Technoparc Montreal | A “sustainable” building planned in natural environments

The planned construction of the new head office of a company on the grounds of the Technoparc Montréal sheltering natural environments that the Plante administration had undertaken to protect has raised the concern of a group of citizens.

The project would lead to a “loss of biodiversity” and fragment the green spaces located north of the Montreal-Trudeau airport, deplores the Technoparc Oiseaux group, which is particularly concerned about the “complex of wetlands” located on the site. .

Hypertec, which describes itself as the largest manufacturer of technological products in Canada, says it is aware of the ecological value of the place and aims to build “the most sustainable project in the world”, told The Press its chief innovation and sustainability officer, Eliot Ahdoot.

“We take it really seriously,” he says, explaining that he wants to minimize the impact of the company’s possible presence on the land it acquired last April, which is made up of three contiguous lots located between chemin Saint-François and rue Alexander-Fleming.

“We don’t want to touch the wetlands [identifiées sur le site]if possible”, illustrates Mr. Ahdoot, adding that if it were to be necessary to do so, the company would compensate for the lost wetlands by restoring them “square foot by square foot” elsewhere on its land.

Hypertec is also committed to having more trees on the land after the construction of its 18,500 square meter (200,000 square foot) building than before, including installing a green roof with spaces nesting place for birds.

The company says it has commissioned specialized firms to carry out fauna and flora inventories on the site, in order to take the necessary measures to protect them.

“These are measures to ensure that we protect life and biodiversity on the site not only after construction, but also during construction,” adds Mr. Ahdoot.

The building, which is in the very early stages of planning and which has yet to obtain the required authorizations from the City of Montreal and the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks, also promises to use various green technologies: geothermal energy, solar energy, reuse of gray water or capture of rainwater.

Build elsewhere

The fact that Hypertec wants to build an ecological building “is not a game-changer,” replies Katherine Collin, of Technoparc Oiseaux, a group of citizens dedicated to defending Montreal’s wetlands and green spaces.

“Setting up a head office and mineralizing an already very fragile terrain is unacceptable,” she says. What they want to do is fragment a natural site. »

The land purchased by Hypertec is an old marsh, drained by a dike that the Technoparc Oiseaux group is campaigning to open, underlines Benoit Gravel, another member of the group.

Technoparc Oiseaux would like the City of Montreal to offer the company an exchange of land so that it can settle elsewhere; Hypertec says it had discussions with the City on this subject, but that the land proposed was too small for its needs.

The company ensures that its location will maintain biological connectivity between the natural environments located on both sides.

The objective is “not to raze everything”, but to keep as much green space as possible, assures Eliot Ahdoot. “We want to integrate with nature, not invade it. »

Protection initiated

Mayor Valérie Plante’s party had promised during the 2021 election campaign to protect the natural environments of Technoparc Montréal, recalls the group Technoparc Oiseaux, which deplores the “little progress” made in this regard.

“Our commitment is clear: to protect biodiversity south of the Technoparc by expanding the Sources nature park,” reiterated the vice-president of the executive committee, Caroline Bourgeois, in a written statement sent to The Press.

“We have been very proactive in this regard in the last few months,” she adds, stressing that we have protected land belonging to the City.

However, it did not explain why the City did not protect the private land or why it did not take advantage of the right of first refusal it has on a second land purchased by Hypertec in April – the company explains the having bought from the same owner as the first, who wanted to sell the whole thing.

This second land, for which Hypertec says it has no development project, adjoins the Champ des Monarques, another natural environment belonging to the federal government, which has been the subject of various controversies in recent years with the construction projected then canceled from a factory of the Medicom company or its mowing by Aéroports de Montréal, current tenant of the premises.