Pointe-Claire conservation report a guideline for maintaining heritage

City looking to preserve village site that provides so much historic character

While all eyes are on the ongoing sagas of the demolition-development plans for the old Pioneer site, the Walton Avenue mall and the Coptic church hall, PointeClaire city council has tabled a conservation plan suggesting ways to protect and enhance the unique character of the Pointe Claire heritage site in the historic Pointe-Claire Village.

Called La Pointe, it sits on the shores of Lake St-Louis and is considered the heart of PointeClaire. The site includes the iconic windmill (which inspired the city’s logo), St-Joachim Church, the presbytery and the sacristan’s house, as well as buildings that were once related to parish life such as École Marguerite-Bourgeoys and the former convent of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre-Dame.

In 2013, the city introduced a bylaw recognizing La Pointe as a heritage site, which set in motion further measures to preserve this valued area.

A recently released, 50-page conservation plan prepared by a consulting firm focuses entirely on this neighbourhood. The document is an offshoot of the Special Planning Program (SPP) for Pointe-Claire Village, which was adopted in 2016.

Mayor John Belvedere said the SPP is a vision for the overall village sector that includes Alexandre-Bourgeau Park, Lakeshore Road and Cartier Avenue, while the conservation plan deals strictly with La Pointe.

“It tells you what materials you are allowed to use and what you are not allowed to use,” Belvedere said. “It gives you all the details you need. It goes into detail about what is protected.”

Suggestions in the plan include the protection of the buildings by facilitating their upkeep, preservation and restoration, avoiding demolitions and any compromising of the site’s original character by preventing any excessive renovations. The report divides the implementation of measures into two parts: measures addressing public land owned by the city, such as streets and walkways, and measures addressing structures, such as the church which sit on land owned by the Catholic diocese.

Belvedere said the conservation plan is another positive step in the city’s efforts to preserve the heritage site but added that the plan is to be used as a guide and is not a bylaw.

As of today, “there are no specific projects,” Belvedere said. “We want people to understand that we are interested in protecting the heritage (of the site). It is a positive document.”

The mayor noted the city remains limited on what projects it can implement because the church owns much of the site.

“We don’t own the windmill and we don’t own the convent — that’s still private property,” he said.

“Right now, it’s off the market, it’s no longer for sale. The diocese controls it.”

The mayor said the city has asked the diocese to come up with long-term solutions for the windmill as well as suggestions for a reutilization plan for the vacated convent.

“It’s a work in progress,” Belvedere said of negotiations with church officials.

He said the city would probably begin by redoing side streets and sidewalks leading to the site, but even this type of infrastructure work wouldn’t start until next year, at the earliest.

The general guidelines presented in the conservation plan set the right tone, but the implementation of projects designed to maintain and improve access to the site are not yet set in stone.

So much remains in up the air, be it negotiating with church officials regarding access to the windmill and a new vocation for the old convent, preparing specifications for concrete actions or the launching of any groundwork.