LA PRESSE – Montreal police SPVM announced that Park Extension’s police Station 33, located on Beaumont Avenue, would close on Monday, June 29.
“The non-renewal of the lease for the building which housed the police officers at PDQ 33 leads to a temporary move by the police,” SPVM said in a terse statement.
Why not renew the lease?
Management did not want to discuss it publicly. However, a source confirmed to La Presse that the decision arose from of a security investigation into the new owner of the building which housed the police station.
The investigation revealed information that caused enough concern to justify a move.
More in-depth checks than before
The Beaumont Avenue building was purchased on April 30, 2020 for $18 million by a new group of investors.
The SPVM has been conducting very detailed security investigations for several years before signing leases with building owners to rent offices. The security investigation involves checking for any links to criminal circles.
In 2013, rules were made stricter after media reports showed that the Eclipse squad, the police unit for fighting gang violence, was located in a building owned by a corporation linked to organized crime.
It is unknown what the security investigation into the group revealed.
Ties with residents?
The announcement of the move on such short notice shocked Mary Deros, municipal councillor for Parc-Extension.
The neighborhood post has worked hard to create links with the population of Parc-Extension, which is very diverse. The citizens had contact with them and even knew them by name. And now they’re going to move out of the borough.
Deros said that it would take more than a year to find new premises in its neighborhood and renovate them to install the new Station 33.
In the meantime, the SPVM invites citizens to go to neighbouring Station 26, on Mountain Sights Avenue, or Station 31, on Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
