Ottawa and the Quebec government are investing $14.2 million to convert two obsolete Montreal buildings into a new homeless shelter.

The federal and provincial governments announced Friday that they are are purchasing and converting the two buildings for Projets Autochtones du Québec. PAQ is an non-profit Indigenous group that assists First Nations, Inuit and Métis people facing housing insecurity.

Makivvik Corporation, an Inuit group that administers funds provided through the 1978 James Bay Northern Quebec land claim settlement, is contributing $656,936 to the project.

PAQ currently operates two shelters in Montreal. The second shelter, known as PAQ2, spans two temporarily leased buildings with leases that cannot be renewed, according to the news release. So PAQ2 will be permanently relocated to the new building once it is complete.

The new PAQ2 will have a similar capacity of 45-50 places as the existing buildings. About half of PAQ’s clients are of Inuit descent.