Real Estate | “The DIX30 is ready to evolve”

The promoter Carbonleo wants to add 4,000 housing units to it in the coming years

Andre Dubuc
The Press

The real estate group that is building the controversial Royalmount project in Mount Royal is regaining control of the popular “lifestyle” shopping center on the South Shore of Montreal. The objective is to add 4,000 housing units to the DIX30 in the coming years.

As mentioned The Press on April 28, Carbonleo, aided by its Quebec partners, bought out the shares held by Oxford at the same time as it took over the management of the property. The transaction was announced Thursday morning. Terms were not disclosed.

“DIX30 is a property that is just over 15 years old and is ripe to evolve and adapt to today’s realities,” said Nicolas Désourdy, one of Carbonleo’s three partners, with Andrew Lutfy on the phone. and Claude Marcotte. Mr. Désourdy is a descendant of the famous family that built the town of Bromont.

Betting on the REM

“It is our intention to capitalize on the arrival of the REM [Réseau express métropolitain] and turn the property into a POD project [pedestrian-oriented development] “, continues the senior vice-president.

The objective is to transform the immense property of 276 shops and restaurants and 10,000 parking spaces into a POD complex, ie a sector whose development focuses on ease of access for pedestrians.

The DIX30 will make more room for offices and especially for more residential accommodation. The goal is to add 4,000 housing units within 5 to 10 years. Carbonleo is in discussions with the City of Brossard regarding the DIX30 2.0. The company wants to be able to make public announcements about its vision within 12 to 18 months.

The talks are still in their infancy, says Carbonleo. The first echoes from the City are rather positive, we are assured.

But it is not automatic. In Pointe-Claire, the owner of the Fairview Pointe-Claire center and the City are at loggerheads over the conversion of an underused parking lot near the future REM station. Cadillac Fairview wants to build a multi-purpose real estate project there with a residential component. The City doesn’t want to know.

Impacts on retailers

Be that as it may, this major transformation will have an impact on retailers in the DIX30 and on the mix of commercial tenants. Recently, the DIX30 refused to renew the lease of the restaurant La Cage – sports brasserie, opening the door to the densification of the site with the addition of multi-residential buildings. The establishment will cross Highway 10 to settle at Solar. The opening is scheduled for the fall.

The commercial activities of the DIX30 are doing well, assures Mr. Désourdy. Most businesses have their own entrance from the street or from the parking lot. They’ve done well during the pandemic. Sales for April 2022 are 11% higher than those for April 2019, indicates Mr. Désourdy to support his statements.

The year “2021 was our record year for office rentals,” he adds. The fashion for remote work has given impetus to satellite offices located in the suburbs.

Oxford, a real estate subsidiary of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement Fund, acquired half of Quartier DIX30’s stake in 2014 for a price that was not disclosed at the time. This is another disposal of assets in Quebec for this owner who sold his last two office towers in downtown Montreal in recent years.

Established on a plot of 850,000 m^⁠2 (9.15 million square feet), the DIX30 has 260,000 m^⁠2 (2.8 million square feet) of leasable area. There are 316 tenants, including 46 office occupants, 205 shops and 65 restaurants. The center also has 10,000 parking spaces, including 3,500 indoor spaces. More than 24 million visitors come here each year.

Carbonleo was born in 2012.