Simon Fraser House, ancient West Island landmark, likely to become a private home

 

  West Island entrepreneur Chris McLean tells Coolopolis that he's not sure what he'll do with his recent purchase, the 225-year-old landmark Simon Fraser House in Ste. Anne de Bellevue that had belonged to the Canadian Heritage of Quebec group since 1965.

   That architectural heritage group, initiated by Colin Molson, acquired many such historical properties over the generations for the purposes of protecting them from demolition.

   The group was forced to sell the building off last year after both Molson and his son died off and funds ran low.

  For the last few years tenants in the Simon Fraser House included the Quebec Family History Society, which housed a library and other activities there. 

  The QFHS will be grudgingly moving back to their previous West Island location and the cost of the switch has put a strain on its resources, meaning they'll be forced to cut back on their excellent public events. It's a wildly popular group that could use some generous benefactors. 

   McLean purchased the house almost immediatley after it went for sale last year and he apparently acquired it for a bargain price, although Coolopolis does not know how much. McLean will be required to follow strict, costly and time-consuming guidelines in renovating the historic property and it apparently needs a ton of repairs and upgrades.

  McLean's purchase is listed under his Base Spaces Inc. company of 620 St. John's Blvd, a shared workspace facility. He says that the demand for such work spaces has declined since covid so it's possible he'll turn the property into private homes.

   The Simon Fraser House was built between 1790 and 1810 and was home to Irish poet Thomas Moore who wrote the famous Canadian Boat Song while staying there. Simon Fraser of the North West Company bought it after 1820 and his descendents kept it until 1965. It served as a branch of the Bank of Montreal for about half a century from 1906 and was restored in 1962.