Quebec selects developer to transform abandoned Montreal heritage site into 800 housing units

A Montreal heritage building that has been largely abandoned for a decade is one step closer to becoming housing, including some social housing.

The former Institut des Sourdes-Muettes on Berri Street in the Plateau-Mont-Royal will house 800 units, of which at least 160 will be dedicated to social housing, the Quebec government announced Monday.

The development will preserve the building’s heritage features.

“We have different challenges,” said Plateau borough mayor Luc Rabouin. “We want to preserve this heritage building. That is a challenge in itself. But we also want to develop housing for low-income people, social housing.

“This project will contribute to the revitalization of the St. Denis Street and the Quartier Latin.”

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Construction is expected to begin in spring 2026.

Pierre Barrieau, the president of Gris Orange Consultant, said the building will make space for a cultural organization, a small grocery store, a daycare, and restaurants.

“There’s going to be social housing. There’s going to be affordable housing. There’s also going to be different businesses that will be on the ground floor for the commerce for the residents in the area,” said Barrieau. “There’s going to be a kindergarten.

“So it’s not just doing residential. We are bringing various services that the residents in the area need, but currently don’t have.”

Real estate developer Residia won the bid following what the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) calls a “rigorous proposal analysis process.”

“The selection of the developer marks a major step forward in transforming this iconic site into a truly vibrant living environment,” said France-Élaine Duranceau, the Quebec minister responsible for housing. “I was keen for this process to unite all partners around a shared vision: to address urgent housing needs while promoting inclusive, sustainable, and heritage-respecting urban development.

“This is concrete proof of what can be accomplished when we unite the community’s strengths around a shared vision to increase the supply of non-profit housing.”

Duranceau says the provincial government will eventually sell the public property to a private entity.

“Who’s going to own what at the end is still being worked on,” the minister said. “But we feel that we can’t keep all the assets within the government.”

“The borough also understood that the provincial government wasn’t going to renovate the building and do social housing with it,” added Barrieau. “So they had no choice but to proceed with a private sector project.”

‘This is not affordable housing’

Built to be more inclusive, the multipurpose building is anything but, according to the Comité Logement du Plateau Mont-Royal, which has been fighting to reclaim the site for the deaf community.

“We’ve been working so hard for the past 10 years,” Amélie Vrolet, the group’s community organizer. “People have been mobilizing, people have been fighting for a project to take place on this site. We are asking for this site to be given back to the community.

“This is not what the community wants. We looked at Residia, their website, what they offer and stuff like that. This is not affordable housing.”

What’s next

A public consultation meeting will now be organized by the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough to present the project “in the interest of harmonious and respectful integration,” the SQI says.

A public call for proposals was launched by the SQI in November 2024. Developers had until January 30 to submit their plans for the building.

The former Institut des Sourdes-Muettes, built in 1864, used to be a hospital for the hearing and visually impaired. It takes up an entire city block.

Quebec bought the Greystone building in 1979 for health network employees before it was abandoned years later.