Chinatown business owners call for more economic support from city

“We have difficulties to find tenants,” says Tony Ho, the president of Ho Investments and owner of commercial buildings in Chinatown as some business owners called for more economic support from Montreal city hall. Corinne Boyer reports.

By Corinne Boyer

Business owners in Montreal’s Chinatown say that problems with homelessness, drug abuse, and crime have improved since demanding action from the city and police over the last year. But at a press conference Wednesday, they called for more economic support to revitalize the neighbourhood, as many businesses are seeing revenues decline, with some being forced to close.

“I have lost one of my tenants during the construction period because not knowing when it’s going to finish and the income a day, it’s less than $100 and there’s two staff inside and also the rental, there’s no way that they can recover it. They have to cut their losses after one week of opening the business,” explained Tony Ho, the president of Ho Investments and owner of commercial buildings in Chinatown.

“We have difficulties to find tenants and when we find the tenants, we finally find the tenants that are willing to revitalizing the city, and they just cannot wait for the permits,” Ho added.

They say that construction work is adding to the economic strain.

“The more immediate items are the closures that are happening without any warning and that last much longer than they should. For example, the closure of the bridge over the Ville-Marie expressway on Saint-Laurent that ruptured the connection between Old Montreal and Chinatown and the Quartier des Spectacles, and this was very damaging to my eight commercial tenants,” said Vincent Lupien, a commercial property investor in Chinatown.

Empty storefront in Montreal’s Chinatown on Oct. 30, 2024. (Alyssia Rubertucci, CityNews)

Bill Wong, a director at Montreal Chinatown Development Council and a business owner, says “I think the parking is first priority for all the business here and I live in Guy Favreau complex and there’s a parking underneath that owned by the federal government and it is always empty after five o’clock, so I think that’s first thing they can do.”

Some of their proposals include implementing a nightlife strategy aimed at attracting the younger generation back to the area and investment incentives.

“The longer-term and bigger issues are issues related to how difficult it is to develop and to invest in Montreal, but in Chinatown specifically. There are rules about patrimonial facades that make it almost impossible and very costly to renovate any building. There’s a lot of regulations,” said Lupien.

Ho adding, “If the city can subsidize on the permit fees and or give them support at the beginning stage by reducing the property tax, it will be helping a lot because the property tax is really high, which is the business tax which eventually costs on my tenants. And that is what kills them at the beginning stage.”

A Chinatown Economic Development task force will be created to work on their plans.

“I think that it’s like a legacy for Montreal. So we have to support them more than before because actually it’s very difficult for many businesses,” said a Montrealer CityNews spoke to.

Three years ago, the City of Montreal introduced an action plan on Chinatown’s development from 2021-2026 but the business owners say it has produced little to no results. 

CityNews reached out to the City for comment and have not heard back at this time.

“Our tenants are suffering from the drug trafficking, the homeless people every day and these are the things that we really need the city to help us,” said Ho.

Entrance to Chinatown on St. Laurent boulevard. (Alyssia Rubertucci, CityNews)

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