FROGS PLAY A PART IN EVOLUTION OF SYMBIOCITÉ
It was a warm afternoon at the corner of de la Belle-Dame Ave. and de Petit-Coliade St. in La Prairie — the blue, lightly dusted street signs as new as the roads themselves — as a pair of construction workers hauled a large I-beam up to the second storey of a soon-to-be 18-unit condo building by Développements Montarville.
The 5-million-square-foot Symbiocité La Prairie development is taking root in this sector abutting Highway 30, and while work crews are busy on several lots on several streets, the pace of activity seems calm — fitting for what is among the most measured and planned residential developments the South Shore has ever seen.
Some 4,000 people are expected to move in to the project valued at $500 million which includes 1,500 townhouses, condominiums and detached homes surrounded by a protected 87-hectare conservation park, replete with marsh flora, fauna, a stream and forest.
But throughout the six phases of this massive project, before workers can dig or build, some tiny amphibians the size of your pinky nail need to have their way with each other.
“We can’t start building from March 1 to July 15 unless the land is completely flattened,” explained Ted Quint, of Brossard-based developer Quintcap. The Rainette faux-grillon, or Chorus frog, mates in small shallow ponds — and building activity on uneven ground makes for perilous couplings.
Nor have any trees been touched since May due to migratory and nesting birds and other species, and the entire Ruisseau de la Couléewasmovedandexpandedto flow under Highway 30, encourage growth of diverse fish populations, and run beneath the bridge that will connect the first and second phases of the project.
“These are solid rules that we respect 100 per cent,” said Quintcap CFO John Waxlax, explaining that the provincial environment and fisheries ministries have been directly overseeing the project’s development.
“These are enforced,” Waxlax added. “They don’t just publish regulations and then go to sleep; no, they are here inspecting.”
A recent agreement between the developer, the city and environmental groups Nature Québec and the Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement who sought to halt further development, stops the launch of the final phases until the federal environment minister can rule on whether the frogs’ vulnerable status warrants a halt to the project. This will keep intact, for the time being, the entire western portion of the Bois de la Commune.
The minister — whoever it will be — has until December, as per a federal court judgment before the environmental groups obtained an injunction that expired in August.
That’s fine with Quint. “It’s not a problem,” he said. “We are not planning to start those phases until 2017 anyway.” The only thing that
will be delayed in the short term is a small clump of trees, he said.
“We followed to the letter every recommendation and requirement from the Quebec environment ministry. We diverted a stream, we built ponds, and we are building this whole project in phases slow enough so the frogs can migrate to the conservation areas.”
All the construction currently underway is unaffected, with the burying of powerlines and utilities for Phase 1, and sewer and road preparation for Phases 2 and 3, getting underway this fall.
For now, scores of curious buyers continue to amble around the gravel roads — all named for species of butterfly — where a bevy of condo buildings from four units to four storeys are rising, around the corner from a street full of nearly completed townhouses.
Launched last year to entice buyers with a lifestyle immersed in natural beauty but close to Montreal, the project just southwest of the Hydro-Québec line sits at the junction of St-Jean Rd. and Highway 30. With power lines and natural gas supplies and cable set to be buried for the early phases this fall, the open skies crowned by verdant park will provide an aura of exclusivity and connecting with nature.
Separated from the autoroute by an old farmer’s road, a large, heavily greened natural berm sound barrier and a broad tree line, stand inside a townhouse a block from the highway in even these early construction phases and one is hard-pressed to hear traffic.
A 10-kilometre network of trails for biking, hiking and cross-country skiing connect the community to neighbouring ones and the park conservation area, while in the streets of Symbiocité, skiers and cyclists can safely travel through an underpass of the main road and a linear park running through the neighbourhoods, which also includes a short jaunt to the nearby Marché des jardiniers market.
By car, it’s a five-minute ride to Candiac or Quartier Dix30, and a 10-minute trip to Taschereau Blvd. and free parking for bus service that includes a daily express shuttle to downtown Montreal.
“You get more bang for your buck here,” Quint said. “La Prairie is a very good municipality to deal with. They have a very accessible administration, low taxes and what we are able to build here — after, of course, giving land over for the park — will significantly increase the population (and tax base).”
The project features homes by six builders, including condos in quadruplexes perfect for empty nesters by William Alliance, and targets those seeking proximity to the island of Montreal and local commerce but serenely immersed in protected natural environments.
The park is home to ash, maple, birch and poplar trees, plus wetlands, rare plants, fox, porcupines and other species. Access is severely restricted, meaning development ends where the park begins, period.
Except, of course, for reproduction ponds at its perimeter, created specifically for the randy little frogs.
“It’s a lot of work, sure,” Quint said. “We have to deal with extra layers of government, the city, regional officials and the province. There was some delay for negotiations over how much land we would hand over for the park, and setting up rules of access. But it’s worth it for what we are building here; there’s nothing like it anywhere.”
Many first-time buyers find their way to the Habitations Deschênes et Pépin townhouses on Moissoneur St., boasting bright open concepts with large windows, closets and garages, and starting at $298,000, tax included. Laundry rooms on upper floors are standard and virtually all homes in the project enjoy a fair amount of southwest exposure.
“These neighbourhoods are designed for modern families,” Quint said. “People want real, multigenerational neighbourhoods — and the builders are garnering interest from as far away as Sherbrooke.”