The province has given Portage la Prairie 26 acres of land that was part of the former Agassiz Youth Centre. 

Councillor Joe Masi presented the news to those in attendance at council Monday night. He says they felt it would be a great opportunity to add to the city's capacity to grow. Masi notes it will assist in development for next year.

Land being transferredLand being transferred

It is providing some interesting connections to the job loss situation at Agassiz and the future loss at Manitoba Developmental Centre, considering that this is the land from which some people had to leave their jobs, and will be used to try and reverse that loss through development efforts.

"We had this opportunity and we thought it was really important to look at that now," says Masi. "The city wanted to ensure that we looked at all options when fully considering the use of the land, the remaining buildings, and their potential."

Masi says it's a proactive approach by council to look at opportunities in the future. 

"The buildings are there and at the moment, our City Council does not have any specifics for them," adds Masi."But there may be third parties that want to look at doing a development and we're open to those options. Again, that's why we're doing this. We want to be ready for potential investment and growth in that area. For now, this land and the buildings are why we want to move ahead with this initiative."

The city says, "There is no cost related to the transfer of the land, however, the City of Portage la Prairie will be responsible for all costs related to closing."

 

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