City of Montreal promotes creation of new downtown neighbourhoods as part of long-term development plan

Creating two new “mixed and vibrant” neighbourhoods is part of the City of Montreal’s vision for the long-term development of downtown.

In a six-year and $1.8 billion development plan unveiled Tuesday, city officials say they intend to support the development of two large-scale projects in the Bridge-Bonaventure and Faubourgs sectors of Montreal.

The city believes there’s the potential to build 15,000 housing units in those two areas.

RELATED: 2,000 more housing units in revised Bridge-Bonaventure development project

“Addressing this only as a number is unfortunately a habit that many politicians have because the public wants meat, but the number is not what you’re looking for. You’re looking for the idea of a neighbourhood of the 21st century, a living place where it’s not just housing being stacked on top,” said Dinu Bumbaru policy director at Héritage Montréal.

Bumbaru says he hopes the city is sensitive of the history of Bridge-Bonaventure when building housing in that area.

“Don’t forget, this is not the empty land. It’s not like a piece of nothingness. This is… Bridge-Bonaventure, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Montreal,” said Bumbaru.

It’s all part of a project to “strengthen the resilience” of Montreal’s economic centre with three main priorities: strengthening the identity of existing neighbourhoods; creating new living environments; and improving mobility and cleanliness.

Other proposals include: creating a winter experience in the heart of downtown with “interactive and immersive routes;” designating the Quartier Latin as a “Francophonie district” with a 24-hour component; redeveloping vacant buildings like the former Royal Victoria Hospital; and establishing a pedestrian-friendly zone in Old Montreal.

“When the street is welcoming, when there’s animation, when there’s something to do, people come,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante on Tuesday.

“The thing I hear most from our businesses, going from the small mom-pop shop to the international headquarter downtown, is that times are tough. The economy is slowing down and although the city can’t tackle every single problem, we need to tackle the base. The base is a clean and safe downtown, a downtown where people want to live,” said Glenn Castanheira of the SDC Montréal centre-ville.

However, the city’s Official Opposition is calling the plan “too little too late.”

“We see that businesses are having difficulties in downtown Montreal, when we see restaurants just like Le Passé Composé that are closing because of a social cohabitation issue, those are things that haven’t been answered by the administration,” said Julien Hénault-Ratelle, spokesperson of the Official Opposition.