What if the former projection rooms of the NFB studios became neighborhood cinemas? Parking lots, parks? And the cafeteria, a restaurant? “What we want are ideas,” says Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern of the Canada Lands Company (SIC).
During the second weekend of December, the SIC held two open days at the former studios of the National Film Board (NFB), located in the borough of Saint-Laurent off Highway 40.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The former NFB studios
Six guided tours were offered to the public. The goal ? Ask the citizens concerned for their opinion… but also make them dream. What to do with the 50,000 square meters located behind 3155, chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse, located near a future REM station which will provide quick access to the city center?
“Everything is possible in a context of viability,” argues Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern, vice-president of corporate communications and public affairs at CLC.
“We want to see what the social needs are with community groups. Also see what is missing in terms of shops: grocery stores, small cafes? », Adds Christopher Sweetnam Holmes, director of real estate at SIC.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
CLC’s Christopher Sweetnam Holmes and Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern
The SIC wants to take the pulse of community organizations, the artistic community, promoters and elected officials for the first “public workshop” which will take place on January 24.
The Canada Lands Company nevertheless has objectives, including providing affordable and social housing to counter the housing crisis. and be a model of ecological development.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The numerous parking lots have a lot of potential. “In our vision, there will be parks, cycle paths, greenery, small shops, cafes,” assures Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern.
After the departure of the NFB in 2019, the CLC took possession of the premises and maintained them well, assures its director of real estate, Christopher Sweetnam Holmes. “CLC is an independent federal Crown corporation that transforms former federal sites to reintegrate them into the community,” he explains. We are not a developer like the others. We can take more time to consult, gather ideas and do more innovative things. »
To transform places, you have to understand them.
Christopher Sweetnam Holmes, Director of Real Estate at CLC
Decor from another era
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The old makeup room
Time stands still when you visit the former NFB house: the decor is reminiscent of another era, but everything is still there and in good condition. The makeup room, the dressing rooms, the projection rooms, the names of the employees in front of their old desks, the refrigerated rooms where the reels were stored, the cafeteria, the huge studio where sets were reproduced… We even always find money -sand and gravel floors in the sound studio and a Norman McLaren neon sign where he wanted to reproduce like an x-ray the ideas that followed one another in his head. “We are in the Norman McLaren Building. We will find a place for this exceptional work,” assures Christopher Sweetnam Holmes.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The console in the largest projection room is particularly impressive.
The largest projection room with 280 seats benefits from “incredible acoustics”, he boasts. On the huge console, we could make final touch-ups.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The former large film studio where fictional settings were reproduced until 1996, before the NFB focused only on documentaries and animation. Its 9,000 square feet is small by industry standards. “There is something to create here,” enthuses Christopher Sweetnam Holmes.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
It would be easy to turn the old projection room into a neighborhood movie theater.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
An old makeup room
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The old sound studio is full of treasures.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Trapdoors hide subfloors, notably gravel and sand, which made it possible to reproduce the sounds of footsteps on different surfaces.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Still in the sound studio, panels also made it possible to modify the sound.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The hall and the stairs leading to the former management offices have lost none of their luster
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Could it just remain a movie theater? ” It’s a possibility. Everything is on the table, insists Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern, vice-president of corporate communications and public affairs at CLC. If there is a viable future use, it is a possibility. »
Commemorating 65 years of history
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The former NFB headquarters was a sort of campus.
Nearly 70 years ago, the NFB decided to establish itself in a field far from the city center to create a “campus” effect, recalls Christopher Sweetnam Holmes. Moving its headquarters from Ottawa to Montreal was also a way of promoting French-language production and breaking with the State and the period of the Second World War when the NFB participated in the propaganda effort.
Christopher Sweetnam Holmes recalls all the technological innovations born within the walls of 3155, chemin de la Côte-de-Liesse. He quotes In the labyrintha film presented on several screens at Expo 67, which led to the birth of the IMAX format.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
“I bring people here to show them that we are less far away than people think and even close to everything,” says Christopher Sweetnam Holmes from the floor whose view overlooks Mount Royal, the Saint-Joseph oratory and the University of Montreal.
The six pavilions of the complex occupied by the NFB from 1956 to 2019 – and some 3,000 employees – are still occasionally rented for filming. It was “unique” for the SIC to offer guided tours to the public for one of its projects, underlines Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern. “These are buildings with such a rich past. People lived around them without visiting them. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern worked at the NFB early in his career.
For the CLC vice-president of communications, these are memories, because he was in charge of production at the NFB at the start of his career. That’s not to mention that his father-in-law, Claude Chantelois, worked there for 20 years in the human resources department.
Patience
If the Canada Lands Company is committed to the “responsible and concerted redevelopment” of the premises, you will have to be patient before the first shovelful of earth. The SIC hopes to obtain approval from municipal authorities for the master plan in 2025, which will result from public consultations. Then, there will be several phases of development carried out in collaboration with different promoters. The role of the SIC will then be to protect mixed uses, particularly with easements.
“One thing I can guarantee: it will be a new neighborhood,” promises Marcelo Gomez-Wiuckstern.
SIC in brief
The Canada Lands Company is a self-funded federal Crown corporation that specializes in real estate, development and attraction management. SIC was dormant before relaunching its activities in 1995 with the privatization of CN land.
CLC owns the CN Tower, for example, but also the Old Port of Montreal site and the Science Center. It has three other major projects underway in Greater Montreal: Pointe-du-Moulin with the Silo no5, the Pointe-de-Longueuil site and the Wellington basin.