Well There Goes: 'er I mean, Here Comes the Neighbourhood

The Bonaventure Expressway that was so modern in it's day, even though it displaced many family's homes & many more profitable business's (including my oldmans)..expropriated land for the approaches to & exits from the Bonaventure Expressway, leading up to Montreal's Expo '67 .......Well now here's what they propose an artists conception of possible new buildings lining the old expressway route. Ahh all is well in the universe replaced by more Condos...........hahahahaha and office space,but most of Montreal's manufacturing has been long gone,at least the people who will choose to live in these new towers of concrete & glass,will be able to shop at a big box store,cause there's one closeby..........See All is Good.........hahahahahah..............Note in the very bottom center of the photo,the Farine Five Roses sign remains,.....(yea sure) that will be inexplicably missing admist the razing (why do they call it razing ? Use Andy Rooney voice when reading this part) "They don't Raise it,they Tear it Down"..........hahahahaha   but it was nice of them to add it to their artist conception of the 'new buildings ' route............here's the story as it appears in todays online Gazette:                                               ps: click on the photo to enalrge it.

MONTREAL – A relic of the concrete-centric 1960s, the elevated Bonaventure Expressway is a blight on Montreal's downtown.

It's a drab entry point for motorists arriving from the South Shore, a no man's land for pedestrians at ground level, and an unattractive zone for developers.

The Quartier Bonaventure proposal is supposed to change all that, even as it reduces the number of cars in downtown Montreal and improves public transit for tens of thousands of South Shore commuters crossing the Champlain Bridge by bus.

It would cost $260 million - $141 million to dismantle the highway and rebuild roads and $119 million for a new bus corridor on Dalhousie St. (up from the original $86-million price tag).

The plan is being praised for some elements.

Many agree that the highway should be razed, the area under the Canadian National Railway viaduct should be revived, and once-vibrant Griffintown - devastated by construction of the Bonaventure and the viaduct - is in desperate need of a makeover.

But critics say parts of the proposal are fatally flawed.

The plan, supported by Mayor Gérald Tremblay, is being put forward by the Société du Havre de Montréal (SHM), created and funded by the city of Montreal to develop the harbourfront. The SHM has spent $7 million on the Bonaventure plan, much of it on studies.

The Office de consultation publique de Montréal is to hold public hearings on the plan on Tuesday, Wednesday and Jan. 18.

Here's a look at what the developer and critics say about key aspects.

Changes to the Neighbourhood

1849-1861: The New City Gas Co. complex is built. The company, seen as a forerunner of Hydro-Québec, distributed gas throughout the city, allowing for the illumination of streets and buildings. Much of the original complex remains intact.

1875: The triangular Rodier Building is constructed at Notre Dame and Inspecteur Sts. It's now home to Baron Sports. Other buildings in the area date from the 1880s.

1930s-1940s: Canadian National builds a viaduct linking the

Victoria Bridge and Central Station, cutting Griffintown in two. For a time, CN uses the space under the viaduct as offices. In the 1970s, most windows were sealed; much of the space under the viaduct is now taken up by a self-storage facility.

1967: The Bonaventure Expressway is inaugurated in time for Expo 67. To make way for it, 200 buildings were razed in Griffintown and the Faubourg des Récollets neighbourhood.

2004: Construction starts on condo project at Lowney's chocolate factory on Inspecteur St. near William St. Lowney's made Cherry Blossoms in the red brick building. Several new condo buildings are later built on the site, with more now under construction.

2010-2011: Work is to be done on underground infrastructure and on widening Duke and Nazareth Sts.

2012-2013: The elevated highway is to be razed and the Dalhousie St. bus corridor put in place.

2015-2020: Studies are to be done on Phases 2 and 3 of the Quartier Bonaventure project, covering the riverside section of the Bonaventure between the Victoria and Champlain bridges, and the section between the Peel Basin and the Victoria Bridge/Brennan St.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette

 

                                                                                            HF&RV