tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post1280898554679813052..comments2024-03-22T06:27:28.914-04:00Comments on Coolopolis: Housing co-ops and why they fail Coolopolis Montrealhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15905393266078424993noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post-77939046394048381432012-11-23T20:43:37.882-05:002012-11-23T20:43:37.882-05:00Next door to where my Ma used to live. I guess it ...Next door to where my Ma used to live. I guess it must have been much scarier than when I would go there, although I do remember one cab driver not wanting to hang around at the taxi stand for too long. It's a great location, really.<br /><br />PaulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post-42419192643234913282012-11-23T17:06:22.087-05:002012-11-23T17:06:22.087-05:00This subdivision of Cote St. Luc on the northern b...This subdivision of Cote St. Luc on the northern border with NDG has an oddball history.<br /><br />Back in 1912 the Bellevue Land Company advertised lots for sale there. "Bellevue Park" was highly promoted with the street names laid out roughly in a continuation north from Montclair Avenue across Cote St. Luc Road. <br /><br />There was to be a Harris Avenue and Wilson Avenue traversing the CPR tracks and then cross streets McCool, Lanctot, Duquette, Michaud, Labrosse, and Trudeau. <br /><br />Lot prices were inexpensive and the sales blurb even used a photo of Theodore Roosevelt and one his quotes regarding a man's property being his wealth! <br /><br />Such Americanized sales pitches were evidently more popular back then than today. Even the east end industrial district of Maisonneuve was promoted as "The Pittsburgh of Canada"! Perhaps in that era some of our real estate companies were American-owned or co-owned with Canadian management.<br /><br />In any event, the Bellevue Park project never materialized as initially touted back then one hundred years ago. What does exist on that tract of land today includes your aforementioned co-op next to a somewhat similar street arrangement as projected in 1912 but with totally different street names.UrbanLegendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14279147395429134282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post-54538702548423887332012-11-22T20:38:43.911-05:002012-11-22T20:38:43.911-05:00"Perhaps our new mayor, who previously repres..."Perhaps our new mayor, who previously represented that district, will initiate similar improvements to less-fortunate housing projects island-wide. "<br /><br />The new Mayor, when he was a councillor, destroyed a proposal that many in the community had been working on for years, to turn Benny Farm into a mix of rental, co-op and affordable housing in the form of a Community Land Trust. The Chagnon Foundation was willing to pour in millions to fund community development activities and the banks had agreed to all the mortgages. Applebaum thought that the land was too valuable, that developers could make a bigger buck. Today there are nice new buildings and a lot of renovated buildings, but most people who used to live there can no longer afford to. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post-90440103794292814382012-11-22T15:59:41.215-05:002012-11-22T15:59:41.215-05:00I misread your description about the housing proje...I misread your description about the housing project being ON Walkley and Cote St. Luc rather than At Walkley and Cote St. Luc.<br /><br />In any event, those buildings really look out-of-place in wealthier CSL than NDG where that section of Walkley Ave. and further south have been plagued with the problems I mentioned. <br /><br />The "spillover effect" perhaps? Must be jinxed territory. :-(UrbanLegendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14279147395429134282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post-76460972690461778382012-11-22T13:14:44.357-05:002012-11-22T13:14:44.357-05:00Tiny quibble: this project is in the municipality ...Tiny quibble: this project is in the municipality of Cote St. Luc. Coolopolis Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15905393266078424993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36708385.post-16245380812205726132012-11-22T12:41:16.879-05:002012-11-22T12:41:16.879-05:00I suspect that due to the unfortunate history of t...I suspect that due to the unfortunate history of this section of NDG (higher crime, more fires, etc.), the administrators over time have given up on trying to maintain and improve it and have grabbed whatever they could before abandoning the sinking ship. <br /><br />By contrast, the Benny Farm complex--originally built for returning WWII veterans--despite being reasonably well-maintained, inevitably over time the structures became old and run-down. However, what happened in this case was that the entire complex was revamped, despite the controversy, and is today a showcase of urban living.<br /><br />Perhaps our new mayor, who previously represented that district, will initiate similar improvements to less-fortunate housing projects island-wide. <br /><br />Dare we hope?UrbanLegendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14279147395429134282noreply@blogger.com