(CP)-A real estate developer says it’s poised to close its purchase of a struggling downtown Winnipeg shopping centre and turn it into affordable housing, health-care services and gathering spaces. True North Real Estate Development says it has reached an agreement to buy Portage Place and its underlying land and parking, and that work is to begin to finalize the deal in the coming days. True North, the real estate arm of the company that owns the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, says the milestone for the $650-million development comes after more than two years of consultations with various orders of government. True North has partnered with the Southern Chiefs Organization to build a 15-storey residential tower, with 40 per cent of its more than 200 units being rented at affordable rates. The…