In addition to affecting Télé-Québec, RDS and Noovo, the major water main break that occurred near the Jacques-Cartier Bridge on August 16 left hundreds of people affected in the cultural sector. Located on Notre-Dame Street near the intersection with Papineau Avenue, Cité 2000 suffered significant damage; the building houses dozens of studios occupied by musicians, who have been without a rehearsal space for a month. The three basement floors used for storage were completely flooded, causing damages amounting to several hundred thousand dollars for tenants, including Cirque Éloize, which was heavily affected by the disaster.
“It’s a disaster,” sighs musician Jean-Sébastien Chouinard, musical director of Marc Dupré and guitarist, notably for Les Cowboys Fringants and La Famille Denuy. He was able to visit one of the basements of Cité 2000 where part of its equipment was stored, in a space rented by La Tribu, the record label and production company for shows by the Cowboys, Dumas and Trois Accords, among others.
“That’s where we stored the instruments we used when we went on tour. There were also Robert Charlebois’ sets in there. I had put irreplaceable instruments in there, collector’s amps,” says Chouinard, who estimates his losses at about $17,000. “All that was submerged in six feet of water — we didn’t have access to the premises for a good week because we had to clean the basements and start decontaminating them.”
With every crane lift, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment are crushed
Coeur de Pirate (Béatrice Martin) is also among the victims. “We were lucky in our misfortune, since the premises were not used for rehearsals, so no musical instruments were lost, only technical equipment, such as sound consoles,” says Emilie Fournelle, executive producer at Bravo Musique, Coeur de Pirate’s record label.
On the other hand, Cirque Éloize is probably the cultural enterprise most affected by the flooding in Cité 2000. “We’ve already lost a million dollars,” says Jeannot Painchaud, co-founder, president and chief creative officer of the Cirque, which rented 12,000 square feet of space on the ground floor.
“From sound and lighting consoles to video projectors: with every crane lift, hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment are crushed — and that’s just the hardware, and it can be replaced, although our insurance doesn’t cover everything. All the sets and costumes that we kept, that’s irreplaceable.” The disaster has an immediate impact on Cirque Éloize’s activities, according to Painchaud. “We have five productions in total lost in the water. It will take us at least six months to put together a kit that will allow us to put a show back on the road.” The Cirque’s shows that were to be presented in 2025 are on ice.
“What we also deplore about all this,” emphasizes Emilie Fournelle, “is that communications with the owners of Cité 2000 have not been easy,” adding to the frustration experienced by the tenants contacted for this report. The building belongs to the American storage and truck rental company U-Haul, which operates the ground floor; the majority of the premises on the upper floors are occupied by musicians, who had to wait more than a week before being able to retrieve their instruments.
A tenant at Cité 2000, Boîte à Musique, which describes itself as a “musician’s boutique” and offers rehearsal studio and musical instrument rental services, estimates that nearly 1,000 people have been affected by the flooding.
“What’s happening is not a happy thing. Many tenants are now morally and mentally affected,” says Steve Marcoux, director of the company founded in 1955. La Boîte moved its operations to Cité 2000 two years ago, renting seven premises, including three rehearsal rooms on the upper floors and a large basement room where its musical instruments were stored. The Boîte team estimates the losses suffered by the organization at more than $600,000, which will be covered by its insurer.
Help from the City
Like Cirque Éloize, tenants claim to have been in contact with the municipal administration, which invites them to file a claim for financial assistance. The City of Montreal offers a financial assistance program (up to $40,000) to establishments affected by major work as well as a lump sum subsidy ($5,000) to businesses in areas affected by major work. The Duty is still awaiting comment from city administration representatives.
The managers of Cité 2000 have indicated that the tenants should be able to return to their premises at the end of September, when the electricity is restored. This is good news in the circumstances, since a longer delay would have forced all these musicians to move.
“We were afraid that, all of a sudden, dozens and dozens of groups would be fighting for new premises at the same time,” says Steve Marcoux. “Especially since, if you talk to any owner of rehearsal spaces in Montreal, they will tell you that they receive several calls per week to see if one of them is available. I have been in this business for thirty years, I can tell you that we have been short of rehearsal spaces for thirty years.”