Portage la Prairie mall to hang closed sign after 45 years – Winnipeg [Video]

It’s been a cornerstone of the community for 45 years, but at the end of this year, the Portage la Prairie Mall is shutting its doors for good.

The director of the Manitoba city’s economic development agency says the closure, happening next month, is concerning for business owners and the community at large, but not necessarily a surprise.

“The Portage mall has actually been a real cornerstone and an economic driver here in Portage la Prairie,” Eve O’Leary of Portage Regional Economic Development told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg.

“But over the past maybe 10 years or so there was the exit of a couple of anchor stores, and there has been a decline in the number of businesses that are operating from there.”

O’Leary said her agency, along with the municipal government and other stakeholders are focused on transitioning the mall’s remaining businesses as the closure becomes imminent.

The community, she said, …