The new owner of the residence located at 2333 Sunset Road is going door to door these days to collect signatures for the demolition of his recent acquisition in September 2023. But why?
This is because a demolition permit application sent to the Committee for the Study of Demolition Permit Applications, according to the public notice of March 27, 2024, was refused on April 17, 2024, for well-supported reasons. In particular, the committee recognized the heritage value of this ancestral home, witness to our historical memory.
However, the contestation of this decision of the committee, confirmed by the neighbors of the sector, is worrying. It could imply a not yet revealed appeal to the municipal council and the possible reversal of the April 17 decision by the municipal council, which has already happened three times in the last two years.
However, everyone seems to be unaware of the history of 2333 Sunset Road, because, contrary to the entry of the date of 1910 on the 2023-2025 Property Assessment Roll, this ancestral home dates back to the last quarter of the 18th century.e century (around 1787), therefore well before the founding of the town of Mount Royal (2012). It would be contemporary with the Brisson house or the François Jarry house (1787), and like the latter, a farm house like there were many in the 18th century.e and XIXe centuries on the Island of Montreal and its surroundings. Hence its particular architecture including a large attic roof.
2333 Chemin Sunset constitutes one of the very rare examples preserved from this period, not only in the town of Mount Royal, but on the entire island of Montreal. On the Terrier des Sulpiciens of 1865, a sort of mapped register of the concessions granted to settlers to populate the island of Montreal, and updated for 100 years from 1666, this house was one of the farm houses spread over what At the time it was called the “Côte Saint-Laurent”.
With this specific case represented by 2333 Sunset Road, we are faced with an inestimable heritage which, by its age, its rarity and its historical significance, has an emblematic value calling for safeguarding and its enhancement.
The fact that the house is still preserved is undoubtedly due to the fact that over the last 50 years, the occupants of the same family have valued the conservation of this residence beyond the fact that the maintenance sometimes left something to be desired. The current state of the house does not justify demolition according to the criteria of the municipal by-law, as clearly demonstrated by the decision of the responsible committee on April 17. The house is fully restorable and the quality of the property with its vast green space, reminiscent of its agrarian past, remains a jewel of the garden city as much as of the island of Montreal.
If the City does not wish to acquire this property, if necessary, it still has an obligation to ensure its protection and sustainability.
Is the option of the new owner, presented on April 17, 2024, of the two constructions as replacement value of the current house respectful of the heritage character of the town of Mount Royal, as recognized by Parks Canada in 2008 when the status of a national historic site of significance was granted? And does it ensure visual harmony between new constructions and existing buildings in the area? The members of the committee meeting on April 17 decided no and we also think no!
The proposal presented is also rather mediocre architecturally and disparate in terms of the environment of the sector. It would be a shame to lose the current house at 2333 Sunset Road to inherit such a deplorable proposition. It is to be feared that we are dealing with an operation of flip real estate and that the new owner appeal to the municipal council to overturn the committee’s decision. The committee stated its refusal for a demolition of 2333 Sunset Road. We must therefore be open to any proposal other than the sad and heartbreaking one from the current owner.
Faced with a tense situation between the aspirations of an owner and those of certain members of the council and citizens who wish the protection of this house, we propose to the City to proceed with the citation of this property in order to protect it for now and for the future. The example of the Goode house in Westmount should inspire elected officials and encourage them to demonstrate responsibility with regard to the built and green heritage of the town of Mount Royal.
We recommend that the Town of Mount Royal grants heritage property status to the house at 2333 Sunset Road, that it be restored according to the rules of the art and that the integrity of its land be similarly preserved for restore all its historical value to this exceptional place.