PCL Construction’s Winnipeg office recently completed the Wyndham Garden Winnipeg Airport (Odé Aki) hotel, owned by Long Plain First Nation, and located on their Madison urban reserve, serving as “an inspiring model” for Indigenous-owned developments in the city and across Canada.
Designed by f-BLOK architecture inc., the 132-room facility is the first Indigenous-owned hotel in the Wyndham Garden group, and a few blocks from Polo Park shopping centre. The hotel features a large glass-fronted ballroom, with a total of 539 m2 (5800 sf) of flexible meeting space, including a meeting space for Knowledge Keepers. The hotel also includes a swimming pool, water slide, fitness centre, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop.
“Long Plain First Nation succeeded in building a hotel on an urban reserve which achieves a world-class brand standard and embeds Indigenous cultural meaning throughout,” says Brock Klassen of f-BLOK architecture inc. “The building serves the guest’s every need and also immerses visitors in a cultural experience—one cannot miss the fact that they are on Treaty 1 Urban Reserve land when they visit this hotel.”
“The vision of Long Plain First Nation and Arrowhead Development Corporation is an inspiring model for urban Indigenous development in Winnipeg and across Canada,” says Kelly Wallace, vice president and district manager at PCL. “It represents a step forward for First Nation’s economies and communities across Canada.”
