If These Walls Could Talk----------There'd be a Lot of Moaning Going on For Sure, lol

                 The Motel Raphael,......yikes !!  Is that place still around. 

     

re-imagining the motel raphael as... a condo complex?

By ANDY RIGA WED, JAN 12 2011 METROPOLITAN NEWS, ANDY RIGA'S MONTREAL BLOG

The owners of the no-tell Motel Raphaël, a well-known but now-shuttered N.D.G. institution, now hope to turn the property into a condominium complex with up to 200 units.

Lorne Miller, a co-owner of the property, told Metropolitan News he plans to soon submit a request to the borough of Côte des Neiges/Notre Dame de Grâce to demolish the remaining sections of the motel and rezone the land as residental.

The property, once a bit of a crime magnet known for its hourly rates, is quite an eyesore at the moment: doors and windows on what remains of the structure are covered in plywood, which in turn are covered in layers of graffiti. It's hard to imagine a condo complex there but changes are afoot in that part of Montreal.

The original plan , when Lorne Miller and two other business people invested about $2.5 million in the property in 2009, was to build an executive hotel at the site, which straddles the Montreal/Montreal West border near Highway 20.

But that plan -- covered in this blog post -- was shelved for several reasons, Miller said.

It's difficult to finance hotels these days while "the condo market is pretty strong," noted Miller, president of Construx Building Corp. and Proforma Building Corp.

Plus, the reconstruction of the adjacent Montreal West interchange will completely change the road configuration in the area, Miller said. The changes are part of the plan to rebuild the Turcot Interchange.

(Many people think the Raphaël is on St. Jacques St. but it's actually on a short roadway known as Ste. Anne de Bellevue Blvd. that runs between St. Jacques and Highway 20)

Under Transport Quebec's Turcot plan, the Raphaël property won't border Ste. Anne de Bellevue Blvd.

Look closely at this PDF map of the Turcot makeover and you'll see that the Montreal West interchange is being moved so that cars will turn before they reach the current location of the motel.

Once the Turcot work is completed in 2018, the Raphaël will front on Brock Ave., a quiet residential street, Miller noted.

"It's a nice-quality neighbourhood and our property will now be on a quiet residential street," perfect for a new condo complex, he said.

The owners propose to build several condo buildings of four to eight storeys, Miller said. But the final plan would depend on the zoning granted by the borough, he added.

Some of the land is currently zoned commercial.

More than 90 per cent of the land is in the city of Montreal. Miller said no Montreal West zoning change would be required.

It could take four to six months to change the zoning and obtain the demolition permit, after which a sales office would be opened, Miller said.

If you haven't driven by lately, take a look:

- Andy Riga

             Now I doubt there would be much resistance to bulldozing this place,nor do I think a lot of folks would come forward to talk of the fine times they had there (on vacation of course..........hahahaha) Probably never needed any daytime personell,as most of their business 'came' from late night activities ..........                                                    Cheers !! HF&RV