Settlement allows creation of 200 social housing units in Verdun

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The city of Montreal has settled out of court with a developer to pave the way for the construction of 200 social housing units in an up-and-coming sector of Verdun.

The executive committee voted to approve the settlement in a closed-door session on Friday. The decision is expected to be made public on Monday.

This ends a two-year legal battle between the city and the group District Atwater. The city had tried to use its right of first refusal to purchase part of a lot on Bannantyne St., at the corner of Hickson St. near the Atwater filtration plant. However, doing so would have prevented District Atwater from undertaking its plan to build affordable housing and private housing units. District Atwater moved to contest the land purchase in court.

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“It was really important for us to have a nice project with a mix of social and affordable housing,” said District Atwater president Alexandre Forgues. “This agreement allows this project to go ahead as quickly as possible.

“We’re very happy that this allows this project to move on to the next stage.”

Forgues said despite recent criticism that Montreal is moving too slow on issuing building permits, the agreement shows the city is able to move quickly to get social housing units built.

“They showed an ability to listen that impressed me,” he said. “They were able to adapt in order to allow this project to see the light.”

Forgues said he’s pleased to be able to provide social and affordable housing units, which are greatly needed in the Verdun sector. He said he plans to work with community groups that purchase land in order to help navigate the process of applying for grants.

Almost 700 housing units will be built in all, in what is now an industrial space. A water square will be built as part of the development, as well as some shops and parks.

It’s good news for those who are living on the margins, said Benoit Dorais, the Plante administration’s point person on housing matters and the executive committee vice-president. He added this will be one of Montreal’s largest social housing projects in recent memory.

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“For us, it was important not to get into a legal quagmire, because it would have taken many years,” Dorais said. “What we wanted to do is to provide social housing quickly. So we pushed for this to be settled as quickly as possible.”

The city will pay $6.7 million, which will include demolition of a building. That will be done by District Atwater.

In the coming month, the city will change the zoning for the area to allow the project to get underway. After that, the developer will have to present its plan and receive a building permit for 500 housing units, of which 104 will be affordable housing units.

The project will also include units with three bedrooms or more for families, in accordance with the city’s mixed metropolis bylaw, also known as the 20-20-20 requirement.

As for the 200 social housing units, the city will look for community partners or non-profit groups to purchase the site at a discounted rate and then develop the units. The plan will depend on other levels of government to subsidize the rents for those in need.

“We are sure there will be a non-profit group that will be interested in the land,” Dorais said.

This project will probably be one of the first to take advantage of new housing measures announced last week, whereby the city will help defray startup costs for non-profit companies looking to build social housing units.

Dorais added it’s impossible to say when construction will begin on the social housing project because it depends on several factors that are outside of the city’s control.

jmagder@postmedia.com

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