Photo Sarah Leavitt
	Members of the Mountain Sights Community Centre express their concerns.

The fifth phase of the Jean-Talon–Namur revitalization project “the presentation of briefs” took place over two days on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15. Residents, business owners and members of community organizations all had a chance to present their briefs to the Office de consultation publique de Montréal chaired by Louise Roy. Major concerns ran the gamut of isolation and ghettoization, amount of social housing, health and safety, as well as the need for a diverse neighbourhood.

Daniel Nonen, a resident of CDN and a potential condominium buyer in the area, voiced what he believed were problems with the development.

“My major concern is that the triangular redevelopment area is isolated by substantial barriers from its neighbours on all sides,” he said while presenting his brief. “I believe, to counteract these separators, we need powerful attractors to drive commercial and industrial development because no matter how carefully and creatively this area is zoned, it will not achieve the population density needed to create a vibrant, self-contained community.”

Business owners want parking

Business owners were also out in force. Charles Hammer, of Uptown Volvo on Paré Street, presented his brief on the first day of the consultation. He called for better fluidity within the area as well as more access to outdoor parking.

“If the current changes go through, they will be to the detriment of our businesses,” he said. “We feel that the proposal is slightly utopian in its current form…What it is not really addressing is how this transition will be made when taking into perspective the current stakeholders.”

Barry Gurman, the property manager for Adlexco Management which leases out a large area just south of Jean Talon, agreed with Hammer. According to him, 100 per cent of his property has been leased and this success in occupancy is due to the parking availability. He compared other businesses in the area whose occupancy was not full despite lower rent and believed this was due to the fact that no parking was available for those units. He also mentioned the business opportunities that he feels the new plan has not considered.

“Our concern is to take away…a very large, what looks to be an almost 200,000 square foot area of land, from what is now the largest commercial area in the envisioned area,” he said when presenting his brief on the second day of the consultation. “Turning it into a park is not really taking advantage of the potential for new owners and for the area as well.”

“Health is important to consider,” doctors say

A doctor team presented an interesting brief on the factors of the development that will affect the health of the citizens. Dr. Christine Rowan of the CSSS de la Montagne and Dr. Louis Drouin of the Direction de santé publique promote the motto: “Keep our world healthy.” They noted that the housing situation in CDN is bad and that deteriorating buildings contribute to a number of health problems. They applauded, however, the Transit-Oriented development plan as a great way to maintain exercise.

“With active transportation comes more physical activity and less problems with weight,” said Drouin.

Community groups come out in force

The presentation of briefs also brought members of several community groups of the borough. Members of the Mountain Sights Community Centre presented a detailed brief displaying their own, unique proposal. They called for more social housing, among other things. Showing the area in a PowerPoint presentation, Sheetal Pathak, the president of the board of directors of Mountain Sights, explained their proposed road network.

“Place de la Savane is now a dead-end. We propose to extend this road to Jean Talon,” she said. “One of the reasons we decided to suggest this was because we know there are safety issues in that area because it is a dead-end and there is lack of circulation.”

Anil Patel, a resident of Mountain Sights, went on to explain the Centre’s idea concerning the zoning of the area. Among the suggestions was the building of an ‘ethnic village’ which would include multicultural stores to fit the needs of the citizens that live there.

Mazen Houdeib, the director of Regroupement des organismes du Montréal ethnique pour le logement (ROMEL), urged that the project was meant for citizens of CDN, many of whom are poor and pay too much for the quality of houses they rent.

“It is imperative to use this project as a springboard to create a continuity of Côte-des-Neiges, not a ghetto, or poor or rich,” he said. “The problem of unsafe, unsanitary housing is because people do not have other options?This project can be a unique opportunity to engage residents to CDN.”

Developer agrees with residential development

A developer was also present at the meeting. Sam Scalia is the president of Immeubles Devmont, a company that has already developed a project of affordable housing on De La Savane. According to him, 272 of the condo units have been sold out of 292 available. Four per cent of the buyers lived in Mountain Sights while 35 per cent were residents of the borough.

“Demand has exceeded all expectations. It was a clear sign that this sector is a natural and strategic location for residential development,” he said.

Scalia also indicated that Immeubles Devmont has plans to create 381 units at the corner of Jean Talon and Victoria, in the vacant lot next to Bureau En Gros. This project has received a first approval from the borough council. Scalia did, however, call for parking spaces along Paré and Buchan Streets. Like the business owners, he felt parking was needed for citizens and visitors.

The public consultation part of the Jean-Talon–Namur revitalization project is now completed. The Office de consultation publique de Montréal will publish their report on the project in January.

[ Sarah Leavitt ]