Ste-Anne’s abandoned water tower in line for a $468,000 makeover

The obsolete water tower in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue is finally getting some TLC.

The abandoned tower next to Highway 20 has stood neglected for years, but the city is now refurbishing the tower, hoping it will serve as a gateway symbol to Ste-Anne’s on the western tip of Montreal.

Mayor Paola Hawa said the tower will be sand blasted, patched up where needed, then painted.

“We decided to paint the bottom a light grey,” she said. “The top portion will be white with the Ste-Anne’s civic logo.”

Built in 1936,the cement structure hasn’t been used as a water tower for nearly two decades.

The old tower was beginning to suffer from neglect as public officials decided its dry future.

“That poor tower,” Hawa said. “It’s been so neglected for so long. It’s been kicked down the road from administration to administration because of the cost of course.

“Let’s be honest, it doesn’t have a real use. At a certain point you have to do something: Either tear it down or paint it.”

The makeover will cost about $468,000,but Hawa says that’s a cheaper alternative than demolishing it. The mayor also pointed out the tower has become a landmark for local residents and West Islanders who drive by the tower on Highway 20.

“People are very attached to it,” she said. “Everybody tells us in discussions of whether to renovate it or to demolish, we got a lot of pushback of ‘Don’t you dare demolish that. Because when I’m on Highway 20,I know I’m home.’”

Over the years, the city explored possible alternative uses for the tower.

“(There’s) nothing we can do about the inside,” Hawa said. “We explored ideas. The inside, people think it’s bigger than it actually is. Really, it’s not much bigger than a public washroom with two stalls.”

Hawa said the city also evaluated long-term maintenance costs before taking a decision to give it a makeover.

Once the tower is painted, “No one will have to touch it for another 20 years,” she said.

Prep work on the tower has already begun and the refurbishing will last six to eight weeks.