The site of the former Blue Bonnets racecourse could fall back into the hands of the Quebec government if the city does not manage to sell a first parcel of land within two years. However, several steps remain to be taken before reaching this target, especially since the interest of real estate developers in this highly congested sector is not guaranteed.
From the administration of Gérald Tremblay to that of Valérie Plante via that of Denis Coderre, the promises of development of the site of the former Montreal racecourse, located near the Namur metro station, have been linked over the years. years. Mme Plante now promises to build 7,500 homes on this 43-hectare site, including 2,000 affordable and as many social housing.
However, time is running out to develop this place, which the Government of Quebec has ceded to the City under an agreement of some twenty pages signed in October 2017. It mentions in particular that the City must provide Quebec ” a real estate development schedule ”for this site by October 20, 2022, noted The duty.
The deadline for changing the zoning of the site and starting the sale of plots of land for the construction of housing is exactly one year later. The Ministry of Finance confirms to the To have to that, if these deadlines are not respected, the government of Quebec reserves the right to repossess this land in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges – Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, whose real estate assessment is in 2017 amounted to more than $ 52.83 million.
An ultimatum
The City of Montreal is however reassuring. “The project is progressing well and we are [certains] to respect the deadline ”imposed by Quebec with regard to the sale of a first land on this site, affirms Marikym Gaudreault, the press secretary of the office of the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante.
The firm EY notably obtained a contract at the end of September to “explore the different business models allowing the realization of the Namur-Hippodrome project”, a mandate which will continue “until the end of the first quarter of 2022 ”, specifies a public relations officer from the City by email. Expenditures of $ 44.8 million over 10 years are also planned by the City to develop this sector.
However, “to think that in 2023 we will have all the cards and that we will be ready to cede land to developers, that is not desirable”, retorts the emeritus town planner and professor at the University of Montreal Gérard. Beaudet interviewed at To have to.
The expert, who took part in the proceedings of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) on this site upstream of the filing of his preliminary consultation report last year, believes rather that the development of this sector should be do it over “a few decades” if you want to plan it in such a way as to avoid repeating Griffintown’s mistakes. In this South-West district, residential towers have sprouted like mushrooms after a zoning change carried out without planning the development of the sector upstream to take into account the needs for green spaces, daycares and places. sociocommunity, in particular.
“Griffintown is a good example where we were content to let promoters go. So, we produced real estate projects, but we did not produce a neighborhood […] It is important not to align with this example, ”says the expert.
The City will also have to find ways to open up this sector, which is grappling with endemic road congestion problems, underlined several experts at To have to. In this context, the connection of Boulevard Cavendish – which the City ultimately wishes to transform into an urban boulevard giving priority to active mobility and public transport – becomes a condition. sine qua non to attract real estate developers, believes the President and CEO of the Urban Development Institute, Jean-Marc Fournier.
“We must marry the potential density [du site] with access to public transit and having a street pattern that will not create more chaos than what already exists, ”confirms the architect and former mayor of Côte-Saint-Luc Robert Libman. The latter therefore considers that improving mobility in this sector represents the “fundamental” challenge to be overcome in order to allow the development of the site of the old racecourse.
Mixed interest
THEe Homework has also contacted several major real estate developers to gauge their interest in this site, but it seems mixed at the moment. “Without knowing what it is, how can I have interest?” »Launched the president of Mondev, Michael Owen, who considers that the vision of the City for this« strategic location »remains unclear.
Another public consultation will also have to take place concerning “the overall plan” that the City will propose for this sector, indicates the cabinet of Mr.me Plant. The development of the racetrack site could also be submitted to the Office of Public Hearings on the Environment.
“I think that in the coming months, we should have a much clearer vision, both of the deadlines and of the type of development that will take place there and of the technical problems that there may or may not be”, interviewed at To have to last week the new president of the executive committee and former commissioner of the OCPM, Dominique Ollivier.
One of the main advantages of this site for developers, “is that it is virgin”, which offers many development prospects, notes for his part the professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture. from the University of Montreal Jean-Philippe Meloche. “But indeed, at some point, we will have to start building and stop consulting,” he says.
With Jeanne Corriveau