The owner’s tour | From its viewpoint, a long-term view

Owners open the doors of their exceptional homes to us, offered on the resale market

Stone by stone, piece by piece, André Santerre patiently set up his project located in the Charlevoix astrobleme area. After having devoted 12 years of his life to it, he is now looking for a successor, aware and convinced that it will be someone like him, that is to say “passionate about sustainable development, self-sufficiency, nature, space, freedom.” “Because with us, it’s a bit like that,” he warns, before presenting his property, truly unique on the market.

In 2008, when he passed the 50-year mark, Mr. Santerre acquired this immense land (approximately 1 million square feet, or more than 100,000 m^⁠2) of the municipality of Saint-Urbain. Trees, nature, and a potential view of the region’s mountains, formed by a meteorite impact from time immemorial… He takes into account all the parameters of the environment to begin his project, which he however, wants to mature over time, step by step. To the municipal services, who would like to know what to expect and ask for an overall plan, he responds, while committing to avoiding minor exceptions: “I can give you plans, but where do I will I be there in 10 years? I do not know ! »

Don’t think that the new owner is improvising, because it’s actually the exact opposite. An engineer now retired, he spent a long time on each level, each detail, not hesitating to solicit professionals and specialists from all walks of life before putting his ideas into action, focused on agrotourism and food self-sufficiency.

The first stone to be laid will be the renovation of the small house already erected on the land, which will first serve as a home, before becoming, a little later, accommodation for friends and family. But it is rather the second chapter which inaugurates the vision of the host, with the construction of a watchtower dwelling perched above the trees. “I had in mind to give myself a view of the Charlevoix mountains and one of the oldest craters in Quebec. I made a 40-foot pole, equipped with a camera, to get an idea of ​​the viewing angles and decide where to position the viewpoint, then integrate the rest of the buildings,” explains Mr. Santerre.

Once the ideal location has been found, a 20-foot by 20-foot unit is built on the ground, before being hoisted to the top of a wooden tower. And anyone who has reservations about the solidity of the structure is clearly unaware of the engineer’s zeal: scrupulously respecting construction standards, it was assembled from Douglas fir wood, an extremely resistant material, and anchored at 22 feet deep, in addition to having been designed to resist winds and seismic tremors. “In fact, only one of the columns of the structure could support the building installed at the top,” warns the owner, who had his calculations validated by a specialist colleague.

The viewpoint was completed in 2010, and André Santerre took up residence there, since it is an independent dwelling, with kitchen, bathroom and all amenities. “The sun in the windows started my days in an extraordinary way,” he remembers. From up there, leaning on a balustrade, he tries to imagine the rest of the project.

Greenhouse and services

The rest will be in the form of a four-season greenhouse, growing at the foot of the tower, in collaboration with agronomists from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ). The objective? Know at what cost, particularly in terms of energy, food autonomy could be achieved; a challenge met with flying colors, according to his calculations, with the help of summer tomatoes and winter spinach.

Added to this is a new main building, still on the ground, equipped with a dining room, bedroom, terrace, and above all an impressive kitchen, designed with the advice of three chefs, and equipped with a wood-fired oven. . Very strict on standards, the owner indicates that MAPAQ standards are also respected there, just as in the cold room set up in the solid rock.

Equally meticulous care was taken in the layout, thanks to the intervention of architects and interior designers, which is evident both inside (windows, unusual frames, combination of stones and wood) and ‘outside, particularly by observing the tangled roofs. “One of my architect friends helped me at the beginning to move away from what we call standard walls and roofs, while respecting the regulations,” underlines Mr. Santerre, who also admits to having been very influenced by the renowned Frank Lloyd Wright. “It’s incredible what this man had in mind. I looked at his different projects, I took samples of ideas and finally mixed three or four or ten, which resulted, among other things, in these crisscross roofs,” he says.

Bright entrepreneur wanted

Apart from the residential side, the entire area clearly represents commercial potential, the zoning having been modified for this purpose.

He himself had taken steps in this direction. Until 2020 sapped its momentum.

Today, things are back on track, but the retiree is 65 years old. “Do I really want to put five years of energy into getting the project off the ground? I will be 70 years old. At one point, I said to myself that this is a damn great project for someone who, like me when I arrived there, at the end of my forties, wants to continue its development in the same direction,” he explains, saying he is ready to support his successor, whom he sees as coming from the field of tourism and endowed with environmental sensitivity, to relaunch this chain integrated with agrotourism sauce; including area for livestock, aviary, fruit trees, vines, greenhouse and gardens, etc. “I would like that, in 5 or 10 years, to see that someone has taken this further and is living from the same passion. And also see that I didn’t do that for nothing,” said the Charlevoisian.

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