Come and Gone and Gone Again

The story of the little house on Newmarch St. has another chapter. As it turned out, my young buyer was up against a contractor when he put in his winning bid. He had ambitious plans to expand the little house by building a mostly glass addition in the front yard and connecting it to the old house by covered walkway.

The contractor didn't give up easily. After the sale was finalized, his agent contacted me and asked whether my buyer would be willing to sign over his accepted promise to purchase in return for a financial consideration. As it turns out, my buyer was willing to do that. The original vendors also agreed to allow the buyer with whom they had struck the deal to cede his rights to the new guy. Everything was done on the up and up.

The contractor offered to allow my vendors to stay in the house rent free for an extra month. As for the young buyer, he made a little somethin' somethin' selling the house before he even owned it.

Turns out the contractor bought a similar property next door to our dollhouse. Sadly, he will be tearing both properties down in order to build a condo complex.

There's no doubt that the project will make more efficient use of the land but I'm sad knowing that a little bit of Verdun's small-town past, a few trees and the birds who lived in them will be disappearing from the landscape.

Progress.

Samcon, Montreal Condo Developer, Proposing Massive Project on Point Rail Yards

Twitter is exploding this morning (well, at least among urban development geeks) with news that Samcon, a condo builder known for its small-scale and affordably priced condo projects, has announced plans to build 850 condos on the old CN rail yards in Point St. Charles.

The rail yards are south of Bridge St. and east of Wellington. I've just noticed that Google has written "Sebastapol" as "Sevastopol". Hm, does this have anything to do with Russia's annexation of Crimea?

No news release yet, but the company, which has found success by targeting first-time and mid-price buyers, says that 75 per cent of the offering will be "affordable" housing.
Two things, what will the reaction be in the Point, where residents are well and truly fed up with the traffic and congestion that a spate of new construction has brought to the usually quiet residential streets.
Second, the land Samcon is looking at is the same parcel that the Casino de Montréal has been eyeing for some time. Before that, it seems to me that developer Vincent Chiara had a scheme to build a shopping mall and some housing.
According to reports, Sam Scalia, Samcon's president, says the new project and future projects will be developed according to principles of walkability and will be located close to public transit.
Not sure how that squares with the railyard, which is accessible to Wellington St. and a direct bus to downtown but nowhere close to a metro station.
More to come, no doubt. 

Semi-subterranean Homesick Blues

 Montreal's Plateau Mont-Royal borough has implemented new rules that will sharply curtail the construction of semi-basement or "garden-level" condominiums. 

For the purposes of the bylaw, a garden-level condo is one in which 60 per cent of the living space is located below the level of the sidewalk. This housing type made huge inroads during the go-go construction boom that began in the late 1990s, as builders sought to maximize the number of units they could cram into their buildings while still respecting height limitations.

 In the Plateau, for example, that often meant that buildings could not be taller than the area's triplexes. One strategy might be to build a half storey below the ground, and three stories up, still within the height restriction and conveniently less than four floors.  Another benefit of building fewer than four stories and yet more than three was that Quebec's building code states that buildings with three floors can be built of wood frame, while those measure more than four must be made of poured concrete.

The problem was that a lot of these half basements were pokey and dark, with windows that let in little light and less air. At least, that's what a 2010 Plateau study seemed to indicate. Of 29 proposed  projects, 19 were to be built in high traffic areas where basement windows would offer little natural light, unappealing views and too much noise.

From now on, Plateau semi-basement condos will be permitted only on strictly residential streets and even then builders will have to ensure that windows are set back a minimum of 1.5 metres from the sidewalk. The space between the window and the sidewalk will have to be 60 per cent planted, not paved. Further, the setback from any parking area on the property will be a minimum of two metres.

In most cases, the new rules will mean that promoters will incorporate the semi-basements into their ground-floor units. It might even be that by tweaking the bylaws, the borough will help make the Plateau more attractive to families looking for homes with room for kids to live, sleep and play.

So far, the Plateau stands alone with these new rules, though the Sud-Ouest borough is said to be looking at them with interest. You can read more about it in La Presse.

Urban Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

New York City inaugurated a new park 30 feet above street level today. The High Line is a nine-block stretch of abandoned elevated rail track running through Manhattan's west side.
The rail line carried cattle to the city's meat packing plants from the 1930s to the 1980s. Two local residents made it their business to champion the weed-choked, graffiti-sprayed eyesore when others wanted it demolished and the area redeveloped. Against long odds, and the wishes of the Guiliani government, they managed to find sponsors and gain public support for an overhead park.
The first stretch of the High Line, awash in wildflowers and native plants, benches, walkways and vantage points offering views of the city, Statue of Liberty and Hudson River, opened at 7 a.m..

A second phase is scheduled to open next year. A third phase is under discussion.
I'll think of the High Line every time I hear some snob with a pricey condo on the Old Montreal waterfront whining about how the Silo # 2 blocks their view of the river. If nothing else, the overhead park offers proof positive that ugly has a beauty all its own.

Marianopolis Conversion: More Cars, More Trees.

La Presse got a sneak peek at plans for the $300-million luxury housing development on the site of the old Marianopolis College.
The scheme includes 350 units, with 10 single-family homes on the grounds of the former Sulpician seminary, Côte-des-Neiges Rd. near Cedar Ave..
The plan, by Daniel Arbour et Associés, envisages the construction of some 20 buildings varying from six to nine storeys as well as the stand-alone houses. A new pool and sports complex will be built to replace the existing structures.
Les Amis de la Montagne have already voiced concern over increased car traffic because of the project. The plans call for 2 parking spots per housing unit - potentially 700 to 800 more cars around Mount Royal, a protected zone. After a first look-see, city hall has already asked the developer, Cato Inc., to reduce the density of some of the buildings to minimize the number of trees that will be cut down and to safeguard the view of the mountain.
Cato Inc. has already promised to plant 300 trees and bushes to replace 68 mature trees that will be felled during construction.
The public will have a chance to voice its opinion during hearings, though no date is mentioned in the La Presse story. The developer hopes to break ground in the fall.
(The above rendering is by Daniel Arbour et associés)