Montreal City Weblog

Kate 09:27 on 2020-10-17 Permalink Reply  

• Faiz Imam 10:49 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  Yesss.

  I recall I shared a Pointe Claire master plan 2-3 years ago here that showed how this whole development was thought up and planned out. I was very excited by it and I’m really happy to see it coming to fruition.

  While some of it is undeveloped land, most of this is grey field redevelopment of big box stores and parking lots. Exactly what we need more of to densify our cities and grow without building father out.

  Fairview pointe Claire is going to become a new multifunctional downtown, fully reachable without a car. That’s really good for everyone.

• Kate 11:09 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  Unless you operate a business in downtown Montreal, Faiz Imam.

• Kevin 11:29 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  I’m kind of surprised that the people I’ve seen most opposed to this are the same people who extol the virtues of a 15 minute village-city.

• su 11:37 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  Hopefully there will be community gardens included in this project.

• Kate 11:50 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  Kevin, but will it be? Or will it really be more of a drive-to-the-mall thing as ever? Will anyone truly live and work within that new development only, as people used to live and work in a neighbourhood?

  Basically, we’re trying to build new neighbourhoods all at once from scratch, whereas the lively neighbourhoods we know tended to grow up organically over a period of years, based on various desires and plans, not the centralized will of a profit-driven developer. There’s no room for unprofitable things like schools, libraries or clinics when every square foot has to be assessed on how much profit it makes for the investors.

• su 12:30 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  Faiz.
  2 million square feet of the 5 million square foot project is “undeveloped” agricultural quality ( black earth perhaps) land.
  https://renx.ca/cadillac-fairview-5m-sq-ft-downtown-montreal-west-island/

• DeWolf 13:00 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  Vancouver has been doing this for decades and it has been very successful at transforming big box stores and suburban parking lots into dense, walkable neighbourhoods. Take a look at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and High Street in Coquitlam, BC on Google Street View. It’s a brand new neighbourhood that has been developed next to a big shopping mall that is now served by two SkyTrain stations. I was there in January and was impressed by the foot traffic as well as the diversity of businesses – and yes, there are civic facilities nearby, including a library and a cultural centre. There are similar examples around many other suburban SkyTrain stations.

  As for the impact on downtown, well, I don’t see how it can hurt. There will now be a direct, high-frequency 30-minute link between downtown and Fairview, which almost guarantees there will be more people travelling between the two. West Islanders who currently avoid going downtown because of traffic and parking might be more inclined to make the journey when it involves a quick trip from the mall they’re already in the habit of visiting.

• GC 13:03 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  I’m also a bit skeptical about this becoming a neighbourhood where everyone works, lives, and plays. Will the average worker from Fairview, probably getting minimum wage, be able to afford to live there? I think a lot of people who work there will be driving from wherever they live and a lot of people who live there will be driving from there to wherever they work.

  If people aren’t working from home more, that is… I wonder if they’ve rethought the office towers in 2020.

  Also, I’ve only been to DIX 30 a couple of times but don’t a lot of people tend to drive between the stores there and not do the walking that one would hope they would?

  I’m glad you mentioned an example where this is kind of working out, DeWolf, because I’m not sure I’ve seen one around here.

• DeWolf 13:36 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  I don’t think there are any examples of this kind of transit-oriented development in Montreal. There aren’t even many in Toronto because, although there is a lot of dense, high-rise development in suburbs like Mississauga, it is missing any sort of focus around transit.

  That said, there is one TOD that is currently under development across Highway 10 from Dix-30. It’s called Quartier Solar and it is oriented around the entrance to the Du Quartier REM station. Once that branch of the REM opens at the end of next year, it should give us a chance to see how this kind of development behaves in Montreal.

• Kevin 15:30 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  The only description I’ve seen of the location would enclose this development entirely within the existing footprint of the mall’s parking lots.

  I know many seniors are moving to buildings just across the highway from the mall. I think they would jump at the chance to move onto the mall’s property itself—although I would want to know a lot more about condo fees, assisted living, and more.

  It may not be organically grown—but our country is just too big to have villages any other way

• Uatu 17:00 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  I think the closest thing we have that works is st. Lambert which has a town square and also a train station. The area around Longueuil metro kinda sorta works, if you like soulless highrises surrounded by parking lots. Dix30 is a mess. The roads are confusing to navigate and pedestrian access is garbage especially in the winter where it feels like you’re walking in the Yukon. That new Solar development might work, but the people who can afford to live there will most likely drive around to pickup groceries etc. It’s up to the residents to choose not to drive but convenience and entitlement are the main villains here

• GC 17:33 on 2020-10-17 Permalink

  I was thinking that about Marche Central. Even if you’d prefer to walk around in it, it’s so pedestrian-unfriendly. However, I realize it is not the same thing because it is not on a transit hub and I don’t believe it is the same kind of mixed-use with residential and office space. It is just the closest thing to a Big Box shopping area that I’ve generally experienced since moving to Montreal.

  I suppose the area around Longueuil metro does tick a lot of the same boxes, but “soulless” sounds generous… And I don’t see that much foot traffic when I’m there to jump between a metro and someone’s car.

  I had not heard about TOD, DeWolf. Interesting.

• dhomas 05:41 on 2020-10-18 Permalink

  @GC Re: Marché Central and transit, it does have direct access to the Chabanel train station. Though I doubt many people go there by train, it is an option. (I’ve done it a couple of times when I used to live in Ahuntsic).

• Michael Black 09:46 on 2020-10-18 Permalink

  I’ve walked to Marche Central, it is a very pedestrian unfriendly location. But I’ve never fully explored it. Only to MEC, which meant I went to Krispy Kreme when they were open there, and the Best Buy, but only because I was there for MEC.

  And now that MEC has been sold, without consulting or informing members beforehand (how can you sell a Coop?), I can’t see myself bothering to go up there.

• Kate 09:54 on 2020-10-18 Permalink

  Michael Black, I feel much the same about Marché Central and MEC. I can walk to the Marché fairly easily from where I live, although it’s not a great walking route along Crémazie. But the Marché simply was never conceived to be welcoming to people on foot.

  Like you, I have no idea how you can sell off a co-op, but B.C. let them do it. They should have been obliged to consult the membership or the whole idea is meaningless.

• GC 10:41 on 2020-10-18 Permalink

  Yeah, I’ve also walked there from Crémazie. From what I recall, there is a bus but it’s infrequent enough that if you just missed it–and you’re able-bodied–it’s just as fast to walk. Not a pleasant walk, though.

• Dhomas 11:54 on 2020-10-18 Permalink

  There are a couple of buses that service Marché Central : the 19 is the one that is made specifically to shuttle people from Crémazie metro to the Marché (or to the Chabanel train station), but it is quite infrequent at every 20 minutes or so. The 54 comes more often, also from Crémazie metro. If you’re on the blue line, the 179 comes from l’Acadie metro. But again, it’s more than just pedestrian unfriendly; I would go so far as to call Marché Central pedestrian hostile.

• Ian 08:20 on 2020-10-19 Permalink

  Even people that live right in Pointe Claire have cars. West of Dorval you need one, because transit is so patchy. Much like the big Broccolini housing development by the Ste Anne REM station north of the 40, this RE station development is just developers looking to line their pockets & local politicians eager to boost their tax base.

  Even if this does turn into the most perfect TOD that exists all those people will have to work somewhere, and as others have pointed out, for most people working at a mall for minimum wage doesn’t make you enough money to be able to afford to live in most of Pointe Claire … there’s a reason most mall workers are in their teens or early 20s, and why the REM is still considered a commuter train.

• su 09:23 on 2020-10-19 Permalink

  This project is a mall renovation on the current mall footprint, and a realestate development ( 2 million sq. ft.) on adjacent land. The real estate development is an Ivanhoe Cambridge Caisse de Depot project. It is unclear how many cars and parking will be introduced by the realestate development. I guess the promoter from Ivanhoe will be clarifying via press statement soon.

• EmilyG 11:05 on 2020-10-21 Permalink

  I’m in a Facebook group for the West Island and many people in the group are very unhappy about this news.