13-storey condo OK’d in Old Montreal
A brand new 13-storey condo building has been given the green light in Old Montreal. Under the circumstances, it could be worse: it’ll be infill between two buildings that are fairly tall as well. The drawings shown are not very good, but you can see on Google Streetview that the parking lot to be built over is no great loss.
PO 22:38 on 2020-01-23 Permalink
That has always seemed like a very ritzy and pricey part of town. If that’s the reality, then I have no problem with an abundance of new pricey condos going in. There’s clearly housing demand in Montreal. Better there than in neighborhoods where such a project would encourage rents to rise (i.e. gentrification, I think).
Kate 00:03 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
Exactly. I suspect half the flats at least will be bought to rent out as Airbnbs anyway.
Filp 00:14 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
I suspect a lot of the indignation over this project is from people who don’t actually know what’s there now, or what’s next to it. I’ve seen lots of commentary from people who act like it’s a skyscraper in the heart of old Montreal. Even though the buildings on McGill street are the same height! Once it’s there, it will fit in just fine, and I suspect modern contrast will be classy between the older buildings. In small doses. I’ve read anger over the loss of the parking lot! As if an open air lot in the old city is acceptable. Glad to see cooler heads prevail on this blog, seriously. Because I was getting a headache from some of the community hot takes.
Filp 00:22 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
Also it was mentioned on a different website that comparisons with Paris are pretty ironic in this context, because the heart of Paris has modern architecture. I’m sure Parisians would be more outraged at the presence of an open air lot.
Joey 08:22 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
Given the housing shortage, I wonder how much longer until the few remaining street-level parking lots in the Plateau (like, say, on Clark south of Mont-Royal) are forcibly converted into housing.
Blork 11:23 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
Just a side note on the “ritzy and expensive” comment. I went to a party in the building next door (to the east) back in the mid-90s. It was in a “loft,” which is to say a large studio apartment with no closed bedroom. Probably around 1000 square feet with a nice kitchen and bathroom and nice big windows. Great “bachelor pad.” The guy who owned the loft was basically a kid working as a tech support agent. He bought it on the spot when he heard the price because he couldn’t believe how cheap it was. He didn’t tell me the price but me and a couple of people did some math based on a few clues and we figured he bought it for about $50,000. My, how things have changed.
denpanosekai 11:26 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
Went to many punk shows in Old Montreal in the 2000s — some right on Saint-Paul too.
Ian 14:48 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
I remember when Hotel Nelson was a punk bar and the cobblestone streets were full of broken glass… lots of my art school pals in the 90s had loft space in old Montreal even cheaper than where I was in St-Henri but there were no grocery stores or anywhere to do your laundry or even deps so it was less desirable except for the huge spaces you could get for next to nothing. Of course this was even before they created that waterfront park out of what used to be pretty seedy run down dock areas. There were some exceptionally dismal dive bars & short stay hotels all through the area at that time.
I remember back when the Port was shitty but I can’t say I miss it.
Douglas 17:40 on 2020-01-24 Permalink
We need more housing, no matter how we get it.
This lady talks about “Paris”, but does she realize how expensive it is to live in Paris? Paris is in need of hundreds of thousands of new apartments, but doesn’t allow the supply to go vertical.
We can’t end up like Paris or else we will be paying 2000$ a month for a 400 square foot closet.