The Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, formerly the Union Bank Tower, is a very successful mixed use development located in Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange District.

Notably, the building exemplifies what is possible when it comes to adaptive-reuse of historic building stock and transformed a 1906 Class 1 National Historic site into an award-winning, high-performance building with LEED® Gold certification. The facility for Red River College includes its School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, a fine-dining restaurant and public Food Hall, and 104 student housing units in a unique mixed use development consisting of redevelopment of and expansion to existing heritage building stock. The new construction addition to the heritage structure houses the bulk of the mechanical and lab equipment that has been designed to recycle cooking lab energy that would normally be discarded. Waste heat from the refrigeration systems is also captured to heat domestic water and the pumps that heat and cool the student residence. A new mechanical system and renovated envelope help to achieve a target of 47% energy cost savings over the MNECB. Window sashes were milled to accept dual pane, low-E glazing units and re-installed as hopper style windows to increase thermal performance, for ease of operation, and provide fresh air to occupants. An accessible green roof over the annex, 44% water use reduction, waste management during construction, and the use of materials with low VOC’s and recycled content also contribute to the sustainability of the facility.

The original Union Bank Tower was constructed in 1906, designed by Frank Darling and John Andrew Pearson. The Annex was added in 1920. At the time of construction the 10 storey building was Winnipeg’s first skyscraper built in the Chicago Style, its tallest building, and the tallest steel structure in the dominion. It was designated a Class 1 National Historic site in 1996. After closing its doors as a bank and office tower in the late eighties, it sat empty for almost twenty years until 2009, when Red River College (RRC) took ownership to be developed as cooking labs, classrooms and RRC’s first student residence. The planned renovation was a key strategy to expand RRC’s downtown campus, and continue its commitment to urban renewal and the restoration of Winnipeg’s heritage building stock, the first being the Princess Street campus.

In 2013 RRC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts opened in the addition, with 104 student housing units in the fourth to tenth floors of the heritage tower. As part of the renovation of the tower, both the exterior and interior of the Main Floor Banking hall were restored.

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