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Housing is housing. Any amount of new units - even if they are all market-rate units - is good for the housing situation.

See page 51 of 54.

.... And there is PVM, the icon, looking like an old girl who doesn't have the money for a face-lift.

SKYCRAPER!

Immigrants, even the most destitute, are plugged into the global culture and they will always at least know how to speak some English; there is no changing that. Being bilingual or multi-lingual doesn't mean they don't live and work in the language of the majority.

It's nice. Fits the built environment for sure which is nice and all but the 19th Century scale is doesn't meet the needs of the 21st century; this could have easily been a few more stories.

Probably will cut have their ballrooms and F & B space. To align it with PVM plaza and Mc Gill College, you'd need to cut the hotel in half.

LOL. The problem with this new addition doesn't have anything to do with any the view(s) of the mountain; if anything, it's the view of the Astral Tower that is, sadly, blocked from Ste Catherine st. That and it's just a horrible, mediocre-looking design at best. The volumes are terrible; bulky and inelegant. Also, for such a high profile location, you'd think the architects and the developers would make sure to put out the BEST possible renderings for the public. This looks like a preliminary sketch drawn on the back of a cocktail napkin. It's lazy. While the podium (Place Montreal Trust) does look dated and tired, it's possible to clean it up, streamline the look, perhaps lose many of the turquoise embellishments of Post-modernism AND add density that blends with the existing complex (tower included). Why disassociate the very successful tower - that is aging well from an aesthetic point of view - from the mall podium completely like this?

CN HQ is one-day tear down. The old ICAO building is a teardown. And one day, the Terminal Tower is a tear down. In addition of course to the ones you mentioned. The only building worthy of preservation - and it's the interior only - is actual Gare Centrale. Also, The Queen E.

Any buyer is buying the fully-entitled, shovel-ready project at what will be a discount; they may just go ahead with the project as-is ASAP.

If there was ever a mega block redevelopment site in the literal center of a business center anywhere, that also is the supposed hub of mass transit, this is it! The entire 2-block (each side of Belmont) needs a major reinvention, land-use masterplan, etc... several buildings are also tear-downs.

Tinted windows is also good for building energy efficiency. Honestly, in my dream scenario this building is expanded in the exact same style and detailing. (materials etc) to replaces the little greystones. The only part original on the greystone facades is the 2nd floor / roof portion; they were never quality townhouses to begin with.

L'Anneau is, IMHO, pretty forgettable. I think it makes the place look messy / cluttered and obstructs the clean view up McGill Collge to the the mountain. Also, in person, it feels like a let down.

It's what is called an "instragram moment." This piece will get LOTS of attention.

Yes, but the views to the south from MAA will be okay for a few years - at least.

Beautiful.

OMG. WTH is this? I agree that the 3-story wing of Place Montreal Trust could be a good candidate to add square footage vertically (in fact, I always thought the mall should have had a few floors of large plate office space above it), BUT any addition should harmonize with the existing complex (tower and mall) in its entirety! Wow this is atrocious. PMT is also among the best POMO design I have seen. This is actually tragic. Where is Dinu when you really need him.

That corner has had quite the transformation.

True a lot of those are mid-market brands but that 's the point, that's the model: a luxury wing and more "ordinary" brands in-one plus a dining component to make it a well-rounded destination.

For what it's worth, I do like the red tower portion in the rear.... they just need to build a taller version without the ridiculous set-back from R-L. How about 165 metres?

Well, by the look of the proposal, it "fits" right in with the "Griffintown Look" so bonus points for well-thought out design that the city should LOVE.

That's what the planning dept likes: it all has to "fit." No audacity or creativity allowed.

Maybe. But Montreal circa 1988 and Montreal 2023 are very different cities as is the world and consumer culture. I never thought I would see house prices that rival Beverly Hills; when Sotheby's came to Montreal I took note that something was shifting. When Rolls Royce and other luxury/perfomance car companies opened in Montreal I took note... there is definitely money in Montreal today that wasn't there in the 80's. And even people with moderate wealth / some disposable income are want luxury products. Consumer culture generally has become one of luxury for the masses. Louis Vuitton stores are in all big malls all over the place for example. Montreal (downtown) has never really has a luxury run. Sherbrooke street had a select and limited concentration but not exactly a major luxury shopping street. Royalmount won't be cannibalizing downtown luxury stores because there aren't any (except for Holts but that a dept store and some mid-market retailers like Aritzia or Micheal Kors). Royalmount is creating something that doesn't currently exist. It's also not going to be exclusively luxury like a Bal Harbour Shops and it will attract a bigger pool of consumers. I think it remains to be seen if this will be a success or a flop. Don't get me wrong, I too have some doubts but there is defiantly more money in the city than there was 35 years ago.

Love it.

The downtown mall (indoor) trend of the 1980's has always been problematic: Cours Mont Royal, Place Montreal Trust, Place de la Cathedrale, Eaton Centre all sucking the life OFF the streets. Obviously we (can) have a brutal winter season with cold temps but the high street shopping experience (outdoors) will always be the winner. As we are seeing, this is very true as major retailers all want to have a street presence over an indoor and often underground one. I hate that the gorgeous west facade of Eaton was covered by the mall; it would have been so charming to have made Victoria street into a pedestrian arcade with shops rewind it pre-Terraces.