Some McGill University students want to give Montreal a fresh new urban look.
They’ve teamed up with architect Robert Libman to launch a feasibility study on developing the Saint-Luc rail yards – a five and a half square kilometre piece of land – almost the same size as the city of Côte Saint-Luc itself.
The yards are owned by CP and CN Rail. They sit in the heart of the island and are used to store and manufacture rail cars.
Libman thinks there is a huge opportunity for developers to buy the property and convert it into a mixed residential and commercial site with new roads.
“In 2016 it doesn’t make sense anymore, right at the core of our city, to have these railyards,” Libman told Global News.
Current mayor of Côte Saint-Luc, Mitchell Brownstein, says it’s fine to have a student project studying the issue but Libman should not be involved.
“If the students want to do a great study they should meet with me and perhaps the urban planning department and perhaps I can even connect them with CP Rail,” he said.
McGill master’s student Zoe Chapin predicts a lot of late nights working on the project, but she’s not complaining.
“All of us as students are really interested in transforming once industrial spaces into new vibrant neighbourhoods,” Chapin said.
Brownstein said CN Rail told him the rail company has no interest in relocating its rail yard but, according to Brownstein, CP Rail is open to the option of selling its share of property.
Regardless of who heads up the idea, selling the land and redeveloping it into a more friendly urban setting is likely years, if not decades away.