Hotel project for iconic Mile End industrial building raises concerns

“The idea of any luxury development proposed by a developer is tone deaf to what the neighbourhood wants or needs,” one resident said.

A development project for a Mile End landmark is provoking strong reactions from residents.

Recognizable by its oblong shape, its no-man’s land location at the northeast tip of the neighbourhood, and the iconic water tower on its roof — the only water tower in the entire Plateau-Mont-Royal borough — Entrepôt Van Horne is the site of a planned complex that would include a boutique hotel, a restaurant, office space, businesses and a rooftop solarium/terrasse.

Montreal real-estate developer Rester Management hopes to apply for a zoning change for the building, which must first be approved by the borough council. Its preliminary proposal includes plans by designer Zébulon Perron and architect Thomas Balaban.

Since Monday morning, nearly 6,000 Montrealers have responded to an online poll by the city asking for their opinions regarding the proposal.

“That’s enormous,” said borough councillor Marie Plourde, president of the Comité consultative d’urbanisme, which is examining the project. “Usually when we do consultations of this kind, we get around 300 answers.”

Reactions have been mixed, she noted, with some seeing it as a breath of fresh air and others as a death knell.

Patricia Gélinas Boushel is among the concerned citizens who are mobilizing in response to the news.

“The idea of any kind of luxury development proposed by a developer is tone deaf to what we’re hearing the neighbourhood wants or needs,” said Boushel, who is co-organizer of the community group Mile End Ensemble.

When locals saw the building was for sale a few months ago, she explained, many people began discussing possibilities of what such a space could provide for the area’s mix of artists, families and underprivileged residents.

“We’re not all ‘pie in the sky,’ but we do believe such an iconic space deserves public consultation,” Boushel said.

Mile End Ensemble was meeting Wednesday evening to discuss its next move. The group was central in leading the fight to save beloved St-Viateur St. bookstore S.W. Welch from eviction over a steep rent increase in 2021. Boushel hopes that by making themselves heard, Mile End residents can again have a say in the fate of their neighbourhood.

“We would like there to be more of a listening posture on the part of both the developer and the city,” she said. “Our vision for the space is definitely more community-angled. We understand it’s private property, but we would like there to be an awareness of the services lacking in our neighbourhood.”

Plateau resident Quentin Lehmann posted the city’s poll on two different Mile End Facebook groups, encouraging people to respond while saying he believes “a building so central to Montreal should serve the entire population of the neighbourhood, not only the rich.”

Reached Wednesday morning, Lehmann said giving the building a new lease on life is in theory a good thing, “but who will it serve? At this time, the project will be useful to a certain clientele, but not to those who live in the neighbourhood. We’re talking about gentrification, which is very intense in this area. The kind of project being proposed by these entrepreneurs is not necessarily for the good of the community.”

He pointed to more positive examples such as the city’s transformation of the Louvain East site into an eco-quartier that includes affordable and social housing, local businesses, equipment to be shared by residents, a community garden and parks. Housing would not be permitted in Entrepôt Van Horne, due to a bylaw forbidding the construction of housing next to train tracks, following the Lac-Mégantic disaster, from which hotels are exempt.

Councillor Plourde says citizens will absolutely have their say. People have until Feb. 12 to respond to the online survey at realisonsmtl.ca/entrepotvanhorne, following which the borough will draft and publish a report. The developer will then have a chance to revise its proposal before the borough decides whether or not to approve the project later this year.

“It’s an exceptional building, so it deserves an exceptional treatment,” she said, adding that the city wants to find a solution that works for all parties.

“The biggest catastrophe would be to leave the building to wither away. We want to protect it, and ensure its future. It really is a landmark, not just on the Plateau but everywhere. We don’t want it to be like the Titanic.”

Built in 1924-25, the seven-storey industrial building was conceived as a storage space for merchandise. It differs from other industrial buildings in Mile End, which were used for manufacturing, in part due to its thin horizontal windows.

Among the Comité consultative d’urbanisme’s recommendations in response to the preliminary proposal was that the developer revise its plan to replace the original windows with large vertical windows, and refer to the original horizontal design for inspiration.

Rester Management representatives did not respond to the Montreal Gazette’s request for comment.

Heritage Montreal policy director Dinu Bumbaru says Entrepôt Van Horne has been “identified as one of Montreal’s landmarks of interest,” for the past decade.

“What’s happening now is quite valuable,” he said of the city’s consultation process. “What we’re concerned about is how the personality of the building — which is quite unique; it’s not necessarily a masterpiece of architecture, but it’s like a rock in the middle of a plain: it stands out — that personality has to remain.”

Heritage Montreal is meeting next week to prepare its opinion on the project. In the meantime, Bumbaru cited the building’s shape, its water tower, its unique windows and its location, squeezed between the Van Horne overpass in front and the train tracks behind, as elements that make it remarkable.

“It was built as a warehouse,” he said. “That’s where its character lies. There is concern about preserving that. There’s also concern about the feasibility of a project of this nature on that site.

“I’m ready to be surprised. Montreal can accommodate a lot of new ideas that would have been impossible in past years. It’s good to see a project emerging, but I would like to make sure that if the project is acceptable, it moves on with (the public’s) support and has the right conditions to bloom.”

tdunlevy@postmedia.com

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