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The Villeray/St-Michel/Park Extension borough council has reaffirmed its commitment to transform the vacant St. Sophie’s Church property at the corner of Saint Roch St. and Stuart Ave. into a public park — against the wishes of a group of loyal St. Sophie’s parishioners who would rather see a small church with a retirement residence on the site.
$1 million for site
During a special meeting of the borough council held on July 14 to re-examine the council’s commitment made in 2006, Union Montreal councillors Mary Deros and Franz Benjamin voted against a resolution that would see the St. Sophie’s site transformed into a public park. However, Councillor Frank Venneri, who is also with Union Montreal, adamantly upheld the motion, arguing that he could not go against the council’s original intentions.
All that is preventing the borough from proceeding with the expropriation now is that the centre city has yet to produce the money for the expropriation — possibly about $1 million. Although Councillor Elsie Lefebvre was not at the meeting, Borough Mayor Anie Samson agreed with Venneri and exercised her privilege as borough council chair to pass the resolution.
Demolished by city
George Sarbani, a spokesman for the church which was founded in 1974, said the parishioners had been working in conjunction with the city since 2001 to upkeep the church. As the building remained in disrepair, the city ended up intervening in 2003 and demolished it, passing on the costs to the parish. Sarbani claimed the parish administration informed the city long ago of its intention to rebuild on the site and that the parishioners may force a referendum in order to realize their project.
“The church has been expropriated indirectly,” he told the borough council. “We don’t feel this is right.” Sarbani said the parish members wanted to know why they weren’t informed in 2006 when the borough council passed the first resolution that the church property had been tagged for expropriation and re-development as a public park, when their intentions were to rebuild.
Housing needed: Deros
Park Ex councillor Deros said she is in favour a retirement residence on the St. Sophie’s site since many residents want to be able to retire in such a facility, but “don’t want to leave Park Ex and we’re not building any new affordable housing in Park Ex. There are no new buildings going up.” She argued that the proposed retirement residence would include a green space that would serve as a public park and would be useful year around, compared to a public park which would meet citizens’ needs only during the summer months.
“My conscience as the representative of Park Extension at city hall and here at the borough office is to be in favour of the project,” she said. Borough Mayor Anie Samson said that “for the health of the people it’s important to have a park … With heat islands and with climate change we need to have more green space.” In an interview earlier this week, Deros said the issue is far from settled and that a public park in the St. Sophie’s space is not yet a done deal.
Deros supported park
“They own the land,” she said, referring to the parish administration. “The city can, if necessary, expropriate. I just find it very difficult to try to expropriate religious land.” While acknowledging that she originally supported the idea of a public park when the borough council passed a resolution to that effect in 2006, she said there was a consensus for it at that time and that St. Sophie’s has since come through with its own proposal which is supported by a good number of residents.