A St. Henri community group is still fighting a re-development plan at the former Canada Malting Plant.
It’s been nearly a decade since organizations and residents have been mobilizing against high end condos and they don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
Community organization Solidarité St. Henri has been asking the city since 2013 to take the site out of the speculative real estate market.
“What’s really different now is the housing crisis in Montreal,” said Shannon Franssen, the group’s community development coordinator. “It’s really at a point the city needs to act and they need to act now.”
The property is owned by a private holdings company seeking to convert the area into 160 housing units for families and another 60 reserved for low-cost housing. A preschool, office space, art studio and a park were also included. But that was over two years ago.
“They’re just sitting on it, just letting it deteriorate, it’s offering nothing to respond to the needs of the neighborhood,” said Franssen “We need to put pressure on the owners to do something different with the site.”
In March 2020 Solidarité St. Henri proposed its own plan which included 200 affordable rental housing units, a daycare, community gardens and a museum.
“This is the last large site in St. Henri that can really accommodate more than 200 social housing units, that’s what we need from the neighbourhood, that’s why we’re not letting go of our demands for this site,” added Franssen.
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Residents feel strongly about the gentrification of St. Henri.
We’ve been here before all the newcomers and they’re throwing us out like garbage,” said Micheline Girard. “I believe this area here..it should belong to us.”
The group has been asking the city to pass a bylaw, which would facilitate their ability to acquire the site. But no luck so far.
“If it really is a priority for them to develop the city differently to not just be lining the pockets of real estate developers, they need to put this site out of the market today,” said Franssen.
A spokesperson for the city told Global News no final decisions have been made for the site.
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