Another shopping center is considering adding a residential component to its property.
The owner of the oldest indoor shopping center in Montreal has just registered in the lobbyists registry in this regard.
Place Versailles Inc., owned by the Dubrovnik family and William Gregory, wishes to reach a development agreement with the City of Montreal “for the gradual transformation of the Place Versailles site into a mixed real estate project”, we can read in the warrant registered on November 5.
“It is planned to carry out a mixed commercial, office and residential development (condominiums, rental apartments, social housing) over a period of 25 years”, it is written there.
The approach is part of the development of a special urban plan (PPU) for the Radisson sector, which was launched in October by the borough of Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
“It is a project in the embryonic state, indicated André Bouthillier, of the National firm, acting as spokesperson for the owners. The project will really take shape after the elaboration of the PPU. “
It’s not tomorrow the day before. All kinds of steps are planned before its adoption, planned for winter 2023. For its part, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal will hear stakeholders in fall 2022. In the immediate future, a workshop bringing together civil society actors, community organizations and landowners in the sector is organized on November 30, 2021.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, PRESS ARCHIVES
The Place Versailles center is located at 7275, rue Sherbrooke Est
Located at 7275 rue Sherbrooke Est, the Place Versailles center is surrounded by rue De Boucherville, rue du Trianon, Pierre-Corneille and avenue de l’Authion. Opened in 1963, the center has 1 million square feet and more than 225 stores. It stands out for its five fountains, including the first graphic fountain in North America. The property offers 4000 parking spaces. Canadian Tire, Winners and Sports Experts are among its main tenants.
Fashion is in housing
This is not the first nor the only project to transform a shopping center into a mixed-use district to emerge in the Montreal region. Press published a brief on the upcoming transformation of shopping centers last winter.
Read our report “Shopping centers: less asphalt, more yield”
Recently, two other transactions concerning shopping centers seem to follow this logic. Groupe Brivia, known for its rental and condo complexes like the YUL, near the Bell Center in downtown Montreal, bought the Carnival Center for 70 million last August, on Newman Boulevard, near Carrefour Angrignon, in the borough of LaSalle.
“Cities are open to seeing more uses and better use of sites,” said Marie-France Benoit, senior director of real estate services firm Altus, during a recent presentation to the Urban Development Institute.
She also gave the example of the Guzzo Group, which in April 2021 acquired the Center Jacques-Cartier, in Vieux-Longueuil, for 21 million.
With the collaboration of Julien Arsenault, Press