We have heard for years about Verdun becoming the new plateau.....who needs it.Read the article from Open Montreal -Les
Has the Plateau exodus started?
The reactions of Montrealers was swift yesterday after OpenFile published a piece looking at what some say is a measured approach to gentrification in Verdun
A new brewpub on Wellington St., is making the formerly semi-dry borough even more attractive to new arrivals. And it seems many of those new arrivals are former Plateau dwellers, having driven their loaded U-Hauls down the jammed St. Laurent Blvd. to more affordable digs by the free-flowing river.
The rhetoric goes something like this: rent is too high in the hip borough; garbage litters the streets; transient students don't give a damn; and the local government under Mayor Luc Ferrandez seems more interested in letting snow melt than tackle real issues.
“I just moved to Verdun from the Plateau,” wrote Sarah Aline. “I lived in the Plateau for almost ten years and as much as I liked the [convenient access] to many places like my work, the many restaurants and boutiques [...] I could not deal with the garbage and graffiti problem in my area.”
Plateau councillor Alex Norris, one of the staunchest defenders of the borough under the administration of Ferrandez, answered Aline’s complaints.
Touting the borough’s strides to wipe out widespread garbage and graffiti, the Mile End councillor assured Aline, “I understand your frustration and why you got fed up but please believe me when I say that this is a problem we take very seriously and that we are working very hard to solve.”
Aline’s call for moving was shared by other commenters, who blamed a transitory population and tagged the borough with a general “run-down” feeling.
“I moved my family to Verdun 5 years ago after nearly 25 years on the Plateau. I was escaping soggy futons on the sidewalks, puking drunks, used syringes and just too many people at all hours of the day and night,” wrote Mary Lamey. “We traded up for green parks, the waterfront, tons of activities for my kids.”
With a Discover Verdun Facebook group, the hope of many was that a new community is being established in the once blighted borough. With calls to “move here, shop here,” the group celebrated an upcoming sugar shack weekend and shared locations for where the borough could put new garbage cans.
New census data seems to reinforce the view that Verdun is growing faster than the Plateau. With the borough falling within the Jeanne-Le Ber electoral district—which spills into Pointe St. Charles and St. Henri—Verdun has grown 2.6 per cent since the 2006 census.
The picture for the Plateau is a little more complicated, with the population divided between the Outremont seat held by Thomas Mulcair and the riding of Laurier-Saint-Marie. The population of the Plateau and surrounding areas has shrunk by 0.4 per cent and grown by 0.6 per cent over the past six years, respectively.
Without a Starbucks and serviced by three Metro stations, Verdun could be Montreal’s next gentrification bubble. Did we mention that it has a [John] Galt St.?
Photo: Christopher Policarpio via Flickr (http://opnfil.es/HsW4yC)
Want to read more from this website checkout :Open Montreal @ the following link
...Cheers ! Have Fun and Remember Verdun........ - Les
1 comment:
I do think it can be a good thing to attract young families ,who want to live in a community minded enviroment.but it can be a double edged sword,because the minute that normal averag families choose to start exploring a city like verdun,.the developpers with nothing but $$$$$$money$$$$$$ on their mind start buying evrything up & soon you are taxed out of your home or rents get out of reach.....so becareful ,...
HF&RV Cheers ! - Les
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