Mennonite Central Committee downsizing, puts Winnipeg office building on the market

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This article was published 21/10/2021 (1439 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An international Christian aid and development organization has put its Fort Garry neighbourhood property on the market, partly because it anticipates needing less office space after the pandemic.

Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba and national counterpart Mennonite Central Committee Canada have listed their jointly owned Winnipeg office building and warehouse (134 Plaza Dr.) to see what sort of interest it may provoke, said Manitoba executive director Darryl Loewen.

“It’s not driven primarily by finances. It’s driven by the realization that the two MCCs are not going to occupy (all) the space again,” he said, adding about 20 per cent of the 21,000-square-foot building has been vacant since the Ten Thousand Villages retail outlet closed in June 2020.

“We didn’t need all the space we had, and the pandemic showed us we needed even less.”

He said donations to the non-profit organization have been strong over the past fiscal year, but a move will likely save money.

MCC Manitoba also listed its two-storey building at 159 Henderson Hwy., which houses about half of its 29 program staff and the café/bookstore Sam’s Place. Neither property has a price attached to the listing, but Loewen said the Plaza Drive building, constructed in 1986 on a large lot near the Red River, would be worth seven figures.

Loewen said the goal is to relocate all of its staff and activities to one, yet-to-determined Winnipeg location, which would also need to accommodate its warehouse, which ships blankets, school supplies and hygiene items to people dealing with natural disasters or other emergencies.

He said the provincial organization will not continue sharing space with MCC Canada.

Earlier this year, Loewen reversed a decision to close the organization’s warehouse and distribution centre in Plum Coulee, about 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg, after supporters in southern Manitoba expressed their displeasure.

A spokesperson for MCC Canada said more than half of its 55 staff are still working from home or coming into the office part-time, and a future office space will likely accommodate a hybrid style of work.

“Putting the building up for sale is allowing us to explore our options,” said Laura Kalmar, adding the organization plans to stay in Winnipeg. “We’re walking into the future with a sense of anticipation.”

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