Downtown Montreal is seeing a resurgence as foot traffic returns and new initiatives to increase vibrancy in the area are implemented. Included are Sainte-Catherine Street and Peel Streets, which are seeing significant infrastructure updates. At the heart of it all is a notable boutique office building, the Marine Building, with office and retail space available for lease. Â Â
The City of Montreal is investing heavily into the downtown with the goal to make it cleaner and more accessible, and to bring more life into the area. Several months ago, Mayor Valerie Plante announced a $1.8 billion initiative to keep downtown Montreal culturally vibrant and economically attractive. There’s increased foot traffic with increased transit ridership and a return to work in offices. Tourism has also grown significantly — in 2023, Montreal saw 15% more overseas visitors than in 2019, and air passenger traffic is now surpassing 2019 levels. And Ste-Catherine Street has being seeing updates which is transforming the public realm.
The intersection of Ste-Catherine and Peel Street is centre ice for the City of Montreal, which is also implementing a major capital project on the north-south Peel Street. That includes a promenade spanning 2.5 kilometres with 11 themed stations and an audio guide where visitors can learn about the indigenous history in the area. More than $100 million is being spent on Peel Street with work planned into 2027, creating wider sidewalks and bike paths to improve the public realm.
At the northeast corner of Ste-Catherine Street and Peel Street is the Marine Building, which features five floors of boutique office space above two levels of retail at its base. The prominent building was constructed in 1989 by entrepreneur Sheldon Mintzberg, who still maintains his offices there as owner and CEO of the Marine Group.Â
The Marine Building at 1411 Peel Street stands on the site of two smaller buildings that occupied the site and were built in the early 1900s. The 1980s was a boom time for Montreal with various commercial complexes having been added to the downtown core. Mintzberg invested heavily into the Marine Building as part of a legacy to the city. High-quality materials were used both on the exterior and interior of the prominent building.
The Marine Building has several opportunities to lease boutique office space, with each floor spanning less than 10,000 square feet of leasable space. Space currently available includes 6,429 square feet on the third floor (suite 300), about 5,400 square feet on the fifth floor, and two units on the sixth floor — unit 600 spans 2,984 square feet, and another unit on the sixth floor is also available with about 3,700 square feet of space. Interested parties can contact Kyle Mintzberg [Email: kmintzberg@marinegroup.ca, 514-284-1000 (office), 424-313-4661 (cell)].
The office space is beautifully renovated, and the building’s lobby was also recently renovated with escalators and marble walls and flooring, as well as unique artwork.
The main floor of the Marine Building also includes a large three-level retail space that is currently for lease. The 17,498 square foot space has a Ste-Catherine Street address with a frontage on the busy retail street, as well as on fashionable Peel Street which is its own retail destination. The space, which can be demised, was featured in a separate article in Retail Insider.
The Marine Building is connected directly to downtown Montreal’s underground pedestrian walkway system that spans most of the downtown Montreal area that includes indoor access to an atrium and the STM Metro system (Peel Station) as well as the new REM system, which will be operational within a year. Numerous parking lots are located nearby and 1035 Ste-Catherine itself has its own parking facility that is connected to the Underground City.
Retail Insider will be reporting further on what’s happening in downtown Montreal. And for those interested in leasing either office space or retail space at the Marine Building at Ste-Catherine and Peel, contact Kyle Mintzberg at:
514-284-1000 office
424-313-4661 cell
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