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The Borough of Villeray/St-Michel/Park Extension is studying an application from a property development partnership that wants to convert a large institutional and historically important building on St-Laurent Boulevard near Jarry Park into what would likely become the largest residential condominium project in the borough’s history.
Planning stages
Développements McGill and Thibault, Messier, Savard et associés Inc. have mandated architecture and design firm Groupe Cardinal Hardy to prepare basic plans for converting the former Institution catholique des Sourds-Muets into condos. The monumental complex at 7400 St-Laurent is within the electoral boundaries of Park Extension.
While final approval will come from the Centre City because of the project’s massive size, the borough is deeply involved in the process. According to an outline filed with the City of Montreal, the promoters have an agreement with Les Clercs de St-Viateur du Canada, the current owners, that would see the promoters purchasing the property and creating more than 300 residential units in four phases over an unspecified period of time.
Building is a landmark
A zoning change from institutional to residential will be necessary for the project to go ahead. While the complex’s central pavilion with its neo-classical, pillared main entrance has been a landmark for almost nine decades, the building, erected in 1921, is not designated as having heritage value at either the provincial, federal or municipal levels. However, the Centre City has classified it as a “building of exceptional heritage value.”
“It is a beautiful project,” Park Extension city councillor Mary Deros told Nouvelles Parc Extension News following the borough council’s Oct. 5 meeting, where an announcement about the redevelopment was made by Borough Mayor Anie Samson. “They will renovate inside to create apartments. It will be right next to Jarry Park, across the street from the Metro and the bus passes by there. There will be no parking outdoors, except for a few cars for visitors in front of the building. There will be underground parking. One per apartment.”
Parking permits wanted
During the same borough council meeting, a resident of Champagneur Ave. complained during question period about not receiving a response from the borough to a street parking permit application that he and 21 other residents made in June. According to Haseem Muhammad, parking on Champagneur is next to impossible for local residents. Deros told him that a decade ago, residents on Champagneur rejected the idea of parking permits on their street. “Since then a few people have asked,” she said.
“I’ve told them organize yourselves, come in with a petition, and we will look at the situation. Usually there are criteria of where we apply residential parking. It has to be near a Metro. It has to be near certain businesses that bring in a lot of people from out of the area.” But, she added, “If the citizens don’t ask we don’t give.” She said the borough is probably behind in dealing with current parking permit applications, “because there are many sectors in our borough and we have the second-largest borough in the City of Montreal. Many sectors of our borough have requested residential parking.”
New pregnancy clinic
In another development affecting Park Extension, a two-storey commercial building on Querbes Ave. near Ball Ave., which until recently had housed the offices of a Vietnamese community newspaper, will soon be taken over by a medical clinic offering specialized services to pregnant women. According to Deros, ‘La Maison Bleue,’ as the new clinic is to be called, will operate under the auspices of CLSC Park Extension, and will offer counselling services to mothers on how to maintain optimal health and how take care of their babies following child-birth.