Filming location for several Quebec films, the former Saint-Ours convent has been on sale for two and a half years, and could remain so for a long time. Because even if it arouses the envy of defenders of religious heritage with its unique cachet, potential buyers are not jostling at the gate. Too big, too expensive, too old, the convents outside the big cities are struggling to find a new vocation.
“There is an entrepreneur who once told me that it would be better to put in the shovel than to buy it, and I believe him. It could make a nice residence for the elderly, but it would be a big investment to put sprinklers and equip the building with emergency exits to meet the standards ”, laments Marc Vaillancourt, the owner of the former convent of Saint -Bear.
This huge four-storey building, built in 1897 on the banks of the Richelieu River, near Sorel-Tracy, is known to have been used for the filming of Augustine’s passione, crowned best-their film at the Gala du cinema québécois in 2016. Recently, we could also see it in the Club Vinland, and discussions are underway for a new shoot later this year.
Almost entirely preserved with its twenty rooms, its furniture of yesteryear and its old chapel, the former convent of the Sisters of the Presentation is obviously ideal for recreating scenes from the time. Marc Vaillancourt is keen on this aesthetic, he who acquired the building in 2004 to make it his second home, for fear that a promoter will distort it in the name of modernity.
He still dreams of finding someone who shares his conviction to pass the torch to him. “It would take three to four investors who come together to divide it. They could keep part of it open to the public, because in reality religious heritage belongs to Quebec. We don’t have castles like in Europe, but it’s important to try to preserve what little we have, ”insists this 77-year-old veterinarian in semi-retirement.
At his age, the interview becomes more and more of a burden, but Marc Vaillancourt says he is ready to wait before finding the rare pearl.
No need
At nearly $ 2.5 million, the mayor of Saint-Ours, Sylvain Dupuis, doubts, however, that the former convent will find a buyer at this price. One thing is certain, the City does not intend to acquire it, even if it wants to preserve this jewel.
“It would be a nasty scar in our landscape if this building were to disappear, especially since some of the people in Saint-Ours went to school there and are therefore attached to it. But the City cannot buy everything. We have no needs, we are already amply served by our current municipal facilities, ”explains the chief magistrate of this community of barely 1,600 souls.
The case of Saint-Ours is not unique. Outside the big cities, we have all the difficulties in the world to give a second life to convents once the religious communities leave them. In urban areas, it’s a whole different story, as old convents are often transformed into condos or affordable housing.
“In the regions, safeguarding heritage involves small buildings. Big buildings, like convents or churches, are much more difficult, unless there is a really special project. In a 40-room convent, you can’t make an inn with ten rooms, ”illustrates Olivier Maurice, a real estate broker who specializes in the resale of religious heritage.
The problem is, everyone wants to save the heritage, but no one wants to put the money in it.
Mr. Maurice maintains that we must resolve not to be able to save everything. Too often, he says, municipalities buy their religious heritage at a lower cost in the hope of safeguarding it, to no avail.
“There are municipalities that wait for the value to drop to buy their church back for a nominal sum. Except that if there is no other function to give to the building, we are no further ahead. We will put plywood in the windows, the building will remain empty for years, and it will wither away. The problem is that everyone wants to save the heritage, but no one wants to put the money in it, ”he says.
For sale for 10 years
At the Lac-au-Saumon convent, in the Matapedia valley, we still hope that someone will want to put their hand in their pocket to take over this imposing building built in the early 1940s. The Congregation of the Servants of Notre-Dame -Reine-du-Clergé has been trying by all means to sell her convent for ten years, when the place started to become much too large for what it was used for. Of 250 nuns in the heyday, there are only 25 left today, and the average age is close to 90 years.
“What we want is for it to last. We do not want to sell and see in two years that the project has not worked and that the convent is forced to close its doors. Of course, we would like there to be care to continue our mission, but we are also open to any commercial project that conforms to our values ”, specifies Sister Chantal Blouin, the general treasurer of the congregation, which asks 3.7 million for the building.
The nuns see it as their last chance, they who were ready for their convent to pass under the peak of wreckers last month, before new brokers restart the process.
In Saint-Ours, we hope not to make it that far, but who can guarantee it?