Kramberger: West Island densification projects pile up as REM approaches
The firm behind a condo construction in Dollard-des-Ormeaux boasts buyers of units will be “living a few minutes from the future West Island REM station” in Pointe-Claire.
Montreal Gazette | Jul 27, 2022 | Albert Kramberger
Cadillac Fairview’s proposed redevelopment project aims to transform the southwest portion of the Fairview Pointe-Claire shopping centre parking lot. PHOTO BY CADILLAC FAIRVIEW
The arrival of Réseau express métropolitain stations will continue to promote residential densification near the six stops that will eventually serve West Islanders, on top of the station at Trudeau airport.
The city of Pointe-Claire will hold consultations this fall to prepare a new planning program after tabling an interim control bylaw halting development in some core areas, including a wooded lot and a major shopping centre owned by the Cadillac Fairview Corp. along Highway 40.
Cadillac Fairview, which will pay around $19 million in taxes to the city this year for its shopping centre property and the adjacent forested lot, has launched legal action against Pointe-Claire over the temporary redevelopment freeze set by the interim control bylaw.
Cadillac Fairview’s high-density development vision is on hold for not only the forest, which was also included in an interim control bylaw tabled in the spring by the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal, but a project for a section of the shopping centre parking lot, which is adjacent to the future Fairview–Pointe-Claire REM station. The proposed parking lot project was to include 435 residential units for seniors and two residential buildings with 445 rental units.
Some projects in neighbouring municipalities are rolling along. For instance, the firm behind a condo construction on St-Jean Blvd. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux boasts buyers of units — starting in the $500,000 range — will be “living a few minutes from the future West Island REM station” in Pointe-Claire that will allow them to “reach downtown Montreal and the airport in less than 30 minutes.”
Kirkland officials have noted the arrival of the REM will transform the West Island over the next few years. The city has earmarked residential development on part of the Charles-E. Frosst site, just west of the Fairview Forest.
Pierrefonds-Roxboro recently held a consultation regarding a proposed 111-unit six-storey residential building with some commercial use on the ground floor on Gouin Blvd., near the future Sunnybrooke REM station. The area is occupied by two commercial buildings that would need to be demolished.
While the areas around REM stations would fall under what are considered transit-oriented developments, there is split public support for the Gouin Blvd. high-density project based on a participatory poll. The next step in the process is a referendum approval procedure for qualified voters, according to the borough’s website.
An escalating feud — being played out online and during public meetings — between Pointe-Claire Mayor Tim Thomas and several councillors who were re-elected last fall will probably complicate the city’s efforts at realizing a new planning program.
On top of that, there is lobbying to preserve the Fairview Forest. Will Pointe-Claire and the Montreal agglomeration seek to acquire the woodland, and at what cost?
The Angell Woods dossier in Beaconsfield was part of long-standing conservation efforts initially set forth by a citizens’ lobby and then embraced by city hall. Beaconsfield had tabled an interim control bylaw in 2010 regarding the woodland. In 2018, Montreal bought a 180,000-square-metre plot in Angell Woods, between Elm Ave. and Highway 40, from Seda Holdings for $14 million.
In the past, municipal authorities have also swapped land with developers as part of conservation efforts.
Even in a process of expropriation, there is usually a compensation to the private owner.
It will be interesting to monitor how the Fairview Forest file is resolved beyond any interim control bylaws. Can Montreal negotiate a purchase or land-swap deal? Perhaps new planning guidelines for the redevelopment of the Fairview parking lot will be a factor in any deal for the adjacent forest.
Even if the rail network’s opening is delayed in the West Island until late 2024, it’s likely the REM will be running before the forest dossier is resolved.