Accusing the City of Montreal of not listening to them and of wanting to gag them, real estate developers criticize the administration of Valérie Plante for wanting to develop the Bridge-Bonaventure sector with a density worthy of a “third-crown suburb” which does not will not make construction projects profitable.
During a meeting Monday morning with journalists, representatives of Devimco, Groupe Mach and COPRIM launched an all-out attack against the City of Montreal. “After three years of effort, we can see that the City did what it wanted. […] We are not listening to the private sector. We have skills and capital and we don’t use them,” protested Serge Goulet, president of Devimco. “The private is kept aside, gagged, demonized. »
The promoters argue that they had to insist a lot to be able to participate in the work of the consultation table set up following the tabling of the report by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM). “The City, as in many projects, acts like a dictatorship. It imposes a vision on us and then we, developers, who take risks with these projects, have very little to listen to,” added Cédric Constantin, vice-president of real estate development at Groupe Mach.
Density Dispute
The promoters proposed to build between 12,000 and 15,000 dwellings within the 2.3 square kilometer perimeter located on the edge of the Peel Basin. But in its plan which was presented to them on March 21, the City is considering 4,000 housing units for the site, including 1,270 social and affordable housing units. “Our large spaces to be redeveloped, we densify them like Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. These are third-crown densifications, ”denounced Serge Goulet.
By way of comparison, the developers maintained that their density proposal represented 60% of that of Griffintown and corresponded to the density authorized last summer for the Particular urban planning program (PPU) of the Faubourgs, which includes the sites of Molson and Radio Canada. They also argue that the buildings proposed by the City occupy a large surface area, which does not allow space to be freed up for green spaces.
“It’s an under-densification,” said Vianney Bélanger, president of COPRIM. “We have a housing crisis. We are now talking about climate change and we want to curb urban sprawl. We think that this development is not socially responsible given the challenges we should face. »
Serge Goulet indicates that with such a low density, the development of the Bridge-Bonaventure sector will never be profitable and the metropolis will need three times the area of the island of Montreal to achieve the 60,000 housing units promised by Projet Montréal in the countryside. electoral.
Cohabitation issues
Responsible for urban planning on the City’s Executive Committee, Robert Beaudry was surprised by the outing of real estate developers and their complaints about the City’s lack of attention. ” I am speechless. They are around the table. Mr. Goulet met several times with the members of the executive committee to share his vision, he said. I think they will only be satisfied the day we copy and paste their vision into the preliminary master plan. »
The elected official maintains that if the City does not favor a density as high as that desired by the promoters, it is because the Bridge-Bonaventure site is located in an industrial sector in activity with significant economic benefits for the City and for Quebec. , and not in an industrial wasteland.
To criticism from real estate developers who accuse the City of wanting to “ghettoize” residential development by limiting it to specific lots, the elected official recalled that, in its report, the OCPM had recommended high density “on a human scale” with local services and buffer zones for better cohabitation with the industrial sector. “We want people to be in safe, complete, healthy environments. Therefore, the most favorable sectors for development are essentially in the Peel Basin sector, otherwise, we are close to industrial activities. »
Other consultations are planned at the OCPM and real estate developers will have the opportunity to be heard, he recalled. “When they say they are gagged, it’s pure and simple demagoguery,” he explains. But in the end, the City does not work for developers. She works for the people. »
Robert Beaudry judges that the City’s plan presents a “balanced vision” for the development of the sector. “Who would want to sit in a room with two or three promoters and do a deal ? That’s not how it works anymore. If that’s their expectations, we’re going to disappoint them because today, it takes consultation. »
Open day
Eager to present their vision and to initiate a “major dialogue” with the population, real estate developers intend to hold an information day on May 31. “Citizens of the greater Montreal area will really see what is happening now and where the City is going,” commented Serge Goulet.