Andy Riga, The GazettePublished: Thursday, November 22 2007
Don't be so negative and don't let this one slip by.
That was the message to Montrealers yesterday from Mayor Gerald Tremblay, who urged people to keep an open mind about a $1.3-billion residential-and-commercial project that aims to revitalize Griffintown, a run-down area at the foot of Peel St., between downtown and the Lachine Canal.
Described as one of the biggest private investments in Montreal history, the project, whose details were outlined yesterday, would include 3,830 residential units, retail outlets, a concert hall and a network of parks and public spaces.
Tremblay, who wholeheartedly supports the project, said he fears a backlash similar to the one that scuttled a $1.1-billion Loto-Quebec/Cirque du Soleil plan to build a casino and entertainment complex in the nearby Peel Basin last year.
"We must move beyond this type of inertia," Tremblay said of the negative reaction to the casino project.
"It is time we stop adopting such negative attitudes since it is only normal that in a major metropolis like Montreal that we should be able to at least explore projects that can have a positive impact on the social, cultural and economic development of our city."
Tremblay made the comments at a press conference at which he announced the city supports the project and that the South-West borough will hold public consultations on it in February. The city hopes to approve the project in April.
If that happens, the developer - Devimco, the company behind the DIX30 shopping centre in Brossard - says construction would begin in 2009, with completion within eight to 10 years.
At a separate press conference, Serge Goulet, co-president of Devimco, said the company has consulted for months with people who live, work and own businesses in the borough.
To deal with concerns it heard, it included more residential units (almost two-thirds of the floor space), added parks and public spaces (a total of 600,000 square feet), reduced the number of large stores included in the project (they would now make up less than a quarter of retail space) and moved parking underground (there would be 5,000 paid spots). It's also counting on the city's proposed tramway linking Griffintown to downtown and Old Montreal to alleviate traffic.
The project would feature several towers ranging from 10 to 24 storeys; the tallest building would be a hotel overlooking the Lachine Canal, which would have 32 floors.
To allay concerns of heritage activists, the developer said it will protect 12 structures (including the New City Gas and Crathern & Caverhil buildings) in the area, the former heart of the city's Irish community.
Two other buildings of historical value will be moved; another four will be demolished and partially rebuilt.
The area to be developed is currently home to 47 people, most of whom live in housing on Mountain St. that will not be affected by the project.
The developer wouldn't say how much of the land it already owns or has options to buy. But it said about 50 property owners own land in the area. Company co-president Jean-Francois Breton said enough deals with property owners are in place to leave the company confident that it will be able to buy all the land needed and won't have to ask the city to expropriate land.
Devimco and the city still have some convincing to do.
Pierre Morrissette, head of the Regroupement economique et social du Sud-Ouest, said his group's members - borough businesses, residents, community groups and unions - are reserving judgment until the public hearings.
They'll raise concerns about increased car traffic, how public transit will be integrated into the project and the amount of low-income housing included.
He said 800 people currently work in the area and the developer has given his group assurances it will ensure that many of the 4,330 permanent jobs to be created in the development will go to borough residents.
It's unclear how the area's heritage will be preserved, said Heritage Montreal's Dinu Bumbaru. Saving buildings isn't enough, he said. "There's the street pattern, the scale on the street, the character of the buildings, the views - of the Lachine Canal and the Five Roses sign, for example," he said.
Bumbaru wondered why the borough will hold the public consultation, rather than the city's independent Office de consultation publique. "This sounds like it's going to be a little kitchen meeting over a billion-dollar project," he said.
Downtown merchants, for their part, fear the project will pull people away from businesses on and around Ste. Catherine St., said Andre Poulin, executive director of Destination Centre-Ville, which represents downtown retailers.
"Instead of coming to Ste. Catherine St., people will go there - a brand new development," he said. "People working downtown will jump on the tramway and in a couple of minutes be there for lunch."
The city says it doesn't expect the Griffintown project will affect downtown. Tremblay pointed to a report the city commissioned from HEC Montreal marketing professor Jacques Nantel. He was asked to review a study the developer commissioned of the project's impact.
Nantel concluded Griffintown will probably not affect downtown businesses. He noted stores there are losing customers to suburban malls, with remaining downtown customers taking public transit and shopping on foot. Griffintown retailer would cater to different shoppers - those in cars.
This is the link of the group Save GrifinTown
This is the link of more pictures
