Heritage designation sought for village’s point
Historical society hopes to preserve area
The city of Pointe-Claire has begun the process that will see the point in old Pointe-Claire Village declared a heritage site in 2013.
Last week at its monthly meeting, city council adopted a motion to create a heritage designation for the geographical point and the historic buildings located there.
The next step in the process is a public consultation, scheduled for Jan. 23. A special notice is going out to property owners.
Residents and community groups will be invited to present briefs, both written and oral, in which they can express how they would like to see the site preserved for generations to come.
The heritage site is to include the windmill (1709-1710), St. Joachim Catholic Church (1881-85), its presbytery (1848 and its 1913 enhancement), the Sisters of Congregation of Notre Dame convent (1867), cemetery land surrounding St. Joachim church and Marguerite Bourgeoys elementary school.
“It’s been a part of our longterm plan for a period of years now,” Mayor Bill McMurchie said in an interview on Monday. “We don’t want that area lost to the city.”
If everything goes as expected, McMurchie added, the designation would come into effect in March 2013.
On Monday, Claude Arsenault, president of La Société du Patrimoine de Pointe-Claire, said member of the local historical society welcomed the news.
The timing now could not be better, he added.
Coincidentally, next year, 2013, is the 300th anniversary of old Pointe-Claire Village.
Arsenault explained the society has been lobbying for the designation since 2005, when a former priest at St. Joachim church proposed building a 10,000-squarefoot, $3.5-million modern-looking parish hall behind the church.
He said members of the society will present a brief at next month’s public consultation.
At this point, Arsenault said, he could only say the society opposes condo development on the point, and hopes to see the convent one day used as a cultural venue and the 17th-century windmill restored to working order. “We want the windmill to sing again.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that their preservation and showcasing is an integral part of our city’s future plans,” Arsenault said.
For example, he said, few people today know the large green lawn behind St. Joachim church was a cemetery for more than 200 years.
“There’s nothing to say to people today that there are 5,000 buried there, people buried between 1713 and the 1940s,” he said.