The executive committee of the City of Montreal approved the transaction of 9.8 hectares of land situated in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue for $5.1 million.
The new acquisition, belonging to Grilli Property Group, will be added to the Great Western Park situated in close proximity to the l’Anse-à-l’Orme nature park.
“It’s with great pride we announce today a first acquisition for the Great Western Park. This purchase of good quality land subscribes to our vision of protecting this magnificent green space,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Through this, we are contributing to the maintenance and enlargement of our biodiversity all while assuring we can deliver a large unique park — which will contribute to the quality of life of Montrealers.”
READ MORE: Montreal planning to create largest urban park in Canada
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue mayor Paola Hawa said the announcement today is an important step in the development of more green space.
“I am proud that we are important partners in the realization of this project here in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, where the biggest urban park in Canada will be,” Hawa said.
READ MORE: Urban park on West Island welcomed news, but environmentalists call for more
In August 2019, the City of Montreal announced the creation of the largest urban park in Canada, ranging more than 3,000 hectares, which regroups the nature parks of l’Anse-à-l’Orme, du Bois-de-L’Île-Bizard, du Bois-de-la-Roche, du Cap-Saint-Jacques and des Rapides-du-Cheval-Blanc.
According to Plante, it will be eight times larger than New York’s Central Park and 15 times the size of Mount Royal Park in downtown Montreal.
She called the project the most important conservation effort since Mount Royal Park was built 150 years ago.
— With files from Global’s Amanda Jelowicki
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