News

Once again this summer, the SHDM renewed its commitment to support its horticulture program, which is implemented in a number of its rental properties in order to mobilize the SHDM community and enhance its living environment. This year, it was mainly in the Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough and in the Saint-Michel-Villeray-Parc-Extension borough that the SHDM focused its efforts.

In order to do things right and maximize the scope of its investments for the benefit of the tenants, the SHDM has once again mandated Sentier Urbain and its experts on mobilization for social greening, as well as its own horticulture team.

And what was achieved? With hundreds of tenants volunteering and actively participating in greening, horticulture and urban agriculture projects, the tenant population as a whole benefited from the transformation of its living environment, which is becoming more and more beautiful as summer progresses.

It should be emphasized that SHDM’s horticultural projects make it possible, with the logic of sustainable development, to contribute concretely and simultaneously to:

• Fostering good neighbourhood relations.
• Strengthening the sense of belonging.
• Creating a knowledge sharing space.
• Building residents’ awareness of environmental issues.
• Offering new tenants an opportunity to integrate into their community.
• Beautifying the living environments.
• Improving the health of participants.

These projects undoubtedly make young and old happy!

The SHDM wishes to acknowledge the professionalism demonstrated by its team of horticulturists, Sentier Urbain, the Société de développement et d’habitation communautaire (SODHAC), Les Habitations Sherbrooke Forest Inc and Habitations Terrasse Saint-Michel, external managers for the SHDM, in the execution of their respective mandates under the program.

The Îlot Balmoral, a SHDM property that is under construction in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles, recently welcomed Montréal creators and Instagrammers Anne McIsaac (@yellowillow), Jean-François Savaria (@jfsavaria) and Vincent Brillant (@montrealismes) for a tour of the spaces that the National Film Board of Canada (@onf_nfb) will offer to its public. Discover this unprecedented look at the bold architecture signed by Provencher_Roy that will be unveiled in the coming days and take part in this NFB initiative by sharing their posts on Instagram.

The NFB will be relocating in the fall of 2019 from its current headquarters on Côte-de-Liesse to Place des festivals, and will occupy six of the thirteen floors of Îlot Balmoral. It is therefore a genuine revival for this institution that will become, thanks to this move, the “new NFB” and an invaluable cultural space in the heart of Montréal.

A bold and sustainable architecture

Designed by the Provencher_Roy architect firm, the Îlot Balmoral revolves around two architectural structures of 13 stories each, separated by an oblique fault line that creates a full-height atrium that provides exceptional natural light. A lobby crosses the building from rue de Bleury and opens on place des Festivals The four facades are built as « curtain walls » of glass providing a view on the Place des festivals, Mount Royal and downtown. The Îlot Balmoral aims at qualifying for a LEED Gold NC 2009 certification. Ultimately, it will have a leasable area of 26,000 m2 (280,000 ft2), and its tenants will enjoy a green roof, a parking for 186 vehicles, six public charging stations that are part of Hydro Québec’s Electric Circuit, space for 70 bikes as well as changing room and showers. Six passenger elevators and two freight elevators will service the building, and technical and telecommunications rooms will be installed on each floor.

For more information: 514-380-2199 or [email protected]

Photo credit: Anne McIsaac (@yellowillow)

Bees are pollinating insects and play a major role in the production of fruits, vegetables and nuts. One third of our diet is based on pollination. With this in mind, the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) is taking concrete steps towards sustainable development and is launching a first two-year urban beekeeping pilot project to work at the protection of these insects that are in significant decline around the world.

This morning, the first step was taken to implement this project piloted in collaboration with Alvéole, a social enterprise founded in 2012 in Montréal and that specializes in urban beekeeping. A hive was installed on the roof of one of SHDM’s buildings in the heart of Ville-Marie borough, the Chaussegros-de-Léry complex.

Unlike mosquitoes or wasps, bees very rarely bite and are not interested in the contents of our plates. The installation of the hive on the roof of the building is therefore safe for tenants. It represents, on the other hand, a mobilizing and unifying experience for the SHDM community and an example among others of the actions that the corporation is taking as part of its commitment towards Responsible Property Investment.

Some fascinating facts* about bees:

• A bee flies 70,000 km during its lifetime, the equivalent of three times the orbit of the Earth and lives on average 30 days in summer and three months in winter.
• Unlike mosquitoes or wasps, bees rarely bite since this result in their instant death.
• Bees are vegan and wasps carnivorous. It’s not bees that fly around your dinner plate!
• A queen bee can live for several years and does only one task: egg-laying.
• The more mature worker bees become, the more responsibilities they have! They take on all the roles, in turn, within their colony.
• The worker bees dedicate their lives to the service of their colony and never leave it for another.

* Source : Alvéole

With the H3C, the address of families and first-time buyers, Accès Condos is accrediting, for the very first time, an affordable condo project in an area in high demand—Griffintown—with the clear objective of encouraging families and first-time buyers who want to stay in Montréal.

Out of concern for fairness and to limit the risks of speculation, the SHDM has decided to customize the Accès Condos program with a unique, exclusive option, and to offer a customized purchasing process.

 

An exclusive option for an outstanding project

The exclusive option of the Accès Condos program that will apply this fall to the sale of the units in the H3C project, THE ADDRESS OF FAMILIES AND FIRST-TIME BUYERS, will consist of:

1. An increase in the purchase credit to 15%. In this way, despite the higher prices in central neighbourhoods, Montrealers will benefit from an even more advantageous financial tool to buy a home.
2. Priority reservation of units for families and first-time buyers. Accès Condos is encouraging families and first-time buyers to settle in Griffintown and is also promoting a positive mix. Such diversity in terms of clientele will contribute to the vitality and quality of life in the neighbourhood.
3. To truly meet Accès Condos’ target clientele and to avoid attracting speculators interested in a quick resale, a financial incentive to keep the condo for at least five years is included. In other words, the resale conditions will be more advantageous starting in the 6th year of ownership.

More information on the exclusive option may be found in the Program section, under Exclusive Option.

 

A customized purchasing process

In view of the eligibility criteria specifically for this exclusive option of Accès Condos and the attractiveness of the neighbourhood where the H3C project is located, theg process for purchasin these condo units has been specially customized.

Instead of rushing to the sales office and lining up for hours to be among the first to reserve your unit, all you have to do is register on the Internet by filling out an online form.

Your registration, recorded at a specific date and time (to the micro-second!), will confirm that you meet the project eligibility criteria and will provide all the necessary information for the sales team to make an appointment with you, on a first-come, first-served basis, to reserve your unit.

The URL address, date and time for submitting the completed form online will be announced in mid-September in our newsletter.

 

Are you interested in the project?

Be sure to follow Accès Condos’ Facebook page and subscribe to our newsletter. In this way, you will be informed in advance of all the important dates of the project and will be among the first to receive details regarding the opportunity to buy and live at H3C, the popular Griffintown postal code!

 

About Accès Condos

Since its creation in 2005, SHDM’s Accès Condos Program has enabled more than 3,600 households to acquire a quality property at very competitive prices while staying in Montréal. This program does even more. It contributes to the revitalization of neighbourhoods in a sustainable way, by the creation of dynamic living environments. For more information, visit accescondos.org

The Executive Committee of the Ville de Montreal has just authorized the construction of the De Champlain project that will number 26 rental studios, to be built and financed by the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), in partnership with the charitable organization Chez Doris. This housing project, which will provide social support to women with chronic mental health problems and who are at risk of homelessness, will be located in the borough of Ville-Marie and will welcome its first tenants in the fall of 2019.

Wishing to consolidate and redeploy its housing stock, while addressing the challenges facing the Ville de Montréal in the fight against homelessness, the SHDM seized the opportunity to replace two of its buildings, attached triplexes of three units each, which were completely vacant because of major structural problems. The new building will have more housing units with typologies entirely rethought to accommodate women in search of residential stability. To this end, the organization Chez Doris, which will supervise the premises and offer support services to residents, is entrusted with the management of the building, which will remain the property of the SHDM. This project of housing with accompaniment complements the 309 rooms already owned by the SHDM and that contribute to the fight against homelessness.

Declarations

Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal: “This residential revitalization project is perfectly in line with the objectives and actions of the Ville de Montréal’s 2018–2020 Action plan to Fight Homelessness. It contributes to increase the supply of housing for homeless people or people at risk of becoming homeless. It directly works on the improvement of their housing conditions by dedicating specialized resources both in terms of design and social intervention to promote their residential stability. Above all, this project promotes social inclusion by taking into account the specific needs of homeless women, including Inuit women. I would like to acknowledge the concerted efforts of the SHDM and Chez Doris, which are acting in complementarity and are answering the call of the Ville de Montréal to build a city that is solidary, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.”

Nancy Shoiry, Executive Director, SHDM: “It is precisely by supporting the accompaniment of neglected clienteles with respect to housing that the SHDM can achieve its mission regarding social and economic development. This project is part of the diversity of housing solutions that the SHDM offers on a daily basis to meet the needs of different Montréal clienteles and it is through this same diversification of its activities that it can invest in projects that have a social impact. To ensure the success of this bold endeavour, the SHDM once again favours working in partnership, combining its expertise in Responsible Property Investment with the knowledgeability of Chez Doris, an organization that has proven itself in the aid to vulnerable clienteles. By responding in concert to the objectives of the Ville de Montréal, SHDM’s role as a partner of choice in Responsible Property Investment takes on its full meaning here.”

Marina Boulos-Winton, Chez Doris Executive Director: “Having operated a day shelter for more than 40 years to support women in difficulty, Chez Doris is now ready to expand its offer and mission and support such a housing project. While women’s homelessness is a complex and even systemic phenomenon, it is well hidden and less visible than men’s homelessness. Resources are simply not sufficient to meet all the needs. This is why we are delighted to have found in the SHDM a key partner to support this project and to add a resource that is complementary to our various existing tools, all of which essential for the path towards residential stability of women at risk of becoming homeless. Quite frankly, without the SHDM, we would never have been able to realize this project and in such a short time.”

A Structuring Project That Meets the Needs of a Vulnerable Clientele

Located near Notre-Dame Hospital, the project will include 26 studios as well as common areas, including two offices dedicated to support and supervision services. Unlike rooming houses, each studio will include a kitchenette and a bathroom in order to offer future tenants an environment conducive to harmonious cohabitation that respects the privacy of each and creates the conditions for individuals to retake control of their lives and improve their psychological stability.

Operating with 100% financial autonomy, the SHDM will finance the replacement project as well as the management fees that will be paid to the organization under a management agreement. The building costs for this repurposing project are estimated at approximately $3 million. Chez Doris will be responsible for the purchase of equipment and furniture, and for the management fees associated with the social support of tenants. As for the financing of the rents through a program of assistance to the person, the latter will be initiated later.

The project will be designed by the architectural firm Rayside-Labossière. An expert in architectural projects for the community and social sectors, this firm will be able to respond to the particular challenges of such a project, while taking into account the built environment in order to ensure a successful integration with the urban environment of the sector.

Regarding Chez Doris
Chez Doris offers services and programs to address the most basic and immediate needs of women with respect to homelessness, poverty, mental illness or addictions. It is the only women’s day shelter in Montréal open 7 days a week, from 8:30 am to 3 pm. Services include: breakfast and lunch, access to showers, hygiene products and a cloakroom, emergency food bags, 6 respite beds, telephone and referral information, a financial management program, an Inuit Assistance Program, a housing program for Aboriginal women, health and mental health services, legal and tax preparation services, as well as educational and socio-recreational integration programs.

On the occasion of the Patrimoine en fête event, which will take place on Saturday, May 26, 2018, at Place Simon-Valois in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, the SHDM shares the history of a landmark heritage building in Montréal: the 335, place d’Youville.

The Centre d’histoire de Montréal (CHM) is located at 335 place d’Youville in Old Montréal in a building with remarkable architecture dating from the early 20th century. Housing a fire station during the first part of its life, this building was converted in the early ’80s to accommodate this museum dedicated to the history of Montréal and the city’s heritage. The Société immobilière du patrimoine architectural de Montréal (SIMPA), ancestor of the SHDM, steered this conversion project in 1981.

The adoption of the Cultural Property Act in 1972 and the Agreement on Old Montréal and Montréal Heritage (MAC Agreement) in 1979 laid the foundation for the partnership between the City and the Ministry to rehabilitate the historic district of Montréal. SIMPA then became the bearer of the common will of the two partners and carried out many projects to consolidate the activities in Old Montréal, boost its economy and promote the residential function. “Where architecture, real estate and urban planning are concerned, Old Montréal was not in the state we know today. The ’80s and the ’90s were a turning point for the district,” explains Patrick Pretty, Project Coordinator at the SHDM Property Management Direction.

The Chaussegros-de-Léry complex, the former Dalhousie Train Station, the Faubourg Québec and the World Trade Center Montréal are examples of SHDM projects in Old Montréal. The recycling of the former fire station into a museum on Place d’Youville is also a remarkable achievement. Indeed, in addition to being a rehabilitation project, the function reserved for it highlights the history of Montréal. “In 2001, our expertise was used again to redesign the exhibition spaces that were more than 10 years old. The goal was to maximize visitor traffic and offer a renewed vision of Montréal’s history. After a year of major work, enabled by a budget of $2.2 million, the new CHM presents a permanent exhibition and has a new multi-purpose room for temporary thematic exhibitions. Montréal’s heritage is rooted even more in this place,” explains Patrick Pretty.

Designed by architects Joseph Perrault and Simon Lesage in 1903 and 1904, the headquarters of the Montréal Fire Department present a Flemish style, something unusual in the architecture of Montréal at the time. The architecture includes buff-coloured cut stone, red brick, an attic roof with a skylight, and a square tower with a gabled roof. Firefighters settled there in 1904 with horses and steam pumps. In 1908, the fire hall became a neighbourhood fire station, and the horses were replaced by motor vehicles. The station was disused as of 1972 and this, until its rehabilitation to accommodate the CHM.

While the SHDM celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2018, it is good to remember that it is the result of the merger of different paramunicipal societies in recent decades. Knowing how it evolved leads us to better appreciate the relevance of its mission and its past and current interventions, some of which aim at the preservation and promotion of our built heritage.

 

Sources :

• Photography of Martin New at Montreal in Pictures
• Website of  Centre d’histoire de Montréal 
• Old Montréal website
• PDF document 25 ans du Vieux Montréal