The Villa-Maria estate, which has five buildings erected on a site with rich heritage and historical value in Montreal, will be put up for sale, learned The duty. The future of the land, which still houses several nuns, is uncertain, but the congregation that owns the place hopes that its educational vocation will be preserved in the long term.
The site in question notably includes the private colleges Villa Maria and Marianopolis, which respectively welcome high school and college level students. The Bonsecours residence, a long-term care center that houses dozens of nuns and employs several workers, for a total of 102 people, is also located on this estate. The latter, acquired in 1854 by the Congregation of Notre-Dame, also includes the Maison Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur, where 16 nuns live, as well as the administrative center of the organization.
“For us, the sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame, it is a heritage site to which we are very attached. We are very attached to this area because it has a lot of history, but the time has come to divest ourselves of it because management is becoming difficult”, sighs in an interview, Sister Francine Landreville, leader of the Marguerite-Bourgeoys province. for the religious congregation.
The organization has therefore decided to put this estate up for sale, at a time when the average age of the sisters still residing there is 86, learned The duty, who visited the premises last week. The nuns were made aware of the sale on Tuesday, ahead of an official announcement expected in a press release on Wednesday. “The management of this site is becoming a little too heavy for our capacities, so that’s what leads us to put the Villa-Maria estate up for sale”, confirms Mr.me Landreville, who remained in one of the buildings until 2009, before moving off site. “But I’ve been working there since 1980.”
“It’s an important page of history that is turning,” sighs at his side Sister Ona Bessette, who is Superior General of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame.
Putting the estate up for sale was not an easy decision to make, notes Francine Landreville, who points out that the Villa Maria and Marianopolis colleges have a rich history that bears witness to the educational mission historically undertaken by the religious congregation, at the origin of the creation of more than 340 schools in Quebec since 1658. “So on this large territory, there are two institutions which are important for us, which have a history in the congregation”, underlines the nun, warm, despite the sadness in her eyes. “It’s not easy to think that we have to give up the field, but also what it represents. »
A sale in seven years
The sale of the estate, once the buyer has been selected, will however only be effective in seven years, in accordance with the lease concluded by Villa Maria College with the religious congregation, which ends on July 31, 2030. Thus, all current students of the private secondary school and those who will be admitted in the fall of 2024 will be able to complete their studies in the current building.
Marianopolis College, which since 2007 has occupied a building constructed by the religious congregation in 1926, will be able to continue its activities on the site, since the non-profit organization that manages the college will acquire the building he currently occupies. “There is already an agreement concluded, we are waiting for an authorization from the Vatican”, confirms the executive director of the administration of finances of the congregation of Notre-Dame, Suzie Prince. Thus, “the school will remain sustainable”, she assures.
However, a shadow of uncertainty hangs over the future of the rest of the site. Will it be bought by a real estate developer who will build condominium apartment towers on this prime site, located between the borough of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and the related city of Westmount? Without being able to answer this question, Francine Landreville recalls that this site and some of its buildings have been the subject of several heritage declarations from the City of Montreal as well as from Quebec and Ottawa. It thus hopes that the public authorities will help the religious congregation to ensure that the vocation of the site and its buildings, which in some cases have significant architectural value, will be preserved.
“Personally, I would like it to retain an educational character,” says Ms.me Landréville. The nuns who will still live on this estate in seven years will be supported by the congregation, which will help them to be relocated to another environment that meets their needs. “With the age that the sisters are today, when the time comes to confirm the sale, there will be quite a few of us,” notes Francine Landreville, however.