You don’t have to walk far down the streets of Sault-au-Récollet to come across people ready to say that the heritage potential of the neighborhood remains largely underestimated, despite the fact that this sector in the north of the city has been designated as a historic site by Quebec almost four years ago. The poor state of the old mill has already aroused indignation in the past, but this time it is the construction of a residence with hyper modern architecture that is causing the neighborhood to cringe.
“I know it’s not Old Montreal, but a lot of people don’t know Sault-au-Récollet. It is as if there is nothing left north of rue Jean-Talon. Sometimes when we are far away, we are forgotten”, laments Stéphane Tessier, a heritage interpreter who works among others at the Maison du Pressoir, the museum which traces the history of the district.
“An aberration” is how Mr. Tessier describes the construction of an opulent two-storey residence in the heart of the old village of Sault-au-Récollet, right next to an old 19th century house. . Started at the end of 2021, the site is not yet finished that already we can see that the architecture will swear enormously with the rest of the district, he is indignant.
“I was flabbergasted when I saw this! We can already see with the windows and the large volume of the house that it does not integrate at all. We will end up with a modern box. It will come to make a break in the landscape, ”continues the architect Jocelyn Duff, who lives close to there.
Very involved in the defense of built heritage in the district, Jocelyn Duff has no doubts about the good intentions of the owners. But he is offended that the municipal authorities have been able to give their approval to this project, when the sector has been classified as heritage since the beginning of the 90s and it was designated as a historic site in 2018.
He is now worried that this new residence will set a precedent, and that others will be tempted to build in the neighborhood without regard to the historic character of the place.
“Complementary Contrast”
Sault-au-Récollet is a unique corner on the island of Montreal. On Boulevard Gouin towards Montreal North, the small country-style houses give the impression of being in a village in the Côte-de-Beaupré or Portneuf rather than a 15-minute walk from the Henri-Bourassa station. .
Built in 1751, the Visitation-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie church is the oldest place of worship in the metropolis. Nearby, the Île-de-Visitation nature park contains remains that bear witness to what was one of the first settlements of settlers on the island of Montreal.
However, the district also bears the marks of the anarchic urbanism of the 60s and 70s. The unremarkable concrete and brick buildings are also now part of the decor.
For the Friends of the historic village of Sault-au-Récollet (AVHSR), the City is repeating the mistakes of the past by authorizing the construction of a residence with state-of-the-art architecture in the middle of the neighborhood.
But for the municipal councilor of the area, Jérôme Normand, this resolutely modern project is on the contrary an opportunity to highlight the heritage aspect of the houses all around. “A complementary contrast” is preferable to new constructions which would only be pastiches of the houses of yesteryear.
“You have to remember that it was a garage before at this location. Rather than having a parking lot in front, we will have a green space. The owners have made a lot of effort to arrange their project with the neighborhood,” notes Mr. Normand, who is convinced that the criticisms will be a thing of the past when residents can see the final product.
The oxymoron “complementary contrast” makes Dino Bumbaru, Policy Director at Heritage Montreal, smile. The fact remains that the construction of new buildings in sectors that are aging raises very serious issues.
“How to densify the old neighborhoods? I’m sure these are the kinds of questions that arise not only in Sault-au-Récollet, but also in Saint-Henri, in Outremont, on the Plateau… And there are no good answers. Otherwise, our work would be done by robots”, summarizes Dino Bumbaru.