The Manitoba Métis Federation has agreed to purchase two office towers and a parking lot in downtown Winnipeg from Artis REIT.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Slated to close in October, the deal is designed to expand MMF’s already large footprint in downtown Winnipeg and continues a large-scale, North America-wide Artis sell-off.

Winnipeg-based Artis is shedding assets as part of an ongoing strategic review designed to reduce debt and bolster the REIT’s unit price.

The three properties are situated beside each other. If all goes according to plan, the MMF will buy a 24-storey office tower at 333 Main Street, a 13-storey office building at 191 Pioneer Avenue and the parking lot, which is located 179 Pioneer and houses about 100 stalls.

The MMF said the proposed acquisitions are part of approximately $100 million worth of real estate-related investments that the Indigenous group has made in downtown Winnipeg over the past six years.

“The MMF is doing its part to revitalize our downtown, infusing it with our dollars and our staff presence, which we’re confident will inspire the pride of our people,” said David Chartrand, president of the MMF, in a news release. “With 60% of our employees working downtown every day, we know we can bring substantial and much needed economic benefits to businesses and service providers located around our buildings.”

The MMF said it has brought 500 employees downtown and will be adding another 160 over the coming year. The federation’s current downtown Winnipeg portfolio contains 11 properties.

Chartrand told Global that the office towers will be connected to a former Bank of Montreal building that the MMF bought in 2020 and is being redeveloped as a Métis Heritage Centre.

“As an owner of over one million square feet of office real estate in downtown Winnipeg, we are pleased to sell these assets to an owner who shares a similar vision for the future of downtown Winnipeg,” said Samir Manji, president and CEO of Artis. “We wish the MMF success and look forward to working together as neighbours, property owners and businesses committed to doing our part to revitalize our city’s downtown core.”

Chartrand said the MMF feels a a strong sense of responsibility for the well-being of the city and province that its people helped build. The MMF’s downtown revitalization efforts are designed to benefit everyone, he added.  

“I invite businesses, developers and other levels of government to unite with us, and show that they are equally committed to the vitality of our downtown,” he said. “Together, we can not only save our downtown, we can restore it as the beating heart of our province.”