Those most nostalgic for old Montreal metro cars will be able to find eight of them, in a new cultural center to be built in Griffintown, starting in early 2024. The ambitious project includes a café-bar, shops, meeting rooms, exhibition and conference facilities, as well as a 300-seat multifunction performance hall.
This was announced Friday, at a press conference, by the MR-63 organization — whose name is borrowed from the old metro cars — which is leading the project, accompanied by the federal minister and deputy for the sector, Marc Miller, and the Mayor of the Sud-Ouest borough, Benoit Dorais,
“We’ve been working on this project for years to echo the history of the métro and its potential to bring people together,” says Frédéric Morin-Bordeleau, co-founder of MR-63 with his brother Étienne. We also wanted to create a place that would bring together gastronomy, art and design, because these three sectors are the pride of Montrealers here and abroad”.
The organization has been designing ephemeral public places and producing various artistic events in the southwest of Montreal for several years. He also launched the Cultural Corridor, almost two years ago, in order to revitalize the sector by linking 18 cultural organizations between the Cité du Multimédia and Little Burgundy under the same label.
In the new building, the metro cars will be integrated into the structure and dispersed over three floors. A large atrium will be accessible from the ground floor. The three levels of the building, as well as the metro cars, will be visible from the outside, thanks to its vast glass facade.
“Getting into the community”
“I have always been uncomfortable with the idea that the Griffintown neighborhood had been poorly developed and that it had nothing to offer its residents,” says Mr. Morin-Bordeleau. While he acknowledges that the neighborhood has lacked cultural venues for several years, he specifies that MR-63 wants to “establish itself in the community of the area to develop a neighborhood spirit”.
Nor does the organization close the door to possible collaborations with other organizations that are part of the Cultural Corridor, such as the Phi Center and the Darling Foundry. Its new auditorium, for example, could be rented out to third parties. “We want to be able to host an exhibition during the day, and a concert in the evening, for example,” adds the co-director.
He says the state-of-the-art room will be equipped with “floor-to-ceiling LED screens” to broadcast digital art – this technology is increasingly popular, both with film crews of films than producers of musical concerts.
The construction of the cultural center is valued at $28.8 million. It will be financed by public funds, sponsorships and philanthropic donations. The organization’s main partners are the federal government, the Caisses Desjardins and the Société des alcools du Québec.