City could block FACE sale: Plante
Mayor Plante thinks the city could block Quebec’s sale of the FACE building by standing on its zoning as institutional.
Would any commercial buyer want a building in that condition? Isn’t it likely to stand empty and deteriorate for years like other disused institutional buildings around town?
Ian 11:33 on 2025-05-02 Permalink
Gut it, keep the facade, make condos. Developers have been eyeing that spot for years. t has lead pipes and asbestos so good luck for anything else.
Ephraim 14:11 on 2025-05-02 Permalink
What’s the point of keeping it? We need housing. We need housing now. The city holds the rights on changing the zoning. So they would refuse, buy it themselves. Change the zoning. And then partner with someone like a REIT or the CDPQ who can develop the site and knows how to manage construction contracts. Build condos along with some affordable condos. Do a deal where the families that buy into the condo, if they qualify, get it affordably by only selling them 60%, with the city owning 40%. When they sell, the city gets it’s 40% of the value and can offer that money in a perpetual affordable mortgage fund. So the city owns 40% but isn’t responsible for upkeep, repairs, etc. You have no interest to pay on their 40%, which is their contribution.
Kate 18:28 on 2025-05-02 Permalink
Ephraim, you’d demolish it completely?
I have no emotional connection to that building, but I suspect it might be on the heritage list. But looked at from your point of view, at some point we’ll have to trim that list and sacrifice some older buildings. The city is a living thing, not a museum.
Ephraim 18:45 on 2025-05-02 Permalink
@Kate – Honestly, I have no opinion. I think we honestly have too many buildings on the heritage list. It should only be on a heritage list if we are willing to put up money to actually preserve it. It’s nice that we want to save buildings, but, look at Rosemont that has put protection on 561 shoebox homes. Really? We need 561 of the same building as heritage? Even the city has put these in 3 categories, with 158 in the highest (3) category. And that doesn’t even include all the shoebox homes in other neighbourhoods…. homes that fit one family, uncomfortably, could be home for 3 to 4 families.
So do you put all of van Gogh’s artwork in a museum or do you also put all the copies or all the works of his students based on the original? We don’t need 561 shoebox homes. Maybe a block of them.Do we need 158 or 561. How do we decide if 561 is too much or not enough?
Orr 18:49 on 2025-05-03 Permalink
Perhaps some of the now-famous artists who went there should voice their opinion.
Ephraim 11:49 on 2025-05-04 Permalink
@Orr – They have some money to put up? Or would they themselves rather have housing?