The Golfodrome dream that died

Exactly 15 years ago the Golfodrome was announced on the land featured in the bright spot of this picture. This land was known as the Glen Extension Yard. The City of Montreal (SODIM, the Industrial Development Society of the City of Montreal, to be precise) bought it from Canadian Pacific for $12.8 million in 1990. The western part of the turf was a Coca Cola bottling plant. The city paid $8.4 million for that chunk in 1989.

The city sought to sell it off for industrial purposes but didn't get a sniff. It might've helped had the city built a tunnel underneath the darn thing to make it accessible with the rest of NDG but they didn't think of that. Right now Cavendish and Elmhurst are the only routes over the train tracks. It's crazy.

So it was announced on July 16, 1992 that Anderton Burke and Johan Nachmanson were to buy a 3.6 acre chunk on the east side of this spot for $3.5 million. Coolopolis couldn't reach either person to reminisce on the would-be affair, but found much evidence that Nachmanson was, and perhaps is, a solid proponent of French-only politics.

Most city councillors slammed the proposal. Sam Boskey insisted that the area was a great opportunity for NDG to develop an "industrial base." Surely he was having sweet Marxist dreams of muscular overall-clad workers carrying metal lunchboxes ridin' the bus to the factory. Someone named Godley-Demers was against it. Sharon Leslie was for it. Rotrand colourfully opposed.

Golfdrome was to include a golf range that would welcome 144 duffers simultaneously, an 18 hole miniputt, a small bowling alley, baseball batting cages, an exercise gym, a kids play area, a golf school and golf stores, a restaurant and meeting halls and offices as well as 600 parking spots.

It would have an inflatable plastic dome roof. So you could golf in winter.

Construction of the $13 million project was to begin in September, 1992. But the developers couldn't raise the loot. By December the developers failed to file the necessary papers. The file was closed. This was only revealed much later.

 February 1994, the city announced that the developers wouldn't be permitted to build the thing for another 10 years. A few weeks later the dynamic developing duo fessed up to the obvious fact that the Golfodrome would never be built.

On March 2, 1995 Len Altilia, mastermind of Loyola High School bought 350,000 square feet at the eastern side of that parcel from the city of Montreal for $2.7 million to build a hockey arena, and a football and soccer field. The city sold it on the condition that Montreal residents would be allowed to use it. The rink was never built but the fields are there now.

It's a bit strange considering there are already soccer fields right across the tracks at Trenholme and others Concordia's Loyola campus, which the high school apparently no longer wanted to share with the university.

The terrain that Loyola purchased eventually went on to house a Reno Depot and a Gazette printing plant, so presumably the Jesuits made a buck or two spinning off those properties in subsequent deals.

The terrain surely didn't include the commercial properties on the north side of St. James Street West near Cavendish, which are also currently undergoing much construction, including a new motel being built by Peter Sergakis near Cavendish and St. James.

So next time you swing your rod, try getting a little tear to well up for the Golfodrome, a noble dream from 15 years ago today, that should have been ...but never was.