The City of Montreal is taking a major block of office space at Place Dupuis under a $43.6-million, 10-year lease that will bring nearly 700 municipal employees to the east end of downtown.

The deal comes months after Montreal increased its in-office requirement to three days a week. The city has also tied the move to efforts to bring more workers and economic activity into the Village and surrounding area.

The timing coincides with a major vacancy at Place Dupuis. Hydro-Québec has occupied roughly 400,000 square feet at the complex, with about 2,500 employees tied to the location. The utility announced in 2024 that its Place Dupuis teams would relocate in summer 2026 to 1500 Robert-Bourassa Blvd. as part of a broader consolidation of its downtown workforce.

Place Dupuis, which includes properties at 800 De Maisonneuve Blvd. E. and 855 Ste-Catherine St. E., is directly connected to Berri-UQAM metro station. Busac Real Estate describes the broader mixed-use complex as encompassing more than 1.1 million square feet of office, retail and other space.

Montreal is already a tenant at Place Dupuis. In 2020, the Ville-Marie borough approved a 10-year extension covering 53,863 square feet at 800 De Maisonneuve for $18.6 million.

Place Dupuis is owned by JEMB Realty and Busac, which put the property on the market through CBRE earlier this year.

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