theWestisDead

This is going to be beautiful when its complete, like the Lofts des Arts

So what are the odds the tower gets an increase in height? I think even another five floors would be great and make it a real loandmark downtown. As for a small hotel on the site of Zesto's/O'Hara's, I think they should make sure it blends in with the Altitude project.

I like the architecture of that building, the facade is very 1960's and cool looking. Just make sure the pieces aren't going to fall off, and also wash it...

I walk past that building all the time and usually walk a little faster so I don't get flattended by one of those huge concrete pieces because they look like they could fall off at any moment. That whole structure seems incredibly decayed. Its time to demolish it and put up something more appropriate for the middle of downtown next to such a beautiful park.

I think they should have demolished the Theatre Maisonneuve and used that land as part of the new OSM complex. The aging brutalist concrete style really doesn't scream arts and creativity to me.

I'm with you there !

 

I think the owner of those buildings is holding out for "a deal he can't refuse". He's sitting pretty to make a real bundle on this one and SIDEV probably doesn't want to give him the price he wants (probably outrageous). These guys are very patient. It may be a while before somebody folds...

Sounds similar to the Ben's situation, owners of prime real-estate holding out for the big cash-in deal.

Its a beautiful tower but they need to demolish those small run-down buildings left in front, it kills the modern vibe of the area.

My God, you guys are so pessimistic about the future of Montreal. Wow. Montreal needs to start acting with some ambition and vision and a desire to be as competitive as can be, exploiting all our assets to the fullest. That is how Montreal can be relevant in Canada and the world. Montreal's big problem is that it is effectively governed in another city: Quebec city. Unlike Toronto, Montreal is not the economic engine and the political capital; Quebec city doesn't know or very much care about the real needs of the metropolis. Confederation is always cited as why Montreal is stuck (which I don't agree with)... no one ever looks at the other side of the coin: Montreal is a city that simply gets a raw deal because it is controlled by another city. Among some of the issues: Why does Montreal not attract as many immigrants? Why don't we attract the right kind of immigrant? That is, highly educated and highly skilled. There are serious structural and policy issues that are NOT language related that have got to be looked at in Quebec.

 

And finally, nationalists in Quebec who have controlled the political discourse incessantly for the past 30-35 years have essentially practiced isolationism - stripping Montreal of its Canadian-relevance. I mean, what did you expect? Of course Montreal's status within the rest of Canada has shrunk.

 

On another note, reading about all this future glory for TO... Toronto shares the power in Canada with Calgary. In fact, a lot has shifted west to Alberta even from Toronto.

 

I for one believe that Canada is too small a country to many competing metropolises - Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal. For that reason, Toronto will never be the global phenom that most are predicting here. Sadly, Canada does not have a unified financial and political capital. Had the political capital not been moved to Ottawa, it is unlikely that Montreal would have ever been dethroned by Toronto as the financial capital and our city would have been a mega-metropolis. Montreal would have been a true metropolis like London, or Paris. I believe Toronto's golden era has passed: it was the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. Sure, it will continue to be the largest city, but what does that necessarily guarantee?

 

As the American empire continues to lose its relevance the Chinese empire rises, this should become more evident. Afterall, Montreal's downfall and Toronto's rise coincides with the shift from the UK being our main partner to the USA being our main partner.

I totally agree with you, Montreal has in essence been sabboaged by politics- Quebec politics and federal politics. It is terrible shame that the city's boom years of the 60s and 70s ended so abruptly and saw Toronto gain the status that rightfully should have been Montreal's. I am noticing a slight upswing in the city's direction as the MUHC has started construction and the rehabilitation of downtown continues with many infrastructure projects. Yet even munipal politics are to blame for many ills, as the giant bureaucracy of city hall prevents real decisons from taking place, the metro car contract is still undecided as is the tramway/metro extension issue. Hopefully the city can continue to build momentum and be at least half the city it could have been if politics had not gotten in the way.

What really needs to be done is a metro line going from Panama bus terminus in Brossard to Nun's Island and then ending at Bonaventure downtown. I garantee it would be one of the most used lines in the whole metro system.

It looks like a grimey old mid-town Manhatten hotel/apt thats waiting for redevelopment, the only problem is that its not even finished yet! I really wish they had built a big 40 floor tower that occuppied most of the block, like the original 900 De Maisonneuve proposal...

I wish the "Hilton Garden Inn" sign at the top wasn't obstructed by that boxy part of the roof, you can't read the whole thing from certain angles.

I'm going to try and take pictures on a regular basis as the demolition progresses.

Is UQAM still going through with the tower part of the project or will they stop at the 8 floor base?