Montreal planning a Griffintown makeover

MONTREAL – The city of Montreal’s urban plan for Griffintown includes six new public green spaces and $93 million in infrastructure spending over the next four years.

The plan for the former Irish working-class neighbourhood that is already awash with major condo projects will be subject to public consultations before year’s end, executive committee president Michael Applebaum said.

“It is not easy to rebuild a city within a city,” Sud-Ouest borough Mayor Benoit Dorais told reporters at Thursday’s unveiling.

The challenge is to create a sustainable neighbourhood with a mix of residential units and a streetscape that favours cyclists and pedestrians, while also ensuring it is a pleasant and vibrant community, the men said.

About 8,000 residential units are slated to be built in Griffintown, along with 150,000 square metres of commercial or office space, reporters were told.

When the last of the construction is complete – in 25 years, according to current projections – the area will have added $4.4 billion in value to the city, Applebaum said.

Ideally, the proposal unveiled Thursday would be completed before construction in the area begins, he said.

Some modifications of density and height requirements for zones not yet undergoing construction have been made, he said.

“We are learning as we go along,” Applebaum said.

Vision Montreal Leader Louise Harel described Thursday’s announcement as bittersweet.

“We welcome the (plan), but it should have been done,” years ago, Harel told reporters.

“Land prices have gone up … and the city will have to pay considerably more for the (park) land now.”

The city is to acquire a paddock at the Griffintown Horse Place to preserve it as a green space. A non-profit foundation is working to raise funds to rebuild the stables.

Challenges still face planners.

“There is a shortage of schools … but it is not for the city to buy land for the different school boards,” Applebaum said.

But city officials are willing to work with public and private schools to help them acquire property, and some discussions are already underway, he said.

A “cocktail of transportation” is needed for the sector, Harel said, adding that it was essential that the Société de transport de Montréal and its partners come up with a plan for consideration.

An option has to be found to having “1,300 buses a day pass alongside the largest park in Griffintown,” she said.

Public consultations on the proposed plan will be held by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal, Applebaum said.

Griffintown is an area delineated by Notre Dame St. W. to the north, the Lachine Canal to the south, Georges Vanier Blvd. to the west and the Bonaventure Expressway to the east.

The proposed urban plan for Griffintown can be found at http://www.montreal2025.com.