The Manoir Lafontaine, a residential building that has become a symbol of the fight against renovations in Montreal, has just been officially sold to an organization that will provide affordable housing there.
Property company Hillpark signed a deed of sale on Tuesday afternoon to officially hand over the 14-story tower to developer and social manager Interloge, it has learned. The Press.
“We’re turning the page,” said Jeremy Kornbluth, co-owner of Hillpark with Brandon Shiller, in an interview. ” All’s well That ends well. I look to the future. »
With his partner, they had triggered an outcry in the spring of 2021 by trying to evict the residents of the building in order to carry out major work there. Several of the tenants were paying rent well below market value, due to the age of their lease. Politicians and demonstrators took turns in front of the building to denounce the behavior of the owners.
Interloge, which enjoys significant support from the City of Montreal, also estimates that it will be necessary to empty the tower of 91 apartments to renovate it from top to bottom. Only 13 households still reside there and are currently being met by the organization, said the director general of the Interloge, Louis-Philippe Myre.
“We are currently working to relocate the tenants so that we can carry out substantial renovation work,” he said in a telephone interview.
There was an injustice to be corrected and there are not many non-profit organizations that have the capacity to carry out this type of transaction.
Louis-Philippe Myre, general manager of the Interloge organization
“The costs and the difficulties of coming up with a project ourselves” convinced the two businessmen to sell the Manoir Lafontaine rather than execute their initial plan, indicated Mr. Kornbluth.
“I think maybe the building had another fate. »
The city at work
MM. Kornbluth and Myre confirm it: it was the City of Montreal that was in charge of ensuring that the Manoir Lafontaine was transformed into a long-term affordable housing building. She played the role of matchmaker between Interloge and the businessmen.
Montreal has also paid 5.6 million in non-refundable grants to the organization to enable it to complete its financial package.
“When there is a political will that supports this type of transaction, it is always easier to carry out the project”, indicated the boss of Interloge in an interview.
On Tuesday, Manoir Lafontaine was sold for 18 million, while MM. Kornbluth and Shiller had paid him 15 million in 2019.
“It’s the best amount we’ve managed to negotiate,” commented Mr. Myre. In recent months, the Manoir Lafontaine had been posted on the site of a commercial real estate broker for a price of 28 million.
The building will require massive investments in the coming years. A 2021 municipal inspection report had determined that it was in very poor condition, with water seepage almost on every floor.
“I had pleasant surprises on the condition of the facade, I feared that it was much more problematic than what the inspection revealed”, consoled Louis-Philippe Myre. “But the state of the accommodation and common areas is very dilapidated. Very old. »
Manoir Lafontaine was erected in 1966 to serve as a residence for the World’s Fair the following year. It was then transformed into a hotel, before becoming a residential building.
Interloge has been a charity that has been active since 1978. Its housing stock includes more than 730 accommodation units “whose rents are significantly below market prices”, indicates its website. “These dwellings are rented in priority and in large majority to households living below the low income threshold before tax. »
Brandon Shiller and Jeremy Kornbluth are prominent real estate owners in Greater Montreal. As of 2021, they owned at least 800 apartments in the metro area. Their methods of transforming dilapidated buildings into luxury accommodation have been repeatedly criticized by the courts.