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Mennonite College Federation is one step closer to realizing its dreams of becoming a Mennonite university.
The signing of the agreement to purchase the property of 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. in Winnipeg between Mennonite Properties Inc. and the Manitoba government was held May 4. With this signing, Mennonite Properties Inc., the legal entity for two of the Mennonite colleges that make up MCF (Concord College and Canadian Mennonite Bible College) agrees to purchase the former Manitoba School For the Deaf building from the provincial government for $3.5 million.
Signing the documents were Manitoba Premier Gary Filmon; James McCrae, minister of education and training; Art DeFehr, board of directors of Concord College; John Krahn, Mennonite Properties (Manitoba MB Conference); and George Ens, board of directors of CMBC and representing Mennonite Properities (Conference of Mennonites in Canada). George Richert, president of Menno Simons College, the third party of MCF, emceed the ceremony.
Presently, the building is the headquarters for the '99 Pan Am Games that the city is hosting this summer. When the games are over, MCF will get possession of the property. Constructed in 1921, the building, a historical monument, was used first as the teacher training centre for Manitoba before being used by the Manitoba School For the Deaf.
Premier Filmon said he was glad that the building will once again be used for a purpose for which it was originally intended to be a centre for higher learning fitting to the 21st century.
Minister for Education and Training James McCrae called the purchase an investment in the future to meet the needs of all Manitobans. He also commended the MCF leadership for its "visionary thinking".
Art DeFehr thanked the provincial government for its trust and for the premier's encouragement throughout the process. "May God bless this new venture and honour our dreams," he said.PW
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