A major building project in the heart of the devitalized area of the Latin Quarter cannot begin before the ultimate tenant of the premises agrees to leave, warned this week the mayor of Montreal.
Mondev wants to build a 16-storey, 176-unit residential tower at the corner of Saint-Hubert and Sainte-Catherine streets, in front of Place Émilie-Gamelin. The sector has been making headlines for months because of the social crisis there.
But the developer has come up against a major problem for months: a tenant, Carla White, who lives in a modest apartment in a building slated for demolition, stubbornly refuses to leave. She turned down a check for $20,000 and a nicer apartment for just $400 a month, according to the company, which says it’s at the end of its tether.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, PRESS ARCHIVES
The mayoress of Montreal and the borough of Ville-Marie, Valérie Plante
” It is [un projet] important, like all other projects. But in our conditions, there is that of agreeing, of finding a solution for the tenant, said Valérie Plante on the sidelines of a press conference on Thursday. Our condition remains. She’s there. »
The mayor called on Mondev to “hear the concerns” of Ms.me White.
Dead end
Michael Owen, co-director of the company, assured that his teams have been talking to the tenant for a long time, but that they have now reached an impasse.
She doesn’t want to know anything. We’ve been talking to him for years.
Mondev co-head Michael Owen on tenant Carla White
“She wants a penthouse with a view of downtown, a view to the west. A large terrace. These are completely unreasonable requests, in our opinion,” Mr. Owen said in a telephone interview. According to him, the tenant sees the situation as “a Lotto 6/49 ticket”.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE DEMOLITION REQUESTS STUDY COMMITTEE OF THE VILLE-MARIE BOROUGH
Overview of the 16-storey building that Mondev wants to build at the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Hubert streets
The businessman is worried about the possibility that this situation will lead to “significant delays in the project”. “There is a housing crisis, there are a lot of people who need housing,” he said. Why stop or slow down a project that can bring 176 new homes for 176 people, just because it doesn’t want to move? »
The case is now before the Administrative Housing Tribunal.
“Housing stability”
Me Manuel Johnson will represent the interests of Carla White there.
He argued that his client simply wanted to achieve long-term residential stability and that his client’s position was being over-portrayed by Mondev.
According to him, the apartment he was offered had security issues and did not offer the same outdoor space as his current accommodation.
“She’s still interested in having a place,” said Ms.e Johnson. Now the $20,000 offer is a no. This is not enough to give him housing stability for more than a year or a year and a half. The $20,000 she’s going to put in the pockets of another owner. Housing available now in Montreal is $1000, $1500. »
Above all, the lawyer wants to reframe the debate: it is not Carla White who will benefit financially from the real estate project proposed by Mondev, he underlines. It’s Mondev.
“I assume they’re going to make millions in profit,” he said. Revitalization: yes. But it has to benefit everyone, not just a small handful of people. »
Plante will speak on Tuesday
As mayoress of the borough of Ville-Marie, Valérie Plante will have to decide on the project on Tuesday. The demolition review committee authorized Mondev to demolish the buildings currently on the site – including the building of the emblematic Da Giovanni restaurant – but this decision is now the subject of an appeal before elected officials.
“Indigenous communities, housing committees, the LGBTQ+ community, student associations at UQAM and Cégep du Vieux-Montréal as well as community organizations must be consulted and have a right of veto, supports the appeal letter . If all these groups agree, then the project must be submitted to a referendum. »
Borough officials recommend that elected officials reject this appeal and confirm the green light for demolition.
However, Michael Owen does not understand why the demolition request study committee has established that an agreement with Mr.me White was to be one of the conditions that had to be met before the current buildings could be destroyed. The by-law on demolition already provides that a developer must compensate a tenant who loses his dwelling or demonstrate that he negotiated in good faith to do so. “What I understand from the City’s by-law is that we have to demonstrate our good faith, and I think we have done that,” he said.
Revitalization of the district: UQAM and merchants are getting impatient
Projects need to come out of the ground quickly to give new life to the east of downtown Montreal, plead the management of UQAM and traders in the sector, who are growing impatient with the current slump.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The rector of UQAM intends to create a vice-rectorate dedicated to the revitalization of the east end of downtown Montreal, in particular the area around Place Émilie-Gamelin.
The new rector of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) even wants to add a member to his staff to deal specifically with this issue, learned The Press.
The district “has lost its luster, it’s undeniable”, argued in a telephone interview the rector Stéphane Pallage, appointed last April. “There are very visible elements of concern, for example on the side of Place Émilie-Gamelin. It is clear that the neighborhood really needs a revitalization. »
PHOTO ÉMILIE TOURNEVACHE, FROM THE UQAM WEBSITE
Stéphane Pallage was appointed rector of UQAM last April.
Mr. Pallage did not want to comment specifically on the Mondev project at the corner of Saint-Hubert and Sainte-Catherine streets, claiming not to know it well. But “there are construction sites that have been there for some time and which are dragging on, it is certain that this is detrimental to the vitality of the district”, he said.
Abandoned places are never good in a neighborhood. It hurts the image.
Stéphane Pallage, rector of UQAM
The problems of this sector of Montreal, straddling the Latin Quarter and the Village, are so important to Mr. Pallage that he wishes to devote a new department to it.
“I decided that I was going to create, within UQAM, a vice-rectorate dedicated to the revitalization of the district with really this mission of coordinating the expertise that we have in our various departments”, he said. said. This new entity will not get involved in real estate, promised Mr. Pallage, but will try to see how UQAM can contribute to the revival of the sector.
“Great impatience”
Village business people would also like things to progress in this area of Montreal.
Gabrielle Rondy, director of the Village’s Business Development Corporation (SDC), directly expressed her impatience with Mondev’s 16-story tower project.
“There is really a great impatience, she said. This is the start of the revitalization of the Village which involves a major project. The wait hurts at the western entrance to the Village, with vacant premises and abandoned premises. We can’t wait for the project to follow its course and for us to move on to the next stage with the demolition. »
For her, the real estate developer’s major investment in the sector could lead to a virtuous circle.
When there is investment, when there is construction, it shows that the neighborhood is important. I think it will send a positive message to everyone. The industry needs it. He needs more.
Gabrielle Rondy, Director of the Village Business Development Corporation
Mme Rondy said she was disappointed by the shelving of Mondev’s project on the land across St. Hubert Street, due to rising interest rates. The SDC would like to convince the real estate developer to authorize it to better dress the vacant premises on this land pending its development.