Some notable vacant buildings in Montreal.
Royal Victoria Hospital; About 700,000 square feet of unused space was recently
abandoned with the moving of health facilities to the West End. It's perched in a perfect location just north of downtown. Plans? None. McGill wants to be given the land but that plan comes with a hefty price tag and does not appear imminent.
Children's Hospital: Same as above. Health care facilities were recently shut down and the building vacated with the move to the West End superhospital. No plans have been discussed for this imposing building right square downtown near the Atwater metro.
Planetarium Building at the old Chaboillez square was abandoned almost four years ago
when a new planetarium was built near the Olympic
Stadium. Various pitches have been nixed. According to a little-discussed deed stipulation, Dow required the building to remain a planetarium but that could technically be nullified with some creative lawmaking.
Snowdon Theatre: CDN/NDG borough has owned this landmark building on Decarie but appears unable or unwilling to do basic
repairs on the building, forcing a valued gymnastics centre out and leaving the building to rot. City Councillor Marvin Rotrand and borough mayor Russell Copeman have not stated any plans for the property.
Empress Theatre: Years of rountables, studies, and discussion forums
have proven completely futile as nobody seems willing to invest in fixing up this Sherbrooke street landmark.
Railroad offices on Bridge Lovely old abandoned
building in front of Costco sits empty to give passersby that vintage rustbelt feel.
St Sulpice Library 35,000 square feet of prime real estate on St. Denis has long sat empty in this heritage site. An outcry resulted in a recent plan to possibly do something with it.
ning out.
Dome theatre Onetime theatre used by Dawson drama school has been abandoned on Notre Dame in St. Henri for many years.
Picasso's Restaurant Once-thriving late-night hotspot was slayed by high rents to owner Peter Sergakis, who also owns the nearby recently-expanded PJ's sports bar.
Royal Victoria Hospital; About 700,000 square feet of unused space was recently
Children's Hospital: Same as above. Health care facilities were recently shut down and the building vacated with the move to the West End superhospital. No plans have been discussed for this imposing building right square downtown near the Atwater metro.Planetarium Building at the old Chaboillez square was abandoned almost four years ago
Stadium. Various pitches have been nixed. According to a little-discussed deed stipulation, Dow required the building to remain a planetarium but that could technically be nullified with some creative lawmaking.
Snowdon Theatre: CDN/NDG borough has owned this landmark building on Decarie but appears unable or unwilling to do basic
repairs on the building, forcing a valued gymnastics centre out and leaving the building to rot. City Councillor Marvin Rotrand and borough mayor Russell Copeman have not stated any plans for the property.
Empress Theatre: Years of rountables, studies, and discussion forums
have proven completely futile as nobody seems willing to invest in fixing up this Sherbrooke street landmark.
Railroad offices on Bridge Lovely old abandoned building in front of Costco sits empty to give passersby that vintage rustbelt feel.
St Sulpice Library 35,000 square feet of prime real estate on St. Denis has long sat empty in this heritage site. An outcry resulted in a recent plan to possibly do something with it.
ning out.
Viger station has had tenants since the spring, and work continues on the rest of the renovation project. Developer's site: gareviger.com
ReplyDeleteLoosing these historic landmarks bring tears to my ears. But I guess that's progress, eventually. What hurts most, in my case is loosing the Snowden Theatre. What a beautiful classy place. What memories.
ReplyDeletehere's an 2013 update on the Planetarium
ReplyDeletehttp://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Montreal/2013/03/14/006-planetarium-dow-cede-ecole-technologie-suprerieure.shtml
It cannot be mere coincidence that our former movie theatres in particular are left to rot while the owners are seemingly invulnerable to prosecution and public outcry.
ReplyDeleteSo called "property rights" are continually used as an excuse to permit abuse.
There ought to be a legal framework--as with apartment buildings--to force owners to maintain and repair such buildings or sell them by a set date either to the city or others who have a definite plan to restore them. Non compliance should demand heavy fines.
Why doesn't the media do more to expose this travesty by naming and shaming? Why don't those with knowledge of the specific facts in each case become whistleblowers?
There is way too much complacency which only encourages scofflaw owners who know that they only have to delay as long as it takes before their crumbling structures must be demolished for safety concerns--an old and tired story.
Why do these scoundrels always have the advantage?
Meanwhile in Winnipeg, they can't sell the old police hq, because it's on
ReplyDeleteland sold cheap on the condition that it be used for the public good.
So if they sell it, the descendants get the money. I got all excited, until I noticed that while it had been my great, great, great grandfather's land, it
had been sold by a more recent generation, I think my great grandfather's cousins. So no big windfall, but the cousins would benefit.
It's not the only location derived from family land. One portion was used as a public market, until The Great Winnipeg General Strike, when it was used as a rallying point.
James Street is named for James Ross, chief justice in Louis Riel's provisional government, and my great, great grandmother Henrietta's brother. She didn't get a street, but there is a John Black Avenue named after him. Her younger sister Jemima had a street named for her, but I gather it was changed to an Elgin Street. Sad, since she had self-esteem issues.
The real trick to posterity is to be somewhere early, so you get the land and get to name the streets, just because they are your children.
Michael
Lets not forget the old Allion in LaSalle. What a creepy building that is now.
ReplyDeleteThe CNR's former Wellington Tower, abandoned for many years, will be renovated.
ReplyDeleteSee:
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/wellington-tower-to-undergo-4-6-million-in-renovations-1.2460691
The building on bridge that you title "Railroad Offices" is actually the former administration building and office of the old Montreal Stockyards, which were behind it before Costco arrived on the scene.
ReplyDelete