Upper Parc Ave. too pricey, group says
Development plans to put homes, offices, commercial space in former industrial area
With the northern end of Parc Ave. on the cusp of a major overhaul of its industrial past, the city presented a development plan for the area that calls for a mix of commercial and residential buildings, along with green spaces. But a neighbourhood group, concerned that gentrification is driving up rents, complained that the city isn’t doing enough to provide low-cost housing.
An urban wasteland of derelict industrial buildings and train yards at the northern reaches of Parc Ave. is on the cusp of a major renewal.
The Université de Montréal is building a campus that will bring in 9,000 students and 1,600 staff. Squat brick structures half a block long are being converted into condominiums and offices for software companies and architectural firms.
But what’s considered progress to some in the guise of condominium towers and larger tax bases could mean higher property taxes, gentrification and the loss of a beloved neighbourhood’s industrial charm to others. The one-kilometre-square territory surrounding the intersection of Parc and Jean Talon Aves. is intersected or bordered by four densely populated boroughs — Plateau-Mont Royal; Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie; Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension; and Outremont.
“Our main hope is the city will build a real neighbourhood, and that doesn’t mean just tiny, overpriced, cheaply built condos where people drive in and out because there are no services there and everybody is from the same social background,” said Sasha Dyck, an organizer with the Operation Parc Ave. coalition. The group is advocating for a mixed-use neighbourhood of commercial and residential space that includes green spaces, transportation links and subsidized housing.
“We want them to put in things that support life,” Dyck said. “You can’t bring in thousands of people and not have libraries and parks and daycares.”
On Thursday, after six months of city-funded public consultations that cost more than $300,000 according to municipal officials, the city of Montreal presented its development plan for the sector. Several elements responded to residents’ concerns about mixed usage and green space, but disappointed those seeking affordable housing.
Residents had specified they didn’t want the sector to lose its industrial merits and the jobs that come with it, such as the carpenters’ shops and car mechanics, fish stores and textile factories, said Luc Gagnon, head of the urban planning division of the city.
With that in mind and to spur employment, the city is mandating that half the region be used for commercial properties and office spaces, with the rest going residential. Zoning requirements limiting the height of condominium towers will dissuade high-rises, and a handful of public-use green spaces are planned, as well as bicycle and pedestrian paths and improvements to several dangerous intersections. The city purchased one property to be used as a park, and another that will be set aside for social housing. The city will give $300,000 each year for development projects like daycare services or seniors care, decided on by residents.
The idea, said Alain Tassé, executive committee member in charge of economic development and urban planning for the city, is to change a former “no man’s land” into a mixed-use neighbourhood that conserves some of its industrial and commercial character.
Because of the unique nature of the renewal scheme, expected to take decades, a new form of development plan that took into account economic, social and urban planning issues was created dubbed PDUES — or Plan de développement urbaine, économique et social.
Citizen advocates applauded the consultation process that included meetings between residents, city experts, building developers and university administrators and produced a 40-page report outlining their requests. Three hundred citizens attended the meetings, and an online forum received 4,000 suggestions.
But the city’s plan falls short on the social housing front, advocates said, as did opposition party Vision Montreal.
“We are disappointed by what we see because it is a sector in extreme transformation for the last 10 years — there has been a lot of gentrification,” said Martin Blanchard, a member of the Petite Patrie housing committee. The city’s claim that 15 per cent of residential developments have to be social housing residences only pertains to condominiums of 200 units or more.
The next step will see the development plan argued before hearings of the city’s public consultation office. An information session to explain the city’s plan to residents and ways to express their concerns at the public hearings is being held on Feb. 2 at 1:30 p.m. at Café l’Artère, 7000 du Parc Ave, near Parc métro.