The owner’s tour | Prestigious property in Venise-en-Québec

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

Eric Clement
Press

Pierre Parent, the former Quebec real estate developer to whom we owe in particular the Saint-Sulpice and Crystal hotels and the creation of the Montreal National Housing Show in 1979, decided to acquire a prestigious property in Laval-sur-le-Lac to spend his retirement. As a result, he is selling his large house in Venise-en-Québec. With regret, he said …

Pierre Parent bought, 20 years ago, a piece of land on Jameson Point, in Venise-en-Québec. A magnificent location, with large trees, on the edge of Missisquoi Bay, the northern part of Lake Champlain.

“I had the house built to have a place to come in the summer, but after two years, I ended up investing nearby, by building, with other investors, an inn, two restaurants. and cabins to which a cruise ship had been added, says Parent. A whole project, the Lake Champlain Cruises, which I was able to carry out with the mayor of Venise-en-Québec, Jacques Landry [qui tire sa révérence ce dimanche]. But here, I am also selling all that, ”says the former real estate developer.

Now 75 years old, the creator of the condo-hotel concept is divesting his real estate assets in Quebec and Europe to move to a new stage in his life, quieter, on the banks of the Rivière des Prairies. A beautiful and huge house on an 85,000 sq. Ft. Lot², he said. But he will deeply regret his property in Venise-en-Québec, to which he and his wife have been very attached.

“Because I love this corner of Quebec,” he adds. And our house had been built as I wanted it, with maximum comfort. Even Toto toilets! ”

A vast house with many attractions

The house is advertised by Royal LePage as having 19 rooms, but Pierre Parent prefers to speak of 15 rooms because, according to him, several large rooms are in fact made up of several small rooms. Huge, the master bedroom includes, for example, a small living room and a double wardrobe type walk-in.

The large kitchen, open to the living room and the dining room, has a gas stove and a large island. Every cook’s dream! The living room includes a wood-burning fireplace supplied directly by a log reserve located in the basement, according to a technique that Pierre Parent had found at “his” National Home Show.

“I had a kind of elevator made that cannot be seen, between the foyer and the cellar,” he says. It is a chest that looks like a decorative object but, in fact, the wood goes up in it thanks to a small motor! It keeps me from climbing up the woods from the cellar and dirtying the stairs! ”

Mr. Parent had also set up a splendid office, with a view of the bay. “This is where I’m writing a book about what I’ve been through,” he says. The property also has three heat pumps, one for the house and two for the swimming pools. With a dehumidification system that allows moisture to escape from the indoor pool.

With a heated floor, the veranda has a system of windows that open completely and removable mosquito screens. “It gives you a little fresh air in the summer and allows you to eat there from May to October,” says Mr. Parent. Otherwise, you can eat or relax on the terrace or in the garden. There is also a pavilion in the courtyard, with glazing and mosquito nets. Very handy when it is too windy. “You can eat and read there while having an exceptional view of the lake,” says the businessman.

Airs of Cannes

The tin roof of the house is in good condition. Its color reminds Mr. Parent and his wife of the colors of the Provençal tiles in Mougins, near Cannes, where he had a condo-hotel built in 2010. “It was in this spirit that I chose this color. , he said. But I also wanted to give a traditional character to the house, because they are also colors of Quebec. ”

The land of nearly 27,000 sq.² has sober landscaping and has never been inundated, says Parent, as it is raised above the village streets. “It is not in a flood zone,” he says.

“The neighborhood is very quiet,” adds Mr. Parent. It is very woody. There are beautiful walking trails. And the navigation is exceptional. From home, you can go anywhere in the world by boat! Via Lake Champlain, you can reach the canal that leads to New York or the Richelieu River that goes to the St. Lawrence. It is unique for boaters. And we must not forget that the summer is longer in Venise-en-Québec than anywhere else in Quebec… ”

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