SAINTE-ANNE-DE-BELLEVUE – For two years, an old Canada Post building on Sainte-Anne Boulevard has sat empty and abandoned.
The former post office hasn’t been sold, and remains an eyesore to those who walk by.
“It can look a little ugly if you walk by,” said area business owner Steve Scharf.
“It’s an abandoned area. There hasn’t been changes at all. It looks like someone dropped everything and left and it’s starting to look its age.”
Canada Post is a Crown corporation and the building falls under federal jurisdiction.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue’s mayor Paola Hawa told Global News there is only so much the city can do.
“To see it sitting there vacant is disturbing,” she said. “Absolutely, it’s frustrating.”
The building is valued at more than $1 million.
Right now, Canada Post pays $33,000 in property taxes every year.
On top of that, hundreds of thousands of dollars would need to be invested to decontaminate the land, making the purchase a very costly proposition.
Philippe D’Aoust’s family has owned his G. D’Aoust & Cie on the same corner of the boulevard for 115 years, and they’ve seen many changes over the decades.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue has spent time and money beautifying the area to make it a more attractive destination, something that D’Aoust said has paid off.
“An empty building isn’t good for anybody,” he said.
D’Aoust said the Canada Post building is in a prime location and hopes whatever replaces it is an attraction for more than just locals.
“We need to be attracting people from the greater Montreal area,” he told Global News.