Vaudreuil-Dorion recently unveiled plans to construct a new 27,000 square-metre city hall in a vacant field by the Vaudreuil-Dorion RTM station near the corner of Elmer-Lach and André Chartrand. The new facility will include an aquatic park and will occupy a densely populated part of the city.
Previously, the proposed city hall site was going to go onto a lakeside plot of land. Many residents were concerned that it would be subject to flooding. Mayor Guy Pilon said that flooding concerns weren’t a factor in the decision to change locations, and that the new project will be more efficient.
By far, the most common concern voiced by residents Global News spoke to is the need for parking. The RTM station lot nearby regularly overflows. Vaudreuil officials are still working on the details of the new facility, but already concede parking will be included in the new project.
According to Pilon, Vaudreuil has a unique situation with its city hall that stems back to decisions made decades ago. Some 30 years ago, a developer built the strip mall Dutrisac Street where the current city hall sits. He rented the whole mall out, with Vaudreuil renting the top floor for its city hall.
At the end of the lease, the city would become the owner of the building, Pilon said. But that developer went bankrupt, a private firm took ownership of the site, and before the lease ended, the city sold the building rights in the 1990s for $350,000. It recently sold for $5.7 million.
Comments