Montreal Mile End residents worry Van Horne warehouse project will 'kill the neighbourhood'
The developer's goal is to create a multi-use space with a hotel, restaurant, working spaces and, on the ground floor, commercial spaces and businesses, though nothing is set in stone.
6 comments
Les nimby sont vraiment fatigants, en espérant que ça finisse avant les silos au vieux port...
Si l'extérieur est gardé, c'est bon dans mon livre à moi
"Having a hotel there would really convert it from a residential neighbourhood into much more commercial and tourist places, which would be really sad for the Mile End," Lusthaus said.
Residential? You mean that this old warehouse was destined for a residential neighbourhood? This old warehouse in front of an elevated boulevard by St-Laurent street, with a Home Depot on the other side of the track, and a lumber yard the other side of the viaduct? That residential place?
I know there are people living nearby on the corner of Clark and De l'Arcade but right behind that is a commercial building hosting La Maison de l'Aspirateur with commercial offices for rent.
Also, tourists? Like there's no tourists in the Mile-End already? They don't want more?
"People from the Mile End are really attached to the building, they love it," Plourde said.
Better leave it to the elements, without maintenance, and let it slowly crumble away in order to preserve that iconic building.
Plus, in a walkable neighbourhood like this, heavens forbid that residents could have more easily accessible shops and stores stores nearby.
I live on the other side of the Plateau so I guess I may be biased but, this project seems acceptable and the arguments of people against it are kind of weak. Seems like they would prefer a dead and decrepit place falling in ruins for fear of gentrification, rather than have the building reused for something.
The actual problem here are the zoning restrictions. This could be turned into housing, but zoning restrictions only allow commercial developments.
The neighbourhood is already dead and has been for the last decade.
I don’t understand how the zoning prohibits affordable housing but allows a hotel (actually I do understand that they can always get exceptions, they just pretend they can’t when it’s affordable housing)
