The Alfred-Ernst house, a residence in Quebec with exceptional heritage value, escapes for the moment the demolition desired by its owners. The Ministry of Culture had however authorized its dismantling in 2018, before doing an about-face and opposing the disappearance of the house erected in the 19th century.e century.
The small red brick residence with a mansard roof, located at 1125 rue de l’Amérique-Française, represents one of the vestiges of the faubourg Saint-Louis, a neighborhood of low incomes that a fire largely ravaged in 1876. The flames had reduced to ashes 411 houses; only the Bon-Pasteur convent had been able to resist the blaze.
It was after the disaster, between 1877 and 1879, that the typographer Alfred Ernst would have had his house built in the suburb. This district, now located in the shadow of the Grand Théâtre and the Le Concorde hotel, saw office buildings grow from the 1970s, when the State began to erect towers in the area to house its expanding public service. Amidst the large administrative and residential buildings of the area, the one-and-a-half-storey residence stands in contrast.
Today, the fate of the century-old house rests in the hands of the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec (TAQ), which must settle a dispute between the owners of the residence and the Ministry of Culture and Communications (MCCQ). The decisions of the TAQ in this file, first brought to light by The sunreveal some parts of this saga that dates back to 2018.
Ministry flip-flop
The Alfred-Ernst house seemed doomed to disappear four years ago. On November 27, 2018, the ministry had authorized its complete demolition and only the permit from the City of Quebec was missing for the woodpeckers to start the job.
The City specifies that in March 2021, the Commission d’urbanisme et de conservation de Québec (CUCQ) refused the demolition of the house. For the commission to authorize the dismantling, it would have been necessary that the structure of the building be irrecoverable, that it presents a danger to public safety, that the architectural or historical value of the house is null or that it harms the sector.
The City emphasizes having “inspected the exterior of the building a few times in recent years”. However, she did not inspect the interior of the Alfred-Ernst house, which remained inhabited in 2020, according to the directory of built heritage in Quebec.
The Ministry of Culture requested the opinion of the Cultural Heritage Council on April 27, 2021, concerning work to be carried out at the Alfred-Ernst house. A month later, on June 25, the MCCQ confirmed its volte-face and informed the owners of its intention not to renew the demolition authorization.
The ministerial authorities are instead asking that a construction site be set in motion to ensure the sustainability of the building. “The Alfred-Ernst house should be the subject of restoration work in order to ensure its preservation”, writes the ministry, according to the report which appears in a decision of the administrative court dated February 10, 2022.
Since then, the owners have challenged the ministry’s decision, stipulating that the entire building “must be demolished, as appears from the expert reports they have obtained”. Mr. Michel and M.me Chalifour did not respond to the interview request of the To have to. Neither does the Ministry of Culture.
The most recent TAQ decision in this case dates back to October 3. In it, the two owners “challenged a review decision of April 14, 2022 from the ministry […] refusing the demolition of the Alfred-Ernest house”.
The fate of the century-old residence now remains in the hands of the administrative court, which has not yet decided on the demolition of the Alfred-Ernst house.