Accustomed to attracting a chorus of praise, the company dedicated to the establishment of student accommodation UTILE is facing the first wave of opposition in its history these days, while it is trying to bring out of land three towers of more than 12 floors in Montreal.
Neighbors of his projects in Griffintown and the “McGill Ghetto” express criticism of the arrival of these tall buildings in their neighborhood.
“Griffintown is not downtown Montreal. » “There is already a serious shortage of on-street parking. » “Absence of any form of public consultation. »
Concerns about the 18-story tower project, near the corner of Notre-Dame and Robert-Bourassa, were raised during the South-West borough council this week.
For its part, the 17-story building project in an already densely built sector of the McGill Ghetto attracted a harsh open letter from an architecture professor at the University of Montreal, holder of the chair UNESCO in urban landscape. The project “takes us back to modern urban planning from the 1960s: designed and built without regard for a neighborhood and its history,” wrote Shin Koseki at the end of January.
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY UTILE
17-story tower project on Durocher Avenue, in the McGill Ghetto
Only the 13-story project which is to replace the Les Katacombes bar, at the corner of Ontario Street and Saint-Laurent Boulevard, does not seem to cause any dissatisfaction.
Accommodate 1000 people
Élise Tanguay is director of public affairs at UTILE. In an interview, she confirms that the social economy company founded 12 years ago expected to generate reactions by launching into high-rise development projects.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Benoit Dorais, responsible for Housing on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, and Élise Tanguay, director of public affairs at UTILE
“It’s normal that there are apprehensions, questions from people,” she argued, seated on the ground floor of a UTILE student residence built on Papineau Avenue. The building is five stories tall, in line with other projects carried out by the social economy company so far.
But “the height of the housing crisis” which is currently raging calls – precisely – for high-rise projects, according to her. Even if it means angering some people. “If we wait to have absolute consensus on all projects all the time, we won’t do any affordable housing projects anywhere. »
“We recently saw students using resources for homelessness, which are not supposed to be intended for these people,” noted M.me Tanguay.
This calls for ambitious solutions. We think that the type of projects we are carrying out at the moment make it possible to respond to the scale of this crisis.
Élise Tanguay, director of public affairs at UTILE
“We are talking, with these three projects, of a total of 1,000 people who will have access to housing,” she continued.
Opponents resistant to change, according to Benoit Dorais
At the heart of the dissatisfaction of opponents of UTILE projects: the law grants an exemption from public consultations to all social housing projects in Montreal. UTILE residences fall into this category and cannot be blocked by referendum, for example. Critics feel muzzled.
This protection is still relevant, argued the head of Housing to the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Benoit Dorais. Informed by UTILE of the holding of an interview with The Pressthe elected official chose to be present to defend the projects on the table.
As mayor of the South-West borough, it is Benoit Dorais who chairs the borough councils where we hear criticism against the 18-storey tower project in Griffintown. The project will swallow up a building of heritage interest, lead to the demolition of a garage and block the view of residents of downtown Montreal. “We have people who are [réfractaires] zoning changes,” he reported, adding, however, that most concerns could be resolved.
These are hyper professional people, who are not just going to arrive (as often unfortunately promoters) with a project saying that it is the best in town and who want to shove it down your throat.
Benoit Dorais, mayor of the South-West district
His colleague Luc Rabouin heard similar criticisms at the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough council, which includes the McGill Ghetto. “The immediate neighbors are concerned, obviously, because we are building a 17-story tower,” he commented at a press briefing in early February. But, “right next door, there are buildings that have 19 floors. It’s not a tower that we build in the middle of the Plateau surrounded by duplexes.” “We support the project,” he said.