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And so....the controversy-laden 140,000 square foot plot of land better known simply as Overdale is, according to the Montreal Gazette, nearing sale.
The current owner, Robert Landau who Coolopolis has repeatedly described in less-than-lovey-dovey-terms, took over the block with Douglas Cohen in around 1987. He worked with the Dore administration to kick out all of the 87 tenants who lived in several old buildings that long sat on the terrain.
Homes were lost without compensation on a sly ruse designed by Dore. He simply had the buildings condemned by fire inspectors.
Jean Dore never lived down his moment of infamy. Nor did his right-hand man John Gardiner. Nor did Nick auf der Maur who supported the senseless evictions with an alarming enthusiasm. Robert Landau, is of course, not fondly considered either due to his bizarre antics which destroyed a community of downtown artists and students.
It was a sad moment in the history of Montreal and those who were forced out - and for the sake of full disclosure I must admit that I am one of them - should be compensated for the unnecessary suffering that the bogus episode caused.
Whoever is buying the property is also inherited a historic building known as the Louis-Hyppolite Lafontaine house. It is far too valuable to allow to be demolished.
Canada must step in immediately and ensure that this final property is protected. The new owners, who can put up about one million square feet of actual housing, have a ton of money to make and this opportunity cannot be wasted. It is of utmost importance that someone finally show some leadership in this file and at least try to rectify some of the madness that afflicted the city during those dark times.
Lest we forget
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overdale
Why not raise these historic buildings up onto blocks and move them elsewhere? Or are we too cheap or unimaginative to consider it?
ReplyDeleteThis has happened in other places around the world, such as in Berlin, for example, where an old hotel in Potsdamerplatz was successfully shifted to a nearby location.
Food for thought.
I bet in 10 years, we will discover 10X as much scandals and dirty dealings with the corrupt Tremblay administration. They're still in power and already under investigation. How many buildings are left falling apart so that the owner can cash in later by razing it and building up on top?
ReplyDeleteThis is an old story which, amazingly, everyone continues to fall for. Sadly, this has gone on for decades and will doubtless continue for decades to come.
ReplyDeleteA "controversial" old, vacant building--often a landmark or historical place of interest--is deliberately allowed to crumble and disintegrate, and despite numerous and ongoing legal proceedings to save it, which drag on forever, the building inevitably must be demolished because it has become a hazard.
The old Hunt Club behind St. Justine's Hospital immediately comes to mind as a classic example of this.
There is nothing more blatant a conspiracy, in my opinion, than this type of property disputes.
New laws must be written in order to put an end to this nonsense once and for all.
You lived there? Wow.
ReplyDeleteI live in Boston but I first started coming to Montreal back in 1998. I often stayed at the hostel on Overdale. I'd walk by that gorgeous old mansion with the Mansard roof and wonder what the story was. How can that prime property be left that way?
an oddly earnest post from you, k-man. is it because you're pleading for a pay-out'
ReplyDelete4 Shyoor Daniel. That's one of the reasons I oppose public housing to this day. The city tried to bribe the residents they kicked out by offering them a place in a newly-built craptastic charity building. A subsidized apartment down the hill at a price that wasn't even particularly good. They figured this offer made everything legit. People like me - a struggling student supporting himself 100% on his own income - got zero, when by law we should have had bargaining power of around $10,000. Robert Landau really screwed everybody - including the city - over, he should pay.
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