Nice article. It was an important landmark and a great part of Montreal’s kitsch heritage, which is rapidly disappearing as the city becomes more prim and proper. I think it’s sad that not having a sign is these days seen as more acceptable by authorities (and tastemakers) than having one that is a little gaudy.
I’ve been wondering about that row of buildings since they were abandoned a few years ago. According to the city’s property records, it’s owned by a numbered company operating out of the Forum, and it isn’t the same owner as the adjacent buildings (eg the one with Five Guys or the vacant lot at 710 Ste-Catherine). The annual tax bill is more than $700,000. That’s roughly $3.5 million dollars spent just leaving the buildings empty since 2016.
Here’s the thing, though: it’s not a particularly easy site to redevelop. There is a 30-metre height limit along Ste-Catherine, with 65 metres allowed in a setback, and that doesn’t give much room to manoeuvre given the size of the lot. It doesn’t seem like it would be possible to build a large enough building to make a major investment worthwhile.
Alors, une autre affaire de démolition par négligence. Au siècle précédent, lorsque je vivait une partie des années 80 à Burlington, Vermont, ce panneau était un point de repère connu de 90% des étudiants universitaires. Un des nombreux facteurs qui contribuent à la réputation de Montréal comme capitale de la fête et du vice.
DeWolf, malgré les problèmes que vous avez mentionnés, l’emplacement sur la rue Sainte-Catherine, très achlandé, en face du Centre Eaton et à proximité des transports en commun, n’atténuerait-il pas les inconvénients ?
DeWolf 09:35 on 2021-11-03 Permalink
Nice article. It was an important landmark and a great part of Montreal’s kitsch heritage, which is rapidly disappearing as the city becomes more prim and proper. I think it’s sad that not having a sign is these days seen as more acceptable by authorities (and tastemakers) than having one that is a little gaudy.
I’ve been wondering about that row of buildings since they were abandoned a few years ago. According to the city’s property records, it’s owned by a numbered company operating out of the Forum, and it isn’t the same owner as the adjacent buildings (eg the one with Five Guys or the vacant lot at 710 Ste-Catherine). The annual tax bill is more than $700,000. That’s roughly $3.5 million dollars spent just leaving the buildings empty since 2016.
Here’s the thing, though: it’s not a particularly easy site to redevelop. There is a 30-metre height limit along Ste-Catherine, with 65 metres allowed in a setback, and that doesn’t give much room to manoeuvre given the size of the lot. It doesn’t seem like it would be possible to build a large enough building to make a major investment worthwhile.
Robert H 14:39 on 2021-11-04 Permalink
Alors, une autre affaire de démolition par négligence. Au siècle précédent, lorsque je vivait une partie des années 80 à Burlington, Vermont, ce panneau était un point de repère connu de 90% des étudiants universitaires. Un des nombreux facteurs qui contribuent à la réputation de Montréal comme capitale de la fête et du vice.
DeWolf, malgré les problèmes que vous avez mentionnés, l’emplacement sur la rue Sainte-Catherine, très achlandé, en face du Centre Eaton et à proximité des transports en commun, n’atténuerait-il pas les inconvénients ?