The Tanguay Group was ready to take advantage of its entry into the Council of Ministers to accelerate the file of the sale of Maison Chevalier in its favor. This is, among other things, what we learn from the emails written in the months preceding this controversial transaction between this private developer and the Musée de la civilization, which until then owned the heritage building in Old Quebec.
Under the Access to Information Act, The duty was able to consult a series of exchanges that the Museum had in this file, in particular with Nicolas Maltais, vice-president of the real estate division of the Tanguay Group. The latter wrote on June 17 to Louis-Yves Nollin, the director of finance and operations of the Museum, to inform him that he was “disappointed” to have to wait so long before the sale of the Maison Chevalier was officially. government approved. “I expected it to be long, but not at this point … Especially since in fact, the ministry authorized this sale. We have some good contacts at the Council of Ministers and at the Ministry of Culture. Do you think that we could make some calls to advance this presentation to the Council of Ministers? »Asks the vice-president of the real estate branch of Groupe Tanguay.
Contacted by The duty, Nicolas Maltais did not respond to our interview request, indicating that he did not remember having written this email. On the side of the cabinet of the Minister of Culture, Nathalie Roy, we swear that we had no discussion with anyone from the Tanguay Group during the sales process, which began at the end of 2020.
The displeasure
The Council of Ministers finally gave its approval on September 22 to the acquisition of Maison Chevalier by Gestion 1608, a real estate sector created by the Tanguay Group especially to manage this building, we learn from documents made public by the Museum.
This transaction aroused discontent in the following weeks among many defenders of the built heritage, saddened to see the last house in Place Royale open to the general public fall into the hands of private interests. Despite everything, the transaction between the Museum and the Tanguay Group was sealed at the end of October for $ 2.2 million, which roughly corresponds to the real estate value, but which is below the market value. The documents provided by the Musée de la civilization confirm that the market value of the Maison Chevalier was rather estimated at an amount between 2.4 and 2.6 million dollars.
From the moment the Tanguay Group wants to make renovations, it will have to ask permission from the Minister of Culture. But there are no precise criteria to judge.
“That it is valued at 2.4 and that it is sold at 2.2, for me, it is not a scandal. Since the start of the pandemic, it has really not been easy in the office building market, and in addition, it is not a sector that is very popular. The promoter will surely have to suffer losses at the beginning, because he will not be able to rent all the spaces ”, however wished to qualify Steeve Cassidy, chartered appraiser for DeRico experts-conseils, in an interview with the To have to. Mr. Cassidy produced an assessment of Maison Chevalier in 2018, when the Musée de la civilization first announced its intention to dispose of this heritage building, which has been in the public domain since 1956.
In 1986, Quebec entrusted the Maison Chevalier to the Musée de la civilization, which for a long time used it as an exhibition hall. However, the public institution had considered for several years the old house as too obsolete for its activities.
Heritage issue
Asked again on the subject on Friday, the Museum reiterated that it had made the right decision by selling the house to Groupe Tanguay for $ 2.2 million. “The assessment of the market value of the property [ne tient pas] account for the costs of restoring the building envelope. The sale price takes into account the work that must be carried out in the short term on the building, in particular with regard to the repair of the exterior envelope, ”it was specified by email.
About $ 2.2 million: this is also the amount that the City of Quebec was ready to put to acquire the Maison Chevalier in 2018, but the project finally aborted. The Quartier Petit-Champlain cooperative, an association of traders in the sector that defends heritage, had also expressed its interest, before learning last May that another buyer had come forward.
The Tanguay Group now intends to make Maison Chevalier the head office for its real estate activities, at the same time committing to respect the rules governing heritage constructions. “Maison Chevalier has the highest possible heritage protection. The protection requirements remain the same regardless of the owner. All work or modifications to the building must be authorized by the State, ”Minister Roy’s office reiterated on Friday.
However, for lawyer Antoine Leduc, the protections provided for in the Cultural Heritage Act remain largely insufficient. “From the moment the Tanguay Group wants to make renovations, it will be forced to ask permission from the Minister of Culture. But there are no precise criteria to judge. Who will the minister rely on to decide what happens or what does not? And even if the Tanguay Group decides to waive it, there is nothing in the law which obliges it to put the building back as before ”, worries Mr.e Leduc, convinced that selling the building to a private company was a mistake.