Uncertainty reigns over the future of a housing cooperative created in the mid-1980s to provide an affordable roof for dozens of tenants. The latter do not know if they will one day be able to return to their accommodation damaged by the fire which damaged the monastery of the Good Shepherd last Thursday.
“The first two, three days [après l’incendie], that was it. I couldn’t function and I said to myself: I was in heaven and I fell in hell,” says Alba Escobar, one of the founding members of the housing co-op Sourire à la vie, created in 1986. .
The 27-unit cooperative was in a building adjacent to the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, in front of which The duty met Thursday Mme Escobar, who couldn’t suppress tears as he gazed at the charred roof of the monastery. “Inside, it was wonderful,” says the one who hopes to one day be able to return to the heritage building, where she has forged many friendships over the years.
Since the May 25 fire, the tenants of the cooperative, which offered affordable rents and several large units, have been at an impasse.
Some of them are staying temporarily at the hotel, while the others have found refuge with relatives or friends. But none of them has yet found a permanent place to live until the reconstruction of the Ville-Marie borough building is completed. However, this could take several years, apprehend several tenants.
“We prioritize our members who are the most vulnerable to relocate them, but for the moment, there is no positive conclusion yet”, sighs Amélie Escobar, who presents herself as the spokesperson for this cooperative, where she had lived there for eight years before this fire disrupted his daily life.
The tenants of this cooperative paid affordable rents compared to the market average. Pascale Huberty, for example, was paying $831 a month for a two-bedroom apartment she had lived in for seven years with her daughter and her husband. The family is currently living in a relative’s apartment while waiting to find accommodation that meets their financial means.
“Lucky that I have a friend who offered me a room,” says Alba Escobar, who lives in the meantime with her son. The octogenarian is among the elderly tenants of the cooperative who are apprehensive about finding an apartment in this now expensive sector of the heart of the metropolis, where she built a new life for herself nearly 40 years ago after leaving her country of origin, Argentina. “It was my house,” she sighs.
The Federation of Cooperative Housing of Quebec (FHCQ) indicates for its part to have unearthed since Friday 25 housing units available in its efforts to help the coop Sourire à la vie. However, they do not all meet the needs of the organization’s tenants, specifies the general manager of the FHCQ, Patrick Préville. “But they are still quality co-ops,” adds the manager, who indicates that “the majority” of these are located in the greater Montreal area.
In addition to the Sourire à la vie cooperative, the Aurélie-Cadotte seniors’ residence, which has 38 apartments, was also affected by this fire. All of its tenants had to be evacuated. “There are many who are in panic because they are faced with total uncertainty. They don’t know where to go,” notes the manager of the premises, Matilde Fraga, who multiplies the calls to try to find accommodation for her former tenants.
An uncertain future
Amélie Escobar is also worried about the prospect that the Sourire à la vie housing coop will not be able to return to the Bon-Pasteur monastery after its reconstruction.
Since its creation, the organization has had an emphyteutic lease with the City that allows it to occupy the premises at an advantageous price, and thus be able to offer affordable housing to its residents. However, “will the initial vocation of the site be preserved after the reconstruction or not? We don’t know, ”raises the tenant.
“We want a co-op, so that there are no contractors who build condos at $3,000 a month,” says Pascale Huberty, who intends to “fight” to prevent such a situation from occurring.
In interview at Duty On Thursday, Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe reiterated the importance of rebuilding the Good Shepherd Monastery, which has a rich heritage value. The Legault government does not, however, undertake to help the organizations that were housed in this building to return to the premises at the end of this construction site. “We are assessing the extent of the damage. We also have to assess the reconstruction costs, because we are still talking about public money. And then it will be questions [le maintien d’une coopérative et d’une résidence de personnes âgées] which we can look into. »
“But it is certain that with the City of Montreal, we have this joint desire to be able to rebuild. Will it necessarily be identical to the old one? By definition, I think it’s impossible. But basically, there is this commitment that it remains a building of public utility and that we can save what there is to save, ”said Mr. Lacombe.
With Etienne Pare