Eaten away over the decades by the development of downtown Montreal, Chinatown is once again falling prey to the real estate boom, which is threatening its built heritage. However, the City is preparing to implement regulatory measures to better protect its buildings and limit the regulatory height of future constructions in this sector.
Delimited by Jeanne-Mance and Saint-Dominique streets as well as Viger avenue and René-Lévesque boulevard, Chinatown has survived like a village of indomitable Gauls under the pressures of downtown development for decades. “Nevertheless, the disappearance of some of its most significant buildings, combined with recent real estate pressures, puts its sustainability at risk”, worries the City, in decision-making documents for the next meeting of the municipal council, scheduled for Monday.
Some sectors of the district have completely disappeared following major projects carried out in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the construction of the Palais des Congrès and the Complexe Guy-Favreau. The Robillard Building, a heritage building that hosted the country’s first movie theater in the late 19th century, was then destroyed by flames in 2016, leaving a void in the neighborhood.
Then, last March, developers Brandon Shiller and Jeremy Kornbluth, who run real estate firm Hillpark Capital, acquired two of Chinatown’s oldest buildings. This is the former building of the British and Canadian School, built in 1826, as well as an imposing building that incorporates part of the Free Presbyterian Church, which was designed in 1848.
The two developers in question, who own a large number of buildings in the metropolis, also made headlines last year for alleged attempts to evict tenants at Manoir Lafontaine, in the borough of Plateau-Mont- Royal. Many residents and organizations are thus worried about the fate that awaits the buildings they acquire, at a time when real estate speculation is gaining ground in Montreal.
“The current parameters of the Urban Plan allow the insertion of new projects that may break with the characteristics of interest in Chinatown. The real estate pressure observed can result in a lack of maintenance of the buildings, a deterioration of the frame and a tendency to demolition to allow new constructions, apprehends the City.
It is therefore in this context that Montreal’s elected officials will consider Monday, at a city council meeting, a draft by-law aimed at modifying the city’s urban plan. The municipal administration thus hopes to review the maximum heights and densities allowed in the heart of this sector in order to prevent large buildings from overshadowing the current built heritage of Chinatown, which is one of the oldest Asian neighborhoods in North America.
Before coming into force, this draft regulation will however have to be the subject of a mandate with the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) so that both citizens and organizations as well as representatives of the business community can comment on this one. The OCPM will then produce a report to guide the City in the official decisions it will then take in this file.
In the meantime, elected officials will be called upon to adopt an interim control by-law this week which will act as a moratorium on any new construction or expansion of a building that would have the effect of exceeding the maximum heights or densities that the City wishes. impose in this district, indicate the decision documents.
A unique architecture
These proposed regulatory changes echo a long citizen consultation process initiated in 2019 on the revitalization and preservation of the heritage of Chinatown, whose commercial fabric has since been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This approach led to the publication of a 2021-2026 action plan which recommended, in particular, changes to the City’s urban plan in order to better protect the buildings of this former suburb with a rich history.
Joined by The duty, the Director of Policy at Héritage Montréal, Dinu Bumbaru, praised the efforts made by the City. He notes, however, that in order to preserve harmony in the built heritage of Chinatown, the City will also have to include in its next urban plan criteria governing the architecture of future buildings in the area, so that it does not clashes with the rest of the built heritage found there. “We have to stop thinking that with a limit of three floors and possible derogations of 20 floors, we will respect the heritage of this sector. […] The quality of the architecture will also have to be worked on,” he insists.
A virtual press conference is also scheduled for 11 a.m. on Monday, in the presence of the Minister of Culture and Communications, Nathalie Roy, the Minister responsible for the Metropolis, Chantal Rouleau, and the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante. . According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, the Legault government should then announce its intention to classify Montreal’s Chinatown under the Quebec Cultural Heritage Act.
The owners of the buildings located on the protected site would then have to obtain authorization from the Ministry of Culture before altering, restoring or demolishing them, reports Radio-Canada.
“We think that this will be a very important step for the recognition and safeguarding of this sector,” rejoices Mr. Bumbaru.
Hillpark Capital, for its part, was stingy with comments on Saturday.
“We are really waiting for Monday’s announcement from the ministry to see what impact it could have on Hillpark” indicates to the Duty the head of communications for the real estate giant, Hugo Morissette. The latter also recalls that no project has yet been submitted for the two buildings acquired by the company in Chinatown.
Minister Nathalie Roy’s office, for its part, refused to confirm to the Duty the information reported Friday by Radio-Canada. “An announcement will be made in due time,” was content to write his press officer, Elizabeth Lemay.