When a developer plans a major project, it stealthily buys each property under numbered companies in order to prevent the seller from knowing that his property is an essential piece of a larger puzzle. This prevents the vendor from raising his price. Only once the developer has assembled all the required property does it announce its plans. It's tricky. Now that the city has announced its big splashy project, it remains vulnerable to owners jacking up their price as a form of blackmail. Thus it's possible that this project could take decades to happen and if it does it will almost surely be in piecemeal form.
The could pressure non-sellers by screwing with permits, closing streets, raising taxes and banning parking and so forth.
A city official tells Coolopolis refused to reveal which buildings will be demolished. He claims that landlords themselves have requested the status of their buildings not be revealed during negotiations. The chess game between the city and landowners has begun.
Coolopolis conducted a survey of businesses in the area to find out what's on their minds.
Lou Tec has a short lease and is resigned to an eventual demolition. The business has started looking elsewhere for another location.
The warehouse on the right has the impression that they're staying.
Sam Croitori of Century 21 tells me that it's an awkward time to try to rent out spaces in this warehouse on Ann below Ottawa because "it's all up in the air." He says the same owner owns the whole block and still doesn't know what the future will hold.
Mr. Julian has owned this engine repair shop since 1994. He would be okay with selling. "The city came around and said what they want to do and I'm not against it. This building is old." They haven't talked turkey yet. He'd like to stay downtown because he fixes marine engines.
The giant Entreposage Domestik sits beyond the eastern limits of the planned project. "We're staying," they tell Coolopolis.
This bike repair shop on Murray below Ottawa recently inked a two year lease, so he'll have to be paid off if owner wants him out before the end of 2009.
Murray north of Ottawa is key, as it contains about 15 apartment units. Claude Amesse purchased it from McConnell the plumber a couple of years ago for about $750,000. Amesse won an architecture award for the job he did on this corner and has been pouring cash into poncifying it with new doors and windows, so the city might have a hard time making him an offer he can't refuse.
Maurice has worked for the same owner at the storage warehouse for 26 years. He says that talks between his boss (the owner) and the city haven't really been specific but he thinks it's "inevitable" that the building will go.
Highly doubt that they'd be stupid enough to touch this landmark on Mountain. Nobody answered at the photo studio and the guy we know upstairs has moved to PEI.
Golden Metal on Mountain has no news but it would be hard to imagine that this place wouldn't be the first to go. It was opened by a guy named Goldman during the last great war and about 30 years ago its current owner Gingras took over.
The area west of Mountain contains little noteworthy except for a series of warehouses and an extremely well-attended dog run.
A rare bit of housing west of Mountain in the Griff. Nice door anyway.
8 comments:
I believe that newly-renovated building at Murray and Ottawa sits right outside the limits of development. In any case I think a place like that is something the developers would want to keep, since it adds a bit of historic prestige to their new neighbourhood. Same goes for all of those houses facing St. Ann's Park that will be preserved.
The house you're thinking about is almost at the exact centre of the development proposed HERE. See the blue line? Just under the bulb on the left-hand side. Take my word for it, I can see that house out my window and I'm in the exact centre of this zone -- which runs from the west side of University all the way west to (but not encompassing) the old Post Office sorting station.
Great study, thanks for the insider p.o.v.
You state that these building owners were in direct(?) negotiations with the city, but it was stated that the city will not invest a dime in the project. Are you sure they discussed selling with the city, or with Devimco, the promoter?
Good question and I'm not entirely sure of the exactly answer but my impression is that the city and the developer will be working together in their efforts to dislodge current owners from the terrain. Just because the city won't be directly signing the cheques doesn't mean that they won't be major players in this thing.
I think the only action the city can take is to change the zoning of certain buildings from industrial to residential/commercial, or something like that. According to this link,
www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/
story.html?id=be6bf4cb-852d-49a6-97c4-c055d78c5fb5
Devimco et al. is putting up all the cash ($200 million in equity, with $500 million private financing, and the remaining $600 million to be put up by three or four residential construction firms), while the city sits pretty and spends its dough on their priorities like transport infrastructures and security, as outlined in the 2008 budget. The major player here seems to be Devimco, but the city will determine just how big a player they are, through public consultations and inner city hall dialogs. I just hope that the public gets to somehow shape this project in such a way that it is more constructive - no pun intended - vis-a-vis the incoming community. There are 1001 uses for each of the buildings involved, and we should take (not TOO much) time to evaluate every possibility instead of ramming the project through.
Kristian,
Sorry to burst your little Griffintown bubble, but you are way off base in saying:
"A city cannot expropriate land for a private developer. Montreal cannot force anybody out for its planned remake of Griffintown. Each individual property must be purchased separately."
If you refer to the Charte de la Ville de Montréal, Annexe C, Chapitre 1 (Organisation de la Ville), Section 1 (Pouvoirs généraux de la Ville), article 152, you will see just how horribly wrong you are. http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/C_11_4/C11_4.htm
The fact is that one of the conditions the developer IMPOSED on the city in the acceptance of this project is to exercise its power of expropriation for up to 15% of the land required. Of course, this is not public knowledge YET, but maybe if you yell loud enough it will be.
Why do you think the central City has washed its hands of this project and delegated the consultation process to the south-west borough? The fewer citizens involved, the better. Something is indeed rotten in the hamlet of Griffintown.
So, for now it seems MTL can and will expropriate land for a private developer in an entirely legal fashion. The citizens are considered at this point to be the last barrier to success.
Good luck.
In Quebec History we had gone to see Griffintown and it was quite interesting to see. It would be a shame to destroy this historic area by putting new buildings and condos. We already have enough condos here in Montreal that are still out for rent why build more?If things keep going this way very soon there will no longer be any proof of Montreal's historic background.
They should just leave everyone alone,especially those who own shops and businesses there. Why harrass them into giving the buildings up?
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