"Montreal Racecourse Redevelopment: GALOPH Committee's Plan for 6000 Housing Units"

2023-05-29 15:58:44

Quebec, Ottawa and Montreal will participate in the development of the business plan leading to the development of the land of the former Montreal racecourse, property of the city since 2017.

Posted at 11:58 a.m.

With its 46 hectares, it is one of the largest uncontaminated vacant lots on the island of Montreal conducive to home construction at a time when the scarcity of new homes is resulting in a vacancy rate for rental units. to the floor and rapidly increasing rents.

Ministers Pierre Fitzgibbon, responsible for the Metropolis, and France-Élaine Duranceau, responsible for housing, moved to Saidye-Bronfman Park in the Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough on Monday morning to announce , in the company of Mayor Valérie Plante, the creation of GALOPH: Acceleration Group for the Optimization of the Hippodrome Project, made up of about fifteen partners from all walks of life, including the three levels of government.

The creation of the committee occurs after the failure of a first attempt to develop the site. In October 2022, a call for tenders relating to the sale of a lot of 4,208 square meters at a minimum price of 10 million did not elicit any bids from the private sector.

At a press conference, Mayor Valérie Plante insisted on the innovative nature of the committee. “We made the political choice to join forces with the best in the real estate ecosystem to tell each other what this sector with a lot of potential will look like,” she mentioned in her speech.

GALOPH will be chaired by Pierre Boivin, President and CEO of Claridge, and Janie Béïque, President and CEO of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ. He must decide on the number of dwellings to be built on this vast land, their height, the space dedicated to civic facilities such as a school and the space reserved for green spaces. Their report is expected within 6 to 8 months. In the press release, we advance 2025 for the beginning of the work of the eco-district which would include a minimum of 6000 housing units.

PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS

The GALOPH committee will be co-chaired by Pierre Boivin, President and CEO of Claridge, and Janie Béïque, President and CEO of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.

It was essential for us to have the three levels of government at the table because it is together that we are going to find new funding methods. Existing programs today will fail to meet the needs of the crisis. It will take more resources, more collaboration and innovative funding models.

Pierre Boivn, co-chairman of the Galoph committee

Mr. Boivin also highlighted the role of Claude Pinard, head of Centraide of Greater Montreal, in the creation of this high-level committee. Under the leadership of Mr. Pinard, who took over in July 2021, Centraide is involved in the housing file. Recently, Centraide provided $100,000 to finance the Vivre en ville organization’s rent registry for one year.

“We used what is one of our powers at Centraide, it is a unifying power. To be able to bring economic, political and community people together and to be able to discuss,” explained Mr. Pinard, in a press scrum.

In addition to Centraide, the acceleration committee brings together representatives of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the Société d’habitation du Québec, the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough and the Deputy Director General of the City of Montreal Philippe Krivicky. Note also the presence of Clément Demers (ex-boss of the Quartier international de Montréal), consultant in setting up and managing major projects.

Community organizations also have a seat at the table with Catherine Pappas, CEO of the Côte-des-Neiges Community Development Corporation; Edith Cyr (Building your neighborhood). Promoters are not left out with the presence of Laurence Vincent (Prével), Natalie Voland (Quo Vadis), Roger Plamondon (Broccolini), Élise Proulx (Ivanhoé Cambridge) and Isabelle Melançon, new CEO of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec (IDU).

“It was really essential that all levels of government be present, commented Jean-Marc Fournier, outgoing CEO of the IDU, present at the announcement. There is a question of infrastructure. We have to think about how to finance them. »

Two weeks ago, a first affordable project of 200 to 250 rental units was announced on the site of the old racecourse. It is overseen by the non-profit organization Espace La Traversée.

On the side of the Official Opposition at City Hall, we note the entry into the race of Quebec and Ottawa, while investments are still waiting six years after the transfer of land to the City. “The arrival of the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada and partners bodes well for assuming the leadership that was sorely lacking in the development of the sector, although their assumption of responsibility constitutes a return to the starting line. said Alan DeSousa, Official Opposition critic for infrastructure, in a written statement.