Many people have great memories of the pizza that used to be served at the old Chateau Dorval restaurant.
Now the place sits empty and the City of Dorval authorities want the property. They’ve made an offer to purchase the land to turn it into a green space.
It sits just east of Dorval Avenue and a green space would serve as a gateway to the Dorval Village.
All of this is to address growing business vacancy rates in the area. According to the local business association, Commerce Dorval (formerly Dorval Main Streets), those rates on Lakeshore Boulevard in the village have shot up since 2014, from eight per cent to about 16 per cent.
The group held public consultations in 2018, to find out exactly what people in the area would like to see done.
“We’re working with Dorval merchants to establish a course of action for the revitalization of Dorval main streets,” Commerce Dorval president Pierre Soucy told Global News in 2018.
The other main street besides Lakeshore Drive that Soucy is referring to is Dorval Avenue where there have also been concerns about declining business.
As for the old restaurant space, residents like Hans Zaun say a green space would certainly add to the village feel. He says he used to live in Lachine and would visit Dorval Village because of its character.
“I think all communities should have village centres for the community,” he says, “and when they open up more green spaces for families, I completely support it.”
Others are just glad that the plans aren’t for something else, like Jennifer Ng.
“A lot of spaces, they’re turning into condos and things like that so for Dorval to consider open spaces to now be green spaces, I think it’s a great initiative.”
City officials hope that this revitalization will make the space attractive and encourage growth.
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