City of Montreal new policy to turn municipal buildings into housing
Posted November 12, 2024 11:10 am.
The City of Montreal announced a new policy to help turn municipal buildings into social and affordable housing on Tuesday.
The policy’s goal is to make municipal buildings (vacant lots, parking lots and lots with one or more obsolete buildings intended for redevelopment) available to non-profit organizations and housing cooperatives at lower prices to help create non-market housing projects.
It also provides a framework for how these organizations can acquire these buildings either by submitting their applications for the acquisition of available buildings and present them on an interactive online map, or by submitting their application during calls for certain sites.
“The new municipal property disposal policy contributes directly to our goal of accelerating the construction of off-market housing and protecting Montreal’s affordability,” said Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante. “With an interactive map showing available land, its cost and condition, non-profit organizations will be able to access clear and transparent information to accelerate projects and better seize opportunities. This is one more step that will facilitate the achievement of 20 per cent of non-market housing by 2030 and responds to a clearly expressed demand from community partners.”
This new policy comes after non-profit real estate developers demanded more information and transparency about development opportunities offered by the City of Montreal.
The organizations eligible for this new policy include housing NPOs and housing cooperatives, with precedence given to the Montreal Housing and Development Corporation (SHDM) and the Montreal Municipal Housing Office (OMHM).
The SHDM and the OMHM will be able to create specific agreements with the city to develop sites and manage buildings.
“We propose a simple process for interested organizations, because it is crucial that the tools used are effective and adapted to the reality on the ground,’ said Projet Montréal member Benoit Dorais. “By sharing information about available land and buildings, the city is giving more opportunities for NPOs and housing co-ops to build more homes, faster. With this policy actively involving our partners, we will be able to go even further in terms of housing.”
