The city of Pointe-Claire will soon be the proud owner of a piece of land in the area known as Pointe-Claire Village.
On Tuesday night, city council unanimously approved the purchase of a lot at the corner of Lakeshore Road and Cartier Avenue.
The land is considered the entrance to the village and has been earmarked to become a public space.
“We want something special, to make it interesting for people to come down and realize that they’re in the village,” said Pointe-Claire mayor John Belvedere.
Belvedere says his vision could include a multi-functional building, public washrooms and a new space for the village’s market.
The city struck a deal of $3.75 million with Groupe Quorum, a developer which currently owns the lot.
The city admitted that Quorum had served them a lawyers letter after it changed the zoning of the area last January.
The new dispositions cap the number of storeys allowed in a building at three.
According to the mayor, the developer had intentions to build a five-storey building on the lot.
A Quorum representative showed up at the Jan. 21 council meeting in Pointe-Claire to express his disappointment regarding the “change in rules,” but was cut off promptly.
“That’s part of negotiations. That’s why it took so long,” Belvedere explained.
“Could we end up in a lawsuit or whatever? We looked at everything and that’s why it took the time it took.”
The mayor says negotiations have been ongoing for over a year now.
Several residents took to the microphone to congratulate the mayor and the council for purchasing the land.
“Now the whole of Lakeshore within the village is protected from three-storey buildings. We can work at keeping its character,” said Michel Forest, the president of the Pointe Claire historical society.
“It’s going to remain a village and not to become a condo lane.”
Others at the meeting pointed out that the city is paying more per square foot on the land in question compared to what the buyer of the Pioneer paid for that land. The lots are 200 metres apart.
“It’s two completely different transactions. There are some bases that are in common but we can’t compare the two of them,” Belvedere explained.
Belvedere says that the council’s priority is to sign the deal with Quorum.
Council will then take its time to come up with a concrete plan for the land.
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