A towering three-storey tent is raising eyebrows and leaving neighbours scratching their heads in Montreal’s Saint-Laurent borough.
“I have no clue what it is. We have been trying to figure it out,” said Thomas Crown as he looked up at the frame that stands next to his home.
A massive temporary structure looms over the residential house on Vincent Street.
Measuring close to 11 metres wide and 23 metres long, the tent covers the majority of the home.
The structure was installed to help with the scheduled construction project.
According to the homeowners, the tarp-like tent is meant to keep the worksite protected from the elements as crews open the roof to install an additional storey on their home.
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The enormous canopy is getting a lot of attention online and creating quite a fuss on the street.
Neighbours tell Global News that they have no issue with the large tent but that they do not like the increased traffic and lack of privacy the structure brings to their once quiet, one-way street as people flock to take pictures.
Some report motorists driving in the wrong direction trying to catch a glimpse of the now famous tent.
Daniel Singh, who is the president of the company that set up the tents, Canevas Metropolitain, says he understands the fascination with the standing roof. His Longueuil-based company has made close to a dozen custom designs for similar projects.
“It’s usually contractors that use these for projects that need protection from rain or snow,” Singh said.
While the Saint-Laurent tent is impressive to most, it is not the largest the company has produced.
Working often with industrial giants such as Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney, one of their largest canopies measured 274 metres long and 30 metres wide.
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The structure has faced criticism on social media as some worry about it being so close to other homes.
“None of my structures have ever fallen over or blown away. The tent is firmly grounded,” Singh said.
“There was a pretty good wind storm the other day and it’s still standing. I guess they put it down pretty good,” Crown said.
According to Singh, the tent is temporary and will be up for the remainder of the project, which is scheduled to take 30 days.
In the meantime, the borough said it is aware of the tent and will be monitoring the project’s progress.
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