{"id":10558,"date":"2011-06-01T18:41:05","date_gmt":"2011-06-01T23:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingmontreal.ca\/?p=10558"},"modified":"2013-01-21T11:47:56","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T16:47:56","slug":"privatizing-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/01\/privatizing-montreal\/","title":{"rendered":"Privatizing Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Coalition members rally in front of the Centre 7400 on March 16 for a press conference (Daryl Hubert photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Twenty-nine community groups are facing eviction from a public institution this month that has served Villeray-Saint Michel-Parc Extension for nearly 100 years.<\/p>\n

The Centre 7400 on Saint-Laurent Boulevard will be converted into luxury condominiums come June 30 after a long battle to preserve its public function.<\/p>\n

\u201cNous croyons qu\u2019une bonne partie de la population aurait aimer que ce centre demeure avec une utilisation publique: c\u2019est-\u00e0-dire, sous la forme de centre communautaire,\u201d says Andres Fontecilla.<\/p>\n

In February 2010, Fontecilla helped form the Coalition des amis du 7400 Saint-Laurent after a newspaper article reported on the Centre\u2019s redevelopment plans. The coalition brought together the building\u2019s current occupants; members of the deaf and mute community; merchant and tenant rights organizations; and Villeray inhabitants fearing the neighborhood\u2019s gentrification.<\/p>\n

The Centre 7400 is owned by the clerics of Saint-Viateur<\/a>. It was built in the 1920s to house the Institut des Sourds-Muets. Since the 1970s, it has been occupied by religious and secular community organizations, as well as providing inexpensive short-term lodging and conference space.<\/p>\n

The clerics of Saint-Viateur offered the building to the deaf and mute community\u2014but for a price its members could not afford. The coalition then asked the municipal government to place a two year moratorium on the rezoning of the building to allow time to negotiate with the clerics. The moratorium was refused.<\/p>\n

The building should remain in the public interest, as everyone had contributed to\u2014and benefited from\u2014the Centre, argues Fontecilla. But privatizing the space will change that:\u00a0\u201cCes b\u00e2timents sont construits gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l\u2019argent de la communaut\u00e9 et aujourd\u2019hui on privatise un bien qui \u00e9tait construit gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l\u2019argent de nos parents et nos grans-parents\u2026On ne voit pas pourquoi aujourd\u2019hui seulement les plus riches peuvent en profiter alors que tout le monde \u00e0 contribuer \u00e0 la construction de ces b\u00e2timents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thibault, Messier, Savard, and Associates Inc.<\/a> (TMSA) plan for 302 new condominiums\u2014none of which are social housing units. According to the city of Montreal\u2019s \u201cStrat\u00e9gie d\u2019inclusion de logements abordables dans les nouveaux projets r\u00e9sidentiels<\/a>\u201d adopted in 2005, every new residential development over 200 units must allocate 15 per cent of those units to social housing. Instead, TMSA offered the coalition $300,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn ne veut pas $300,000; on veut des logements sociaux,\u201d says Fontecilla, calling the monetary compensation insufficient and insulting.<\/p>\n

Habiter Montr\u00e9al reports that the 5.4 per cent of occupied social housing units in Villeray already falls below Montreal\u2019s average of 7.1 per cent.<\/p>\n

The Office de consultation publique de Montr\u00e9al<\/a> (OCPM) agreed that the compensation was unsatisfactory. It was hired by the municipal government to hold public meetings on the future of the Centre 7400. In February, the OCPM released its findings: they supported the condominiums.<\/p>\n

The report<\/a> notes the belief by many that the condominiums will boost Villeray\u2019s commercial and service sectors, as well as the neighborhood\u2019s attractiveness. But it also mentions the majority of consultation attendees lamented the loss of a public institution, especially one close to a park, metro stop and bus lines.<\/p>\n

OCPM\u2019s secretary general Luc Doray clarified the Centre\u2019s redevelopment was only found acceptable in light of the fact that no money came forward to sustain the public function of the building. Doray highlighted the report\u2019s suggestion that the city of Montreal play an active role in helping the current occupants of the Centre 7400 find new lodgings. The OCPM also proposed the increased monetary compensation by TMSA should be allocated to constructing social housing on a nearby site.<\/p>\n

These recommendations have not yet seen the light of day\u2014and the coalition doubts they ever will. On March 29, the municipal government\u2019s executive committee approved the redevelopment of the Centre 7400 in an open vote. All but two members of Projet Montr\u00e9al voted in favor of the condominiums.<\/p>\n

Patrick Cigana, director general of Projet Montr\u00e9al<\/a>, admits his party was divided on the issue. The project conflicts with parts of Projet Montr\u00e9al\u2019s mandate, such as demanding at least 25 per cent of new residential units include social and affordable housing and protecting the rights of tenants when it comes to urban planning. Still, Cigana says the project \u201cfits well with our program\u201d because of it\u2019s transit-oriented development, large apartments for families, and green spaces.<\/p>\n

Projet Montr\u00e9al estimated an offer of $1.124 million would be needed to build 300 social housing units. But the money is unlikely to surface. The city of Montreal\u2019s strategy for social and affordable housing is not binding; it\u2019s merely a guideline. Doray says developers must at least make an effort to offer compensation to current tenants, but the municipal government can choose to overlook the Strat\u00e9gie\u2014and often does.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a matter of money, says Marie-Jos\u00e9e Corriveau of the Front d\u2019action populaire en r\u00e9m\u00e9nagement urbain<\/a>, a provicinial organization which protects the housing rights of Quebeckers and supported the coalition. Corriveau notes 80 per cent of the city\u2019s revenue comes from property taxes: a fact she believes will lead to the increasing gentrification of Montreal.<\/p>\n

But the coalition is hoping to deter this urban planning trend. On May 25, it held a small meeting to assess the failed efforts to maintain the Centre 7400 as a public institution, and to brainstorm how to better protect against such developments in the future.<\/p>\n

The meeting\u2019s organizers saw the need to create a public assembly to discuss public buildings under possible threat and fortify against their potential redevelopment before it even begins. A liaison committee was also proposed to form informational and tactical alliances with adjacent neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\u201cM\u00eame si on n\u2019a pas gagn\u00e9 la lutte pour le Centre 7400,\u201d says Fontecilla. \u201cOn a gagn\u00e9 la solidarit\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty-nine community groups are facing eviction from a public institution this month that has served Villeray-Saint Michel-Parc Extension for nearly 100 years. The Centre 7400 on Saint-Laurent Boulevard will be converted into luxury condominiums come June 30 after a long battle to preserve its public function. \u201cNous croyons qu\u2019une bonne partie de la population auraitContinue reading “Privatizing Montreal”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5076,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7829,15,7839,102,7842],"tags":[6356,6358,9,3319,6357,6360,125,6362,2840,6365,6366,6364,159,57,6359,5,4485,112,88,6363,6361,28,302,55],"class_list":["post-10558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-civic-engagement","category-housing","category-neighbourhoods","category-spacing","category-urban-design","tag-andres-fontecilla","tag-daryl-hubert","tag-development","tag-director-general","tag-luc-doray","tag-marie-josee-corriveau","tag-montreal","tag-montreals","tag-municipal-government","tag-municipal-governments-executive-committee","tag-nearby-site","tag-ocpm","tag-office-de-consultation-publique-de-montreal","tag-park-extension","tag-patrick-cigana","tag-planning","tag-projet-montreal","tag-public-consultation-consultation-publique","tag-st-michel","tag-savard-and-associates-inc","tag-secretary-general","tag-spacing-montreal","tag-usd","tag-villeray"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPrivatizing Montreal - Spacing Montreal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/01\/privatizing-montreal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Privatizing Montreal - Spacing Montreal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Twenty-nine community groups are facing eviction from a public institution this month that has served Villeray-Saint Michel-Parc Extension for nearly 100 years. The Centre 7400 on Saint-Laurent Boulevard will be converted into luxury condominiums come June 30 after a long battle to preserve its public function. \u201cNous croyons qu\u2019une bonne partie de la population auraitContinue reading "Privatizing Montreal"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/01\/privatizing-montreal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spacing Montreal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-01T23:41:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-21T16:47:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/7400_Image_Conference-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natascia Lypny\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natascia Lypny\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/01\/privatizing-montreal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/01\/privatizing-montreal\/\",\"name\":\"Privatizing Montreal - 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