Montreal launches pilot project to build 60 modular housing units

The city of Montreal is launching a pilot project to build modular housing and provide temporary accommodation for homeless people waiting for social housing.

The city is currently working with the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) to roll out the project by March 2025.

OMHM issued a call for tenders on Thursday to purchase and build the 60 modular housing units.

“We are proud to continue innovating to provide a concrete response to the housing crisis, which is a direct cause of homelessness and the growing precariousness of the population,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.  “The need for housing is widespread and also affects evicted seniors or workers who have to sleep with family members to get by, and who will benefit from this new offer.”

These modular homes will include bedrooms, adapted rooms for people with reduced mobility, as well as common areas and bathrooms.

According to a press release, the modular units were created in collaboration with the Quebec government, the health and social services network and the community.

“In addition, communication, awareness-raising and discussion initiatives with residents will be put in place to ensure that the project is seamlessly integrated in their environment,” reads the press release.

Plante said this project will not replace the growing need for social housing but alleviate some of the pressure while waiting for the units to be built.

“The difficulty of finding housing affects the whole of Quebec and the whole of Montreal, which is why the appeal has been made to all the boroughs,” she said.

The city of Montreal has also launched a major public consultation which will be conducted by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) to get the public’s opinion about the project and other resources that have been dedicated to help the homeless and vulnerable population.

“We all have a responsibility to put measures in place to overcome the crisis of vulnerability, and we all know that the solution lies in a roof over one’s head,” said Projet Montréal member Robert Beaudry. “That’s why the City of Montreal is constantly looking for solutions and is innovating with this pilot project of modular housing with support to meet the crying needs of the homeless. Above all, we want to see more social housing built. This is a crying need, and the pilot project we are putting in place is complementary and will offer a dignified and humane transition to social housing.”

Official Opposition says ‘there needs to be an action plan’

“Once again, the Plante administration is presenting Montrealers with a ‘fait accompli’. By announcing the construction of modular shelters to house people experiencing homelessness, Projet Montréal is taking a direction even before the public consultation it announced at the beginning of the summer to sound out citizens on the homelessness crisis,” said Benoit Langevin, Official Opposition Spokesperson on homelessness for Ensemble Montréal.

Langevin said there are still unanswered questions with the project.

“Where will these modular units be deployed; what are the upstream plans for cohabitation? In short, what is the long-term plan? Setting up modular shelters is not a bad idea, but we need to have an action plan before we start making empty promises,” he said. “I’m also surprised by the absence of the Quebec government, when the whole project relies on its funding and the support of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS).”