Hydro-Quebec has eye on downtown lot
Hydro-Quebec wants to construct a central on the same block as the Grande Bibliothèque.
This is a surprisingly interesting piece, because it reveals how the fabric of the city comes about. Hydro’s old brutalist central up the hill is decrepit, so they wanted part of the old Voyageur terminus land to build a new, bigger facility. But the city owns that land and wants it for social housing. So Hydro has made a deal with the BAnQ for the lot facing Ontario, giving the BAnQ enough cash to get started – finally – with a project to refurbish the old Saint‑Sulpice library into a shrine to Quebec music.
DeWolf 11:34 on 2023-11-05 Permalink
Huh. Definitely interesting!
HQ says it won’t just build a featureless box at such a prominent corner, so I hope they have an architectural competition to come up with something interesting.
And the old central is pretty interesting. I wonder if there’s anything that can be done with that structure after it’s decommissioned. Imagine going to a show in a building that looks like that…
Ian 11:59 on 2023-11-05 Permalink
It’s called an RFP (request for proposals), every big project has it. It literally is a competition to see whose proposal wins. There’s a point system and everything.
Whenever you see a big ugly public building they chose that specific design on purpose, from many others.
Kate 12:57 on 2023-11-05 Permalink
Are they obliged to choose the cheapest? Or will it depend on whose nephew is in the running?
Orr 16:04 on 2023-11-05 Permalink
The decrepit building uphill of the Banq is what we call “the spaceship has landed” building.
Always wondered what would eventually go into that vacant lot, hope it is worthy.
Kate 18:10 on 2023-11-05 Permalink
I took one of the tours they offered when the big library opened. At that point they planned to add more art pieces to the garden directly north of the building, and it was implied that the garden might eventually stretch up to Ontario. But it never has.
DeWolf 18:29 on 2023-11-05 Permalink
@Ian I’m talking about an international design competition like what the Holocaust Museum and Phi Centre had, not just a tendering process.
CE 10:12 on 2023-11-06 Permalink
I always hoped that piece of land would be used to expand the library. I haven’t used it much since I finished university but it was always close to bursting, especially during the school year.