A new neighborhood of “at least” 7,600 housing units could see the light of day just south of downtown Montreal if – and only if – CDPQ Infra agrees to add a station to the REM de l’Ouest.
This is the position of the Plante administration, which must approve this Wednesday morning the Master Plan for the Bridge-Bonaventure sector and send it to the municipal council. The Press was able to obtain the document.
The City plans to build new apartment buildings around Habitat 67, Silo #5 and Peel Basin, in addition to setting aside space for a school and a new waterfront promenade at the site of the Bonaventure Expressway. In this last file, Ottawa has also announced in its budget on Tuesday investments of 273 million over nine years to redevelop the highway at the end of its life – most of which belongs to it – a few tens of meters further from the river.
This artery will however be insufficient to ensure the mobility of the new residents of this currently landlocked district, according to Robert Beaudry, the elected official in charge of urban planning within the Plante administration.
CITY OF MONTREAL IMAGE, OBTAINED BY THE PRESS
La Pointe-du-Moulin and its Silo #5 from the shore of Peel Basin
The addition of a Metropolitan Express Network (REM) station is a “sine qua non” for the development of this sector, he said in a telephone interview. This station should not replace the Griffintown–Bernard-Landry station, work on which has not yet begun, specified Mr. Beaudry. The document includes a map that shows a potential location in the immediate vicinity of the current Costco Bridge.
“Add as many accommodations as possible”
The Plante administration put forward a neighborhood that would retain its economic vocation – in particular because of the significant presence of the Port of Montreal and CN – while welcoming thousands of households.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Robert Beaudry, in charge of urban planning within the Plante administration
Montreal wants to “add as many units as possible, but in [s’]ensuring that there are conditions of success for the creation of a complete environment, including economic activities, a living environment, green spaces, etc. “, explained Robert Beaudry. “The harmonious integration of thousands of housing units will contribute to the dynamism of the sector while meeting housing needs and improving services to the population,” added his colleague Benoit Dorais in writing.
The land affected by the plan belongs to many owners, including real estate developers.
The document establishes basic principles to avoid compatibility problems between industries and residences: do not build housing in the immediate vicinity of railway tracks, discourage bulk storage outside and provide vegetated buffer zones.
Although it will also be a dense neighborhood near the city center, Mr. Beaudry rejects the comparison with Griffintown.
It will have its own urban form. Unlike Griffintown, we will make sure to have planned access, services, green spaces for the population in advance. Our goal is to have a mix in terms of housing.
Robert Beaudry, in charge of urban planning within the Plante administration
Concretely, the new residential buildings would be located mainly in the current industrial sector near the Peel Basin, around Bridge Street. Others would be added on the strip of land that hosts Habitat 67 (la Cité-du-Havre) and on that that hosts Silo #5 (la Pointe-du-Moulin). The Bickerdike wharf, operated by the Port of Montreal, is not affected.
” On the long term ”
The Plante administration would like to make the neighborhood an example of sustainable development. She wants to develop “approximately 12 km of additional bike paths” and seven new pedestrian links to overcome currently problematic obstacles – such as a railway line or the Bonaventure Expressway.
CITY OF MONTREAL IMAGE, OBTAINED BY THE PRESS
The Wellington Basin seen from the REM
She would also like the whole district to be heated and cooled by a single “urban thermal network”. “This type of network can be used to recover the heat rejected by a commercial, industrial or technological activity (data center), by an infrastructure (sewers) or to directly exploit renewable sources (hydrothermal energy)”, indicates the master plan.
In the “block bounded by Bridge and Mill streets, the Peel Basin and the [rail du] REM”, the Plante administration foresees a “pedestrian priority zone”, with relatively few private parking lots and streets closed to cars.
As for the timetable for carrying out the project, it has not yet been precisely defined.
“As of 2024, we could start carrying out interventions to prepare the ground, illustrates Robert Beaudry. Subsequently, of course, it depends on the reality of the market, when the real estate developers are ready, but also when the developments will be made. »
“This is a sector that will develop over the long term. It’s a big industry,” he added.