, the $400 million CAD, four-tower, multi-use development is set to transform downtown Winnipeg, with potential to expand the traditional boundaries of the Manitoba capital's centre outward from Portage and Main. 

True North Square, as it will appear upon completion in 2018, image via True North Sports and Entertainment Limited

Bounded by Graham Avenue, St. Mary Avenue, Carlton Street, and Hargrave Street, the massive development will encompass an entire city block, spilling over Graham Avenue to the west, and coming within close proximity of Portage Avenue, thus effectively repositioning the traditional boundaries of downtown Winnipeg. 

True North Square - Site Plan, image via True North Sports and Entertainment Limited

Tower 1, to be known as Scotiabank Tower at True North Square, will be a 17-storey office tower with 365,000 square feet of modern commercial space. Across the central outdoor plaza, Tower 2 will be a 24-storey office, retail, and residential tower, with 200,000 square feet of space. Across the street, Towers 3 and 4 will together constitute two related entities: the 27-storey, 275-room Sutton Place Hotel, and the adjacent 17-storey, 130-unit Sutton Place Residences, which will share public amenity spaces and other facilities, including the indoor pool, spa, and fitness centre. 

At the heart of the action, True North Square, with elevated walkway, image via True North Sports and Entertainment Limited

At the heart of the action, the two-acre outdoor plaza and public space will be host to a variety of uses, including outdoor concerts, a seasonal skating rink, and pregame events related to the Winnipeg Jets NHL team. Adding visual drama to the space, the addition of a covered elevated walkway, sheathed in glass, will serve to connect the towers to one another, a feature which will be very much appreciated during 'Winterpeg's' famously cold winters. 

True North Square, looking into the centre, image via True North Sports and Entertainment Limited

Once complete, True North Square will radically transform a massive parcel of downtown Winnipeg, the new development part of an ongoing urban revitalization which has been slowly but surely breathing new life into Manitoba's capital city, returning some of the vibrancy and excitement that at one time bestowed the Prairie boom town with the well-known historic designation as the 'Chicago of the North.'

SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this transformative new development as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.