Quebec City is preparing to remove one of its most stubborn urban warts. The Saint-Vincent-de-Paul islet, located in one of the most popular sites in the capital but abandoned for almost 40 years, is preparing to be greened up to accommodate social housing and a daycare center with breathtaking views. on the lower town and the Laurentians.
Strategically perched at the top of the cliff overlooking the Saint-Roch district, the Saint-Vincent islet is located at the entrance to Parliament Hill. The National Assembly is located a few hundred meters to the south, Place d’Youville and its performance halls, a few minutes on foot.
The 4,720 m2 land alone is worth $4.85 million on the property assessment roll – but it has remained fallow since the end of the 1980s, mired in decades of “tergiversations, reflections, controversies, of conflicts,” according to the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand.
“It’s an extraordinarily located place,” said the elected official Monday morning, “where we find ourselves with an uninhabited, unused space. »
A garden and social housing
The current void would have finally found its use. A year and two months after purchasing the site from its former owner, Jacques Robitaille, for more than $12 million, the City presented, on Monday, sketches of what could grow on the lot.
Two brick and aluminum buildings, linked by “a contemporary arch”, would house a seniors’ residence and social housing to meet the pressing needs in this area in the Faubourg Saint-Jean-Baptiste. In total, some 125 affordable units would therefore appear in the sector.
According to Bruno Dion, coordinator at Action-Habitat de Québec, this would be “the first social and community project since 2006 in the neighborhood. »
Designed and designed by Lafond Côté Engaged Architects, responsible in particular for the new L’Auberivière building located near the Saint-Vincent islet, the proposal promises to respond to all of the needs expressed following consultations with the population of surroundings.
A CPE with 70 spaces, community gardens and green spaces must also see the light of day, in addition to a linear promenade which will allow walkers to benefit from the esplanade and its unique perspective on the lower town and the mountains that surround the north of the capital.
“We are in a time where three crises are occurring,” emphasized Élodie Simard, of the Lafond-Côté firm. The housing crisis, the mobility crisis and the climate crisis. The Saint-Vincent-de-Paul islet project responds to these three issues. »
A citizen victory
The unveiling of the proposal on Monday marked the culmination of decades of citizen struggle to return this piece of land, long held by private interests, to the population.
Abandoned since the sale of the Patro Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in 1987, the site found a buyer in 1998 in the hotelier Jacques Robitaille, owner, among others, of the Jaro hotels. He had long cherished the dream of building a hotel there, but quickly found on the path to his ambition the mobilization of the local popular committee and the Ministry of Culture, which wanted to preserve the still standing facade of the majestic patro d ‘formerly.
The demolitions finally got the better of this last vestige in 2010. The hotel never saw the light of day. Disappointed, the owner opened the lot to cars for parking deemed illegal by the City. It was ultimately the Supreme Court which decided the dispute in favor of the public authority.
The site remained fallow until the Marchand administration took office. At the end of 2022, the City acquired the land for more than $12 million, buying peace with the owner to finally develop the lot. The popular committee demanded community gardens, green spaces and social housing. He will have them.
“What the City of Quebec is saying today, in addition to giving this land back to the community, is that our struggles are legitimate and that we were right to fight tirelessly! »wrote Marie-Ève Duchesne, permanent member of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Popular Committee, in a press release issued to welcome the announcement.
“It’s the end of a saga,” concluded the district councilor. This is a victory for the citizens: the community has been wanting this land to return to them for 37 years. »
Before the buildings come off the ground, financing will first have to be secured, particularly from provincial and federal government authorities. The final sketches remain to be drawn and permits to be obtained, in particular from the Ministry of Culture and Communications which has the right to review this site located in the Parliament Hill area.
The Marchand administration hopes to begin construction next year. As for the other site acquired by the City in 2022 and located near the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul islet, its development will wait a few more years.
The Lépine block, more commonly called the “Jojo garage” and also located at the top of the Côte d’Abraham, could accommodate student housing, the mayor suggested, without confirming. Its development will take place later so as not to delay the start of the complex which has been the subject of litigation for almost 40 years.