MONTREAL -- In the 19th century, Montreal's waterfront was at the heart of Canada's Industrial Revolution. The Lachine Canal, a major component of the waterfront, was lined with factories and warehouses and the St. Lawrence River was the "highway" to the outside world. But by the 1970s, business had moved away.
In the 1990s, the waterfront slowly started to reawaken. The Lachine Canal (now run by Parks Canada) was restored and reopened, prompting a flurry of new construction, while some of the 19th and early 20th century commercial and industrial buildings were converted into artists' studios, boutiques and condo lofts.
In spite of these developments, there at first was no concrete plan to redevelop the rest of Montreal's waterfront, but that changed in 2002 with the launch of Société du Havre de Montreal. Helped by $1-million of funding from the thee levels of government, the group was charged with the task of coming up with recommendations for developing what is now being dubbed Montreal's New Harbourfront.
"We needed an action plan to regenerate the waterfront and to give the river back to the city," recalls Isabelle Hudon, president of Société du Havre and the Montreal Chamber of Commerce. "The goal was to give easier access to the shoreline, to encourage new construction and to introduce a [recreation] element ... so that residents and tourists alike could enjoy the water."
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The Société du Havre conjured up a wish list of 31 recommendations to be completed by 2025. The estimated cost was daunting: $6.4-billion. The waterfront projects were to include the creation of green spaces, the redevelopment of brownfield sites and rerouting the Bonaventure Highway, which now cuts off the waterfront from the downtown.
In 2006, one promising project came and went. Situated in the Peel Basin, it was backed by Loto-Québec and Cirque du Soleil and was to include a soccer stadium, a tramway and a large casino and entertainment complex.
The development was cancelled because of pressure from community groups who feared that gambling would lead to further social and economic problems in the arrondissement Sud-Ouest, a working-class residential area that runs back from the waterfront.
"It was disappointing when the Peel Basin project fell through," says Daniel l'Africain, a real estate lawyer and president of the 350-member strong Chambre de commerce et d'industrie du Sud-Ouest du Montréal.
"Certainly, the plan wasn't perfect, but there is a crying need for new developments. We've already seen how the renovation of the Lachine Canal has boosted business in the area. If the waterfront is developed in the right manner, I'm sure many people will move back from the suburbs into the downtown area to work and live."
Although the Peel Basin project has fallen by the wayside, others have popped up on the drawing board. Last November, Montreal developer Devimco, announced plans for Griffintown, which would see the construction of 3,830 residences, 80 retail outlets and a concert hall. Devimco is prepared to spend $1.3-billion over the next 10 years, which would make the Griffintown project, comprising 1.1 million square feet, one of the largest private investments yet in Montreal.
Ms. Hudon is focusing on pushing forward two priorities for Montreal's New Harbourfront - upgrading and beautifying (rather than rerouting) the Bonaventure Highway with green space and new signage, and redeveloping the land and buildings owned by the various governments. They comprise the biggest chunk (70 per cent) of unused or underused space on the harbour.
Years of bureaucratic wrangling between various government entities had stymied previous attempts to develop these lands and buildings, but last April, Canada Lands Co. (CLC) jumped in and announced that it would purchase and develop six major sites - a total of 4.8 million square feet of federal land - along the St. Lawrence River and the Lachine Canal.
CLC will take over two lots at Cité du Havre (currently owned by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.), three owned by Transport Canada and a former Canada Post mail processing plant at 1500 rue Ottawa on the north side of the Lachine Canal.
"We were more than happy when Canada Lands stepped in," Ms. Hudon says. "CLC's job is to create wealth and generate revenue and now we've got the mandate to pull all the pieces together. Obviously, there's still a lot to be done, but I'm very optimistic that things will finally move forward."
The first building slated for a makeover is the Canada Post sorting office and CLC has been sounding out the community to determine how the site could best be redeveloped.
"We spent last summer chatting to everyone we could think of, from elected officials to local developers," says Basil Cavis, the Montreal-based general manager of real estate for CLC. "The idea was to lay the groundwork for the formal public consultation process, which will start in [May].
According to Mr. Cavis, several options for the Canada Post property are on the table. A non-descript 1970s building, it was constructed on top of four filled-in loading docks and although it has 500 metres of canal frontage, there's no ready access to the water. The building occupies 40 per cent of the 9.5 hectare site, but it has no heritage value. It could well be demolished and something else built in its place.
Among the ideas being bandied about are a canal interpretation centre, restaurants, a hotel, retail outlets and a co-operative for artists.
Also on the drawing board are plans to convert a group of concrete silos known as Grain Elevator No. 5, which once served the old Grand Truck Railway, into to an iconic symbol for Montreal, perhaps by creating a museum or some other kind of people place.
"There are still many stages to go through," Mr. Cavis says. "We have to look at servitudes, municipal zoning and so on. After that, we will we be able to arrive at some general idea of what type of development will be appropriate for the site."
Time will tell which developments will win out. In the meantime, the consultation process this spring will mark the next stage in creating Montreal's New Harbourfront, heralding a turnaround for the city's once bustling waterfront.
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