Dorval aims to gain more of McConnell Woods
City negotiates lakefront access, hopes to ‘maximize the percentage’
Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau said the city continues its push to gain as much of the McConnell Woods as possible and confirmed that a portion of the property that has already been handed over to the city will be on the lakefront and citizens will have access to it.
“Negotiations aren’t over yet,” he said. “We want to maximize the percentage.”
As previously reported, the city has acquired 13 per cent of the property, which was purchased by Presti Homes and Developments. The plan is to build up to 25 luxury homes, although Rouleau said that number could decrease if a buyer decides to purchase multiple lots to build one home.
Rouleau said negotiating public access to lakeside land on private property is not a given and used his own living situation as an example.
He lives in a development with 15 houses, all with lake access. No public allowed.
A developer is only required to give a municipality 10 per cent of the purchased land, or the financial equivalent. If the town takes the land, it must be conserved as green space.
If the town takes the money, it must be used to beautify or upgrade other green spaces within the municipality. Rouleau said the city would like to nudge the 13 per cent a tad higher and that negotiations are continuing “in a professional manner.”
The McConnell Woods project is still in its preliminary stage. First, the developer must pay for the creation of an infrastructure plan — where the streets will be and where the pipes and electrical elements will be installed. The infrastructure plan must adhere to Dorval regulations and obtain government approval.
Once the infrastructure plan has government approval, the developer will submit detailed architectural renderings of the project for city approval.
Rouleau said the developer is planning to save as many majestic trees as possible.
“A beautiful tree is always an asset on a property,” he said.
In 2017, the city made an unsuccessful bid to buy the 540,000-sq.ft. McConnell Woods for $15.1 million.