Neglected for decades, the east of Montreal needs a serious overhaul. But the recovery of the East will not be possible if the millions of square feet of former industrial land are delivered to mega-warehouses and if the Metropolitan Express Network (REM) of the East does not see the light of day, believes the President of the Angus Development Company (SDA), Christian Yaccarini.
Moments held back
Christian Yaccarini is inexhaustible when he talks about the east end of Montreal. The man who founded, almost 30 years ago, the SDA, a social economy enterprise, and carried out several urban revival projects, says he is both encouraged and discouraged with regard to the development of the East, including the momentum was constantly checked.
However, land for development is not lacking. But it is known, the 40 million square feet of former industrial land are contaminated, and the territory is still poorly served by public transit. “When Molson decided to leave their current site, we wanted them to stay on the island, in the East. But what could we offer? Contaminated land, rue Notre-Dame completely blocked and no public transport. They went to the South Shore,” notes Mr. Yaccarini.
The East, however, has several other assets, such as institutions such as the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital – despite its advanced state of decay – the Heart Institute and the University Institute in Mental Health, notes Christian Yaccarini. With partners, including the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, he is also dreaming of a health innovation zone project in the East.
Think long term
The election of the CAQ government in 2018 gave him some hope. “For me, it was the first time in 30-40 years that there was a will from the Government of Quebec to intervene in the economic field of the East,” he says.
An amount of 100 million dollars has also been granted by Quebec for the decontamination of land in the East, but the bulk of this sum is still sleeping in the coffers of the City, he laments.
Christian Yaccarini believes that the public authorities must act to plan the development of the East by thinking of the long term. But according to him, the revival does not go through projects such as the establishment of a Costco warehouse on the former Anjou golf course and that of an Amazon mega-warehouse on the former Shell site. “What we want in eastern Montreal are not warehouses. Warehouses bring trucking. That of Amazon will be highly robotic. […] It brings zero value,” he explains.
The businessman believes that Quebec must pay particular attention to the land of Esso, which ceased operations in the 1980s and that the oil company would try to sell although it is heavily contaminated. “My opinion is that this land should be taken out of the speculative market, because the group that is going to buy it will seek a return as quickly as possible. So what is likely to happen on these lands is either warehouses or megadata centers that create no value. »
“If we don’t have REM and we let go of these large fields, the revival of the East, forget it, there won’t be any,” he said.