St-Denis corner to be revived (?)
La Presse is optimistic here about the renovation of the old Banque Laurentienne building on St-Denis at Rachel, although there’s no tenant yet and the upstairs is going to be an Airbnb hotel. I didn’t realize the building had also had a fire since Mexx abandoned it in early 2015.
JoeNotCharles 09:54 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
If the upstairs is PLANNED to be an airbnb, that’s no different from any other hotel or bed and breakfast. The problem with airbnb comes when people rent out supposedly residential units without any oversight.
It will be nice to get something in the Mexx building again, but there are several other large noticeable corner locations still abandoned (the old Rapido for instance) that contribute to the street looking abandoned. Hopefully getting a tenant in one of them will start a snowball effect that gets the others occupied again too.
Kate 11:04 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
Granted. Upstairs was originally office space, as it was over all these corner banks.
I’m wondering, though – what happens to neighbourhoods when a tipping point is reached, and a certain percentage of the people sleeping there on any given night are transient, not resident? Who actually speaks for the neighbourhood or cares about its future?
Blork 11:05 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
Speculation here, but I suspect the “Airbnb hotel” bascially means a handful of hastily built studio apartments that will be managed by someone via Airbnb. Different from a “hotel” in that there will be no 24-hour reception, no daily maid service, none of the other things you get from a hotel. The advantage to them is that if it fails (or if Airbnb gets outlawed or whatever) they can just switch to renting them long-term without having to make any other renos or changes.
Ephraim 11:10 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
The only streets in the Plateau where you can get an STR permit now are St-Denis and St-Laurent. (Unless you were grandfathered in and already have your permit.) So this one can at least be legal, get it’s permits and pay the commercial property tax. This isn’t the problem…. those on residential streets that aren’t owner occupied are the problem.
@Kate – Maybe it’s about time we passed a law requiring Revenu Quebec to actually do their job. They asked for the portfolio and NOTHING. From the court cases, I have seen that some municipalities (Quebec city in particular) actually make reservations and send in the fines. We need to make Revenu Quebec do it’s job and publish documents showing that it is doing it’s job. And maybe a journalist asking Revenu Quebec why it isn’t doing it’s job, the minister being asked why they asked for a portfolio and aren’t actually doing what they said they would do.
There was one change as of this month, and the 3.5% that is collected by all parties is paid directly to RQ. It’s SO WEIRD… so if you book a hotel on Expedia and they collect the payment, they are required to pay RQ the 3.5%, but the hotel is requires to pay the GST/QST to the government… but if you pay the hotel, the hotel is required to pay the 3.5%. This is an accounting NIGHTMARE.
Ian 13:15 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
Hm, It’s almost as if simply removing or gluing their stupid lockboxes is a better solution than waiting for the RQ to get off their asses.
Yes, I know that’s illegal, but so are AirBnbs on residential streets and I’m tired of rents doubling every 5 years.
DeWolf 13:49 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
The Rapido corner (along with the old Boîte Noire building) is meant to become a residential development that many are speculating will be an Airbnb hotel, given it is made up of many small studio apartments. And then there’s the old Guérin textbook factory at Mont-Royal/Drolet that is becoming a Sonder, which is a self-service hotel brand that competes with Airbnb.
To my mind it’s only natural that this area would begin attracting more hotels. Most cities in Europe and Asia have a sprinkling of hotels throughout the city – they aren’t just concentrated in the downtown area, as is the case in Montreal. People want to stay on the Plateau but at the moment there are few options other than illegal Airbnbs, a few B&Bs and a couple of icky roach motels.
The trick is managing visitors and accommodations so it doesn’t become a nuisance, which is unfortunately something the municipal government has proven itself incapable of doing.
Ephraim 22:41 on 2020-01-29 Permalink
Ian… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFMLD6SonZg might help you deal with the problem.
DeWolf… there is a major difference between these. The STR full apartment is generally the absentee landlord, dumping the problems on the neighbourhood (they should be paying commercial tax, they should be taking care of their garbage, etc… but don’t). The B&B is owner occupied and become the vigilant soul who watches over the street because they have an interest in it. And the hotel is the commercial bringing more money to the city.
Ian 11:51 on 2020-01-30 Permalink
Thanks for the tip, but glue is faster haha
Ephraim 13:19 on 2020-01-30 Permalink
@Ian – Faster, but not as scary as losing the key and having to worry about someone stealing everything… and of course having to rekey an entire house… each time! And of course having to deal with an irate client who wants access when you are trying to be totally absentee.
Ian 17:15 on 2020-01-30 Permalink
hmm, sounds… disruptive
😀