La Presse’s eyesores
La Presse enumerates ten eyesores around town, starting with the incomparable Canada Malting in St‑Henri. All ten sites are buildings that have been neglected. The city can force an owner to make the site safe for passersby but has no powers over the detriment caused in the urban fabric when a building stands in disrepair in the public eye.
j2 09:34 on 2021-05-16 Permalink
The Canada Malting is a Saint Henri landmark. Like the milk bottle, I frequently check the Malting’s house’s state. I’m not familiar with the internal layout but it would be great if it could be retained as some kind of cross functional space. Turning it into condos would just be one more piece of waterfront ick.
DeWolf 11:52 on 2021-05-16 Permalink
The abandoned greystone block on St-André is an interesting one. I’ve always wondered what happened and it’s somehow not surprising to find out it’s a scummy landlord who seems to be waiting for the building to collapse until he can redevelop it.
People like that are like small-time criminals: in the end, they probably won’t make more money than if they had taken an honest line of work, but it must be awfully exhausting constantly having to dodge the rules and thwart the authorities.
The article says he also owned a neglected historic property in Quebec City but it was recently expropriated by the city due to neglect. I wonder why Montreal isn’t doing the same.
Kate 14:06 on 2021-05-16 Permalink
Maybe that nice row of buildings doesn’t count as historic here?
Orr 16:28 on 2021-05-19 Permalink
Across the street from the #10 on the list 3744 St-Denis eyesore is the hideous chain link fence surrounding the very large parking lots at each end of the Institut des Sourdes-muettes at 3725 St-Denis. That fence covers most of a full city block and has been an eyesore for decades, and I have complained to the city and did so again when PM started to run the Plateau, but of course there is “nothing we can do about it.” So fugly.