Lee Woodard folds clothes as he waits for customers to enter his Montreal store on a quiet Thursday morning. But Woodard says recently, clients are few and far between. The assistant manager of the Chlorophylle sports clothing store on Ste-Catherine Street says ever since the city closed off his section of the street to cars, clients are scarce.
“It affected our sales, definitely. Especially now that it’s the summer season, what better time to buy sports clothing?” Woodard said. “With the big blockade around the outside, let’s just say sales have been less profitable this time.”
Chlorophylle sits on Ste-Catherine Street between McGill College Avenue and Robert Bourrassa Boulevard.
Two months ago, the city shut the street to car traffic and put up large barricades. City engineers found the neighbouring former Jaegar building was structurally unsound, and a danger to the public. The building is abandoned and empty, and sits next to an empty lot. In 2021 the building suffered a fire, but has been untouched ever since. After the structural problems were discovered, the city not only established a large perimeter around the building, but also closed off part of the street.
Woodard says he and other merchants are frustrated, because there has been virtually no work carried out on the building ever since it was closed.
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“I am just wondering why the barriers are still there if no one is going to be working on it,” Woodard said.
George Hui works at Antoine Laoun as a receptionist and stylist. He says pedestrians usually walk on
the other side of the street away from his store and the barriers. He also says business is down. The road barricade has especially affected his elderly clients, who usually access his store by car, he added.
“We have gotten less traffic for the business. Less clients come in, they have less access to the roads, especially elderly people,” Hui said. “Sometimes they are in wheelchairs, and they really can’t get access because the cars need to drop them off.”
What is especially frustrating is that merchants have received virtually no communication from the city, Hui said.
“We are doing what is possible for our business, but it’s not up to us to contact the city. It’s their job to contact us,” he said.
Executive committee member Robert Beaudry says the city has contacted the Jaegar building’s owner, who lives in the United States. He says the city urged him to take action to secure the building and make it safe.
“If he didn’t do so, we will take next steps and it could be to act by ourselves on the building,” Beaudry said. “So we are really clear we want quick quick action right now.”
The city says that despite the street closure, pedestrians can access the stores by foot.
The leader of the official opposition said the situation is unacceptable, and the city should have better communication with merchants.
“For me it’s unacceptable to leave people in that situation with no information,” Ensemble Montréal Leader Aref Salem said. “I understand there is a security issue there but the city could intervene.”
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