Proposed Îlot Voyageur Sud building in Ville-Marie to include student housing, off-market units

A space near downtown Montreal that has been vacant for more than a decade is one step closer to being developed, in part, into community housing and housing for students.

The Îlot Voyageur Sud site on de Maisonneuve Boulevard and Berri Street — in the Quartier des Spectacles — will be developed into more than 1,000 housing units, more than half of which will be off-market housing.

RELATED: Îlot Voyageur Sud: social and affordable housing project for downtown Montreal

That’s according to the City of Montreal, which says a joint proposal submitted by UTILE and Mondev to carry out the real estate project was successful and is moving forward.

The city says it will soon begin the next steps with the developers to agree on the terms and conditions of the sale of the building.

“This redevelopment project on the Îlot Voyageur Sud site is a concrete way to accelerate residential construction, particularly off-market, and to respond to the housing crisis which is particularly severe in the city centre,” Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said in a news release.

“The Îlot Voyageur Sud project represents an extraordinary opportunity to develop a promising project that will truly contribute to reviving the neighbourhood,” added Benoir Dorais, vice-president of the executive committee, responsible for finance, land valuation, housing, real estate strategy, and legal affairs.

City officials previously said the winning bid had to promote affordable housing; encourage the establishment of commercial and community activities; be accessible to the community; and respond to the needs of the downtown sector.

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Ensemble Montréal, the municipal Opposition, is wondering why it took years for the site to find a buyer.

“What we saw today, this agreement that happened, that could have happened four, five, six years ago,” leader Aref Salem said. “Why we waited, in a crisis like today, why we waited so long to have a solution that we could have had weeks and years probably ahead of time.”

Per the winning bid, the building will be between 14 to 20 storeys high and contain 430 units intended for students, 200 non-profit housing units, and commercial and community spaces on the ground floor.

The Îlot Voyageur Sud site –the former Voyageur bus terminal – is close to a metro, bus station, numerous shops, theatres, UQAM, the CÉGEP du Vieux-Montréal, the Grande Bibliothèque and Parc Émilie-Gamelin.