The City of Longueuil plans to acquire the heritage buildings belonging to the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM), on rue Saint-Charles Est in Old Longueuil, in order to house community organizations and social economy enterprises. Ongoing discussions with the congregation could lead to the filing, as early as the fall, of an offer to purchase from the City.
The congregation, which has 122 nuns in Quebec, has wanted to sell the real estate complex for years, but not to just anyone, and it had set one condition: that the buyer retain the social and community mission of the place. Several real estate developers have expressed interest, admits Bernard Voyer, director general of the congregation of the Sisters of the SNJM. “But they didn’t stay interested for long. They weren’t encouraged. »
Last year, the Social Economy Pole of the Longueuil agglomeration had worked on a building acquisition plan, but the project could not materialize because of the excessive financial burden.
It is now the City of Longueuil that covets the buildings to ensure their preservation. “For us, it’s a question of responsibility with regard to our heritage in Longueuil,” explains Mayor Catherine Fournier, in an interview with the Duty. We are talking about the oldest buildings on our territory, which have seen many eras and history pass. For us, it is important to acquire the buildings to keep their social vocation. »
The City could file a purchase offer as early as this fall. Beforehand, however, she wants to make sure that the three heritage buildings are in good condition. The city council was to approve, Tuesday evening, the awarding of a $341,000 contract to the architectural firm Affleck de la Riva to carry out a heritage and dilapidation study.
Well maintained buildings
The building complex has three buildings, namely the Maison de la congrégation, whose construction dates from before the Conquest of 1760, as well as the Maison Marie-Rose Durocher and the Maison Notre-Dame, erected in the 19e century. Significant renovations were carried out in the 1980s to the interior spaces of the main building, with the exception of the chapel and a few rooms which have been renovated, but which have retained their heritage characteristics, underlines Bernard Voyer.
The Maison Jésus-Marie, where several nuns reside, is not part of the sale.
The preliminary analysis carried out by the engineers of the City reveals however that the buildings, which have been meticulously maintained by the nuns, are in very good condition, indicates Catherine Fournier. “It is certain that our purchase offer will be conditional on the results of the upcoming study. »
The mayor specifies that major work is not planned in the short term, except for the ventilation system, which will have to be replaced. As the archives of the nuns will be transferred, the vault could accommodate the archives of the City, adds the elected official.
Catherine Fournier expects the cost of acquiring the buildings to be around ten million dollars. “Maybe a little more,” she said. But the sisters do not want to sell the buildings to us at an exorbitant speculative price, but rather at their fair value, so that they end up in the hands of people who can take care of them for future generations. »
Co-management
The City would like the buildings to house community organizations, and with this in mind, it has partnered with the Social Economy Pole of the Longueuil agglomeration. Mayor Fournier even mentions the possibility of setting up a building co-management system with this organization.
Director General of the Pole, David Miljour underlines that the needs in terms of space are great, not only for community organizations, but also for cultural organizations. “It is difficult for cultural organizations and artists to have places where the rent is affordable. Purchasing by the City is therefore a strategic lever,” he says.
Mr. Miljour mentions that a dozen organizations have expressed interest in settling in the former convent. It also mentions the possibility of providing spaces for dissemination, in the chapel in particular, as well as a museum and a CPE. “There could be an intergenerational living environment with a social, cultural and economic pole. I think it could be a model that could be replicated elsewhere in Quebec. »