housing development on old molson brewery site will include 5,000 units
it’s one of the first major developments to adhere to montreal’s mixed-use bylaw for affordable, social and family housing.
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the molson brewery building seen from old montreal in july 2015.
christine muschi/montreal gazette files
more than 130 years ago, the area around the molson brewery was a bustling residential neighbourhood and the site of montreal’s first amusement park. “it was a very popular neighbourhood, with a lot of small-scale homes,” said benoit lagacé, an architect with sid lee.
once known as the faubourg à m’lasse, the area is now marked by the end point of the ville-marie expressway, a u-haul storage facility, the old radio-canada building and other major industries.
on wednesday, builders montoni and fonds immobilier de solidarité ftq unveiled their plans for the abandoned brewery site: the quartier molson — a $2.5-billion project featuring 5,000 housing units, with towers and residential buildings ranging from six storeys to 20.
it is one of the first major developments to adhere to the city’s mixed-use bylaw for housing, which calls on 60 per cent of any housing development to be reserved for affordable, social and family units — 20 per cent for each.
the builders said it was important to have social and affordable housing as part of the development, as well as units for families with children.
“this is the challenge we undertook from the beginning; it has always been part of the dna of this consortium,” said montoni’s julie-anne boisvert-lessard. “there is a housing crisis. we can’t deny that, and every one of these groups needs a roof over their heads.”
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she said the project is being planned in harmony with the nearby quartier des lumières, which will have a school.
the quartier molson will include nods to the past, apparently an effort to recreate the spirit of the old neighbourhood before it was razed for construction of the first maison de radio-canada.
“we want to recreate a neighbourhood that will be able to welcome all the people who probably would have still been there if the faubourg à m’lasse had not been left aside,” boisvert-lessard said.
construction is slated to begin next year, pending negotiations with the city’s housing department and the transport ministry to redesign the road network.
lagacé said the new development aims to retain the spirit of the historic district both before and after the molson brewery was established.
“something that is interesting is that on the molson side, the molson family always wanted to create services for themselves, their families and their workers,” he said. “so early on, we saw things appear like a hospital, a church, a school. for us, it’s interesting that we can keep some of the vestiges of the brewery and come back to this identity the site had as a bustling centre of activity where all the services for a diversity of people were provided. this notion of diversity and inclusion is really something we want to recreate with the site today.”
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the quartier molson will include an extension of de la commune st. in old montreal, with an elevated walkway stretching to the jacques-cartier bridge. the walkway will be built above the train tracks that are part of the port of montreal, giving pedestrians the feeling of being close to the st. lawrence river.
“we often talk about the tale of two towers: for us, from the farine five roses sign to the molson red neon sign, it will be a continuous public pathway,” lagacé said.
the quartier molson will include two parks, with their layouts recreating historic montreal parks. one of them, parc sohmer, was an amusement park where there were picnic areas, shows and even beer and cigar sellers.
“it is similar to the tivoli gardens in copenhagen,” lagacé said. “it’s really an area where there was constant animation, shows, art, songs, music, and also wine, cigars and food. it was really a place to be, a bit like la ronde without the rides.”
lagacé hopes the area will not only be welcoming for those who live there, but also for tourists, cyclists and anyone visiting the old port.
there will be restaurants, cafés, offices and event venues in the one-million-square-foot development.
the quartier molson will also feature two restored tunnels that were used by the brewery. the tunnels were used by workers who would break up the river ice and take those pieces to help control the temperature of the water used in the fermenting process.
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reacting to the news, alia hassan-cournol, the plante administration’s special adviser for economic development, welcomed the builders’ adherence to the city’s mixed-use bylaw, also known as the 20-20-20 rule.
“we salute this ambitious transformation,” hassan-cournol said. “this mixed project with social housing, green spaces, parks and a riverside promenade incorporates a modern vision, all the while honouring the history of the area.”
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