To avoid other aberrations, such as the two 9- and 13-storey buildings that now frame the entrance arch to Chinatown, at the corner of Viger Avenue and Saint-Laurent Boulevard, the City of Montreal must go from the front with its regulations to reduce the permitted heights in the heart of this heritage district
Posted at 3:09 p.m.
This is one of the recommendations of the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM), which has just tabled its report, after hearing citizens and organizations concerned about the future of Chinatown.
During the consultations, “many people deplored the construction of the two buildings located on either side of the entrance arch to the neighborhood,” notes the OCPM, which quotes a citizen denouncing the fact that these two buildings “contribute to obliteration of Chinatown”.
“On the west side, the construction of One Viger, a nine-storey residential tower, will soon replace the Robillard building, a heritage building destroyed by fire in 2016, while on the east side, we deplore the construction of a 13-storey hotel,” recalls the OCPM.
“These two buildings are at odds with their environment by their size and their architecture. By greatly exceeding in height the current built environment, they negatively affect the experience of pedestrians where we should rather promote “an urban environment on a human scale”. »
It is also pointed out that small condos and a hotel do not meet the needs of the community in terms of housing and a socio-cultural meeting place.
Impossible today
“It would no longer be possible today to allow this type of construction,” says Robert Beaudry, municipal councilor for this sector and responsible for urban planning on the executive committee.
In fact, the City of Montreal announced last January the modification of the urban plan in order to preserve the characteristics of Chinatown and better protect the buildings and heritage of the former suburb. These modifications provide in particular for the reduction of the maximum permitted heights, the expansion of the territory that makes up Chinatown, the identification of sectors of heritage value and new rules in terms of archeology during new constructions.
The new regulations provide for maximum heights between 25 meters (about six stories) and 35 meters, and up to 65 meters in the western part of the district. An interim control by-law allows the application of these rules even before the modifications to the urban plan are officially ratified.
The OCPM recommends that the City of Montreal go ahead with the modification of its urban plan. But he suggests studying “the possibility of further lowering the maximum heights and densities permitted in the heart of Chinatown in order to preserve the existing built environment”.
Chinese-Asian design
It also asks municipal authorities to add design criteria to be respected during construction work to preserve and enhance Sino-Asian visual elements.
However, “built heritage is not the only element at risk in Chinatown,” the report notes. “To avoid creating a kind of open-air museum, the protection of the built heritage must be accompanied by other measures allowing Chinatown to remain a complete and lively living environment. »
“There is still work to be done,” says Jonathan Cha, member of the Chinatown Sector Table, who points out that many are still worried about the real estate pressures weighing on the sector.
“There are still several vacant lots, and we have to see how they will be used to meet the needs and preserve the heritage of Chinatown, but also to develop it,” he said.
Last January, the Ministry of Culture announced a notice of intent to classify as heritage assets the central sector of the Quartier as well as two specific buildings (the British and Canadian School and the old factory S. Davis and Sons).
This notice of intent had an immediate effect in protecting these places.