Major projects in the Montreal region | You have to speed up the rate, argues the home industry

The future of Montreal and its first crown involves the realization of three new districts counting each thousands of housing: La Pointe, between the Round and the Metro, in Longueuil, the Carré Laval, neighboring the career of the courthouse, in Laval, and the site of the former Molson brewery at the foot of the Jacques-Cartier bridge, in Montreal.

Posted at 8:00 a.m.

The 19th^e Forum on major projects in the Chamber of Commerce was held on a background of concerns before construction which does not advance quickly in the eyes of industry.

All actors in the home are of the same opinion: you have to speed up the rate.

In the past four years, the number of start -ups has plummeted in the Metropolitan Census Region (RMR) in Montreal, before raising the slope in 2024.

However, this last growth is mainly attributable to the cities of Laval and Longueuil. In 2024, start -ups in the city of Montreal experienced a decrease of 55 % in August and 82 % in September, compared to the previous year. The difference, for many promoters, lies in the slow award of permits in the metropolis.

In fact, since the beginning of the year, it has been built more accommodation in Quebec than in Montreal.

In Quebec and Lévis, a region of 900,000 inhabitants, the number of new homes is 1477 this year, while in Montreal, with its 1.9 million inhabitants, there are 1,431 new housing after three months in 2025. The statistics of April will be released in mid-May.

“To achieve this, a watchword has imposed itself throughout exchanges: collaboration and productivity,” said Michel Leblanc, president and chief executive of the Metropolitan Montreal Chamber of Commerce, at the end of the 19th^e Forum on major projects in housing.

The mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, assured Friday to deploy significant efforts to reduce the significant gap that has widened with the other cities forming the Metropolitan Community of Montreal (CMM).

“Why is it complicated to give permits in Montreal?” I always answer that 19 districts are like 19 different cities with different town planning regulations, ”she illustrated, in front of the 450 people gathered at the Palais des Congrès.

The Plant Administration is also determined to facilitate development in Montreal by realizing neuralgic transport infrastructure projects and long expected, such as the SRB Pie-IX and the extension of the blue line.

Otherwise, the CMM, whose presidency is also ensured by the mayor Plant, estimated during the event that 75,000 dwellings could be built in vacant parking lots in the Greater Region of Montreal¹.

The Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, as well as the mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, were also present at the Forum on major projects.

New district at Pointe de Longueuil

The Pointe de Longueuil will host a brand new major district, announced the mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier on Friday. The project provides for the construction, among other things, of around 5,000 new dwellings, including 1000 affordable dwellings, as well as a school.

The site in question is located in the sector between the St. Lawrence River and Route 132. In total, the land includes 2.5 million square feet, the equivalent of 43 football fields: this is one of the “last available strategic sites, if not the last” in Longueuil, according to the mayor.

Access to the banks, a banking walk and many public spaces will also be set up there. “We will encourage active mobility, this is the idea behind this neighborhood […]we would also like to create a direct connection with the Longueuil metro by a bridge, ”said Mr.^me Fournier, in a press scrum.

The sale of the first lots should be started in 2026, as well as their construction. The first phase would therefore be completed within a period of about three years, and ready to be inhabited. “But it is a project that will take ten years,” said Pierre-Marc Mongeau, of the Company of Canada.

First phase of development for Carré Laval

The start of the work of the first phase of Carré Laval is scheduled for the fall of 2026, said Christian Yaccarini, president and chief executive officer of the Angus development company. “For us, it is important that this first phase is multifunctional,” he said, in a presentation during the event.

In this first phase, 1000 affordable and out -of -market dwellings will be built, but special attention will already be paid to local services, green spaces and architectural elements. “We go beyond the concept of eco -neighborhood as we know it at the moment, it is not fair to have eco -friendly buildings,” continued Mr. Yaccarini.

Asbestos comes to complicate the decontamination of the Molson district

The demolition and dismantling of buildings acting as warehouses in the old Molson brewery are officially started. Friday, the Montoni group said that the organization faced “a few surprises”, when decontaminating the land at the foot of the Montreal flagship brand.

“There are still sites that contain challenges, such as asbestos,” said Leonard Verrilli, director of major projects and project development at Montoni, press melee.

But the manager assures that this does not jeopardize the start of the work, still scheduled for 2025. The Montoni group, behind the large-scale district which will take shape around the St. Lawrence, believes that he is able to respect the total schedule of the project, which could be spread over 10 years, at most.1. Read the article “The CMM wants to bet on parking lots to build 75,000 dwellings”