The author is founder of Vive la Ruelle and content director of the Group of Fifty. He also collaborates in washington post.
Recently, a group of Montreal citizens began projecting their priorities onto the old abandoned walls of 1 Van Horne Avenue, the future site of a much-maligned, but also very misunderstood, new tourist development. “Social housing”, could be read on the building. “More social, less luxury”, we still read.
The warehouse overlooked by a water tower turns out to be an irresistible projection canvas for displaying our clear-cut visions of the future. What the projection shows, however, is how narrow, restrained, defensive, not to say fearful, the vision of the protesters is. They defend what they deem necessary, while anything that is different is rejected on the spot.
We all agree on the fact that Montreal needs more housing, and of all types. That is not what is at issue here. What needs to be asked is rather whether Montreal can be a city capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, by jointly pursuing a range of complementary development objectives. Ignoring tourism by refusing to make it one of our priorities shows the greatest myopia.
No less than 57,000 Montrealers work directly in the tourism industry, and some 150,000 others indirectly owe their livelihood to our visitors. Eleven million people visited our city each year before the pandemic, a number we will probably reach again.
These visitors brought in $4.6 billion each year, making tourism one of the city’s most important economic sectors. And contrary to what many imagine, most of these visitors — 51%! — came from Quebec itself. Of the others, 21% came from the rest of Canada, 15% from the United States and 14% from overseas.
Many of these tourists will end up staying downtown or near the Old Port, concentrating the economic benefits in these already busy areas. Those looking to stay in less central areas have little choice. A few years ago, they could have chosen an outlying Airbnb, but Quebec City’s decision to remove them in order to bring more accommodations to the rental market has dried up Airbnbs in outlying boroughs.
In Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, where I live, it is almost impossible for visitors to find accommodation. There are very few hotels and almost no Airbnbs. Many visitors would love to come to these neighborhoods and spend their dollars there — boosting much-needed small businesses, restaurants and cafes in the area. But there is simply no accommodation offer here. These visitors therefore end up heading downtown, benefiting the chain restaurants and megacorporation stores.
This explains why I was so delighted to hear that 1, avenue Van Horne was to become a new luxury hotel complex. Located just beyond the borough line of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie in a disused industrial site, the place is not very suitable for apartments. On the other hand, the site is ideal for bringing the necessary diversity to Montreal’s tourist offer.
For social housing activists, alas, any building that is not a social housing complex is seen as a threat. Noting, rightly, a pressing need for new housing in the city, they conclude, wrongly, that nothing else is needed!
Able to mobilize a lot of rage (but fewer proposals), this group of citizens is likely to win their campaign against the tourist development of 1, avenue Van Horne. We can bet that the advisory planning committee will give in to its anger and refuse to grant the building permit for the hotel. The site will remain there, to slowly fall into disuse. This will result in visual pollution that will not generate any positive impact for anyone.
Montreal needs new housing — lots of new housing. But she also needs so many other things! A complex and evolving metropolis like ours cannot be satisfied with a priority. We need housing, yes, but also jobs that will allow people to afford housing. We need a vibrant street life that entices people to come here. We need a vision to create a world-class city that meets all the needs of its inhabitants: housing, first and foremost, but much more.
Because it’s not just about saving money. As for me, I like living in a city too cool than Montreal that people from all over the world can’t wait to visit. When my friends come here, they are amazed at how vibrant this city is, blown away by the summer festivals and lively alleyways, public art and creative vibe.
Montreal would not be the same without its visitors. We need tourists to come and visit us, and when they do, we have an interest in providing them with memorable accommodation in an amazing location, like an iconic building away from a tourist-crowded city center. A place, in other words, that looks a lot like 1 Van Horne Avenue.