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C O M M U N I T Y O V E R V I E W • 1 3 Winnipeg's unprecedented momentum continues to attract international attention. With more than $2 billion of new investments spanning over 200 projects, there's lots to discover in the heart of the nation. Several high-profile projects will either continue their push toward completion or break ground in 2017. Leading the pack is True North Square, a $400-million mixed-use development comprising four distinct towers and an outdoor public plaza. Arguably the biggest investment ever in the city centre, construction of the first tower is well underway, a 17-storey, 365,000-square-foot LEED Gold building scheduled for completion in July 2018. A few blocks away, Artis REIT has ambitious ideas for its iconic Portage and Main location in downtown Winnipeg, with plans to spend about $200 million on a multiphase development that will see two new buildings join its existing property: a 40-storey apartment tower breaking ground this year and a two- to three-storey commercial building currently under consideration. Downtown Winnipeg and the surrounding area will experience important boosts from other developments as well, like the proposed $200-million, 45-storey SkyCity development. There's also the Manitoba Museum's recent $5.3-million expansion to Alloway Hall, the first stage of $160 million in planned improvements. Later this year, the second step will be taken, a $19-million renovation to update and improve over 40 per cent of the museum's galleries. Nearby, finishing touches are being added to the $23-million Canada Games Sport for Life Centre slated for use during the 2017 games, which are set to begin in Winnipeg on July 28. And well into the planning stages is a new $90-million Red River College innovation centre to be built just north of its Princess Street campus in Winnipeg's historic Exchange District. Emanating steadily outward from the city centre are other exciting developments, among them the Winnipeg Art Gallery's $65-million Inuit Art Centre, Parmalat's nearly completed multimillion-dollar milk-processing facility in St. Boniface and the planned $70-million Canada's Diversity Gardens exhibit at Assiniboine Park—the final major phase of the park's 10-year, $200-million 'Imagine a Place' redevelopment campaign. Also consequential are two green-light infrastructure projects: Stage 2 of the $467-million southwest transit corridor, with a targeted completion date of 2019; and the $155-million Waverley underpass, set to address the traffic-related issues stemming from one of Canada's busiest main rail lines by 2020. When you consider the above in the context of existing world-class developments, it's easy to see why Winnipeg is drawing unprecedented interest of late. With a $585-million airport upgrade, the $351-million Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the $204-million Investors Group Field stadium, the $200-million Outlet Collection Winnipeg mall and the $90-million Journey to Churchill exhibit at Assiniboine Park—just a few notable projects among many—there's much to celebrate from a growth perspective as the city and surrounding area march toward a population of one million by 2035. ECONOMIC GROW TH William AU ??????????