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Together, we go further. The community united around the Habitations Terrasse Saint-Michel proved it once again by organizing a collective clean-up bee that brought together about 25 people on July 28th. Tenants, building managers and community workers gathered in good humour to clean and beautify the common areas and green spaces.

Mobilized to improve their living environment, neighbours got to know each other, but also the stakeholders in their community, among others, the Habitations Terrasse Saint-Michel management and maintenance team as well as representatives from the local éco-quartier, the Info-Logement office, the Saint-Michel CLSC, Action Saint Michel Est (ASME) and Mon Resto Saint-Michel. In support of this initiative, the SHDM, the owner of the buildings, sponsored a picnic to conclude the activity in a festive atmosphere.

Clean-up bees have an impact that extends well beyond the few hours devoted to them. Not only is the result immediately visible, but it motivates everyone to take care of their environment. Thus, the ties forged between the participants reinforce the spirit of mutual assistance among neighbours and the wish to be involved for the benefit of the neighbourhood as a whole.

This activity initiated by tenants and neighbourhood organizations is a fine example of the spirit of the SHDM community, engaging all actors to better living together.

 

The SHDM community has more than 4,700 tenants. We are sharing here the testimony of a committed and enthusiastic member of this community who speaks with love of her neighbourhood, Pointe-Saint-Charles, where the SHDM owns many rental units.

Louisane is 23 and has just completed her first year at Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts in the Digital Arts program. She welcomes us in an apartment owned by the SHDM, where she lives with her mother and her two brothers, aged 9 and 21 respectively. Louisane is a dynamic and genuine young woman. She describes her neighbourhood as a family-oriented and supportive haven of peace with a remarkable diversity of inhabitants living side by side.

“We moved here when I was 12 years old. Before, we lived in Saint-Henri in a 3 ½. We were therefore going from an apartment where my mother, my brother Christian and I slept in the same room to a 5 ½ where each of us had his own bedroom, » says Louisane. This apartment is part of the SHDM rental park, which includes several 2- to 4-storey plex-style buildings that house several families.

Located in Le Sud-Ouest borough, in the heart of Pointe-Saint-Charles, the dwelling is at a five-minute walk from the Charlevoix metro station on the green line. In addition to this ideal location in relation to downtown Montréal, the neighbourhood offers a premium quality of life according to Louisane, because of its many municipal amenities and its tightly woven social fabric that is supported by community organizations.

“Just a few metres from our door step, there is the library, the recreation centre which includes a swimming pool and a winter arena, a basketball court, a baseball field, Saint-Gabriel Park, Hibernia Square or Des Apprentis Park. The neighbourhood also has great schools. My younger brother, who is still in primary school, is in an intensive music program inspired by the El Sistema philosophy and practices the violin three times a week thanks to a partnership between his school and the organization Partageons l’espoir” explains Louisane. “There are many organizations in the neighbourhood that make a real difference,” she continues, “I am thinking in particular of the Pointe-Saint-Charles Carrefour d’éducation populaire or Madame prend congé for which I have been volunteering for eight months and running a body expression workshop.”

Louisane is familiar with other boroughs in Montréal, having lived or studied in several of them. She pragmatically recognizes the assets of her current neighbourhood. “It’s my favourite at the moment because it fits my lifestyle. It is a quiet, very mixed neighbourhood, with many families, children, and seniors as well. Here everyone knows each other,” she says. The neighbourhood parks that host events, pétanque competitions or sports contests are the ideal place for community life and their continuous animation is a reflection of a tightly woven community. “I feel an attachment of the people for their neighbourhood, and this is perhaps due to the historical character of Pointe-Saint-Charles. This kind of attachment is not as common in other parts of the city. I also like that the organized events are not commercial, but rather, have as their primary objective the fostering of social links. The community spirit is very strong,” says Louisane.

The values of inclusion and solidarity of the neighbourhood are in line with the values of Louisane, but for her family, her parents are from Cameroon, the value of education is also very important. Their mother, a doctoral student in Educational Science, paved the way for her children who are pursuing their schooling with commitment. Christian, who is completing his college diploma, will also be attending Concordia University in September. Louisane does not yet know what she will do in the future, but she is determined to work for more justice, happiness, quality of life and equality. “Uplifting people’s lives in the broad sense is close to my heart,” she says. It’s all to her honour and you can bet that her neighbourhood would be proud of her.

This was an inspiring meeting with a young Montrealer who is open-minded, engaged and supportive of her community! We wish Louisane and her brothers much success and we sincerely thank them for this wonderful interview.

The testimony of Louisane inspired us to support the social and economic development efforts of organizations in the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood and the SHDM donated $300 to the Partageons l’espoir organization.

It is now official: the Faubourg Contrecœur will have its own childcare centre (CPE). The SHDM received today from the Executive Committee of the Ville de Montréal the go ahead to sell to CPE Bilbo a plot of land that the corporation was reserving for a community project. This was the final stage of approval of the transaction following the submission by the CPE, in August 2016, of a purchase offer.

“We are very pleased to see this project come to fruition as it meets the needs expressed by the community and contributes to making the Faubourg Contrecœur a living environment adapted to the needs of families, couples and seniors. The CPE Bilbo team will diversify the services offered in this neighborhood, which already has a large multi-generational park, a construction project for a senior’s residence, public transport services and a developing commercial zone” said SHDM’s Managing Director, Nancy Shoiry.

“It’s great news for us to know that our project to build a brand new CPE is moving forward and on schedule. We are already working on plans for the construction of a building that will be specifically designed to meet the needs of the toddlers and of our educational teams” said France Thibeault, Director of CPB Bilbo.

The CPE Bilbo will be located on Contrecœur Street, on a plot of land located between Carlos-D’Alcantara Park and the commercial zone. Construction is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2017 and will be completed in spring 2018, in time for the relocation of CPE Bilbo in June 2018.

Sources:
Leslie Molko, spokesperson for SHDM 514 347-8584
France Thibeault, General Director of CPE Bilbo, 514 353-1221

St. Paul is one of Old Montréal’s oldest streets, and this Saturday, May 27, it plays host to an array of free activities sponsored by the City of Montréal and its partners, including SHDM. So join us for a day of celebration!

The festivities will centre on Marché Bonsecours, a City of Montréal property managed by SHDM. Plenty of entertainment will be on offer, including Bonsecours Walking Tours, talks, short films, and various other guided tours. It’s also your chance to find out about Saint Paul Street’s new furnishings, as everything gets buffed to a high gloss for Montréal’s 375th birthday.

Find out all the details and schedules for events on the Opération patrimoine website, and reserve your spot, since some activities have limited space.

Crédit photo: André Tremblay

Participating in a strategic planning exercise takes time. It involves a collective reflection on the journey accomplished and making shared decisions on the direction to follow for the next few years.
From March to November 2016, the entire SHDM team participated in various activities that helped to define the major orientations of the corporation for the next four years. The outcome is a 2017–2020 strategic plan that builds on our history, our strengths and our commitment to contribute to the economic and social development of Montréal.

We illustrated this approach with a short video (available in French only) that demonstrates our team’s commitment to our collective project to serve Montréal, its territory, its residents, its economy, its culture and its diversity.

With this approach, our team is more than ever mobilized in the pursuit of its mission. Maintain and increase our affordable and quality rental offer, launch new housing projects and facilitate property ownership, broaden our interventions to the clienteles who need them most, in particular through innovative partnerships, and carry out projects while integrating best governance and management practices into a continuous improvement approach. This will sustain the momentum that brings us together and motivates us on a daily basis!

Highlights

• The Ville de Montréal Executive Committee approved the SHDM project to invest $4.7 million to renovate an affordable residential building in Ville-Marie.
• The SHDM, which is financially autonomous, will also assume the operating deficit estimated at $280,000 per year in order to support the social and affordable housing vocation of the project.
• The SHDM is innovating by taking advantage of the renovation project to improve the quality of life of current and future tenants, to increase the social value of its housing supply and to expand community services that promote residential stability for people experiencing chronic homelessness, in partnership with the Accueil Bonneau.

The Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) has obtained the approval of the Ville de Montréal Executive Committee to invest $4.7 million in a major renovation project for its affordable Le Christin residential building (Ville-Marie). Given the scope of the work required to renovate this building built in 1914, the SHDM seized the opportunity to thoroughly review the layout of the dwellings that were outdated and unsuitable for the needs of their tenants, while maintaining the affordability of rents for current and future tenants. The Corporation will also increase the social value of its housing offer through an agreement with the Accueil Bonneau that encompasses the management of the building, the recruitment of new tenants in the sector who are vulnerable or have experienced a situation of chronic homelessness and the provision of community services.

Russell Copeman, member of the Executive Committee of the Ville de Montréal, respondent from the SHDM, and responsible for housing, urban planning, real estate management and planning, and the Office de consultation publique de Montréal: “This project demonstrates how the SHDM goes far beyond expectations by seizing every opportunity to enhance its contribution to Montréal. In addition to ensuring the long-term sustainability of its housing stock by investing heavily, it also improves the relevance of its housing offer by partnering with organizations in the community sector to meet the Ville de Montréal’s orientations, including the Montréal Action Plan on Homelessness.”

Nancy Shoiry, SHDM Managing Director: “Being involved in Responsible Property Investment means taking every opportunity to improve our social, cultural and economic footprint for the benefit of the community. Beyond the improvement work, the renovation of the Le Christin building was the subject of a reflection that produced a project that will not only improve the quality of life of our tenants, but that will also diversify the solutions put in place to reduce and curb homelessness, in partnership with the Accueil Bonneau. It was the social value of the project that led the SHDM to make the calculated decision to absorb the operating deficit of the building.”

Aubin Boudreau, Managing Director of Accueil Bonneau: “This new project has an exemplary potential for the Accueil Bonneau. The SHDM offers us a residential project of choice, well located and adapted to our needs, which allows us to welcome people who have experienced homelessness and to help them continue their social reintegration process and achieve residential stability by benefiting from individual and personalized support. The project will provide a true mixed living environment for residents from different walks of life. This innovative approach promotes social inclusion, facilitates harmonious cohabitation and encourages everyone to play their role as citizens, either autonomously or with long-term support. ”

Regarding the Le Christin building

Located at 330, rue Christin, in the borough of Ville-Marie, this four-storey building was built in 1914. At the end of the renovation work, it will have 61 housing units, mostly studios with a bathroom and kitchenette, in addition to a laundry room, a community hall and an office for individual and community support services.

The entire project represents an investment of $4.7 million. The building will receive a $750,000 grant as part of the Ville de Montréal Major Residential Renovation Program.

By maintaining the affordable and social vocation of this residential building and by extending its housing supply to a more fragile clientele, the SHDM has chosen to assume from its own funds an annual operating deficit estimated at approximately $280,000 mainly due to amortization of the renovation investments announced today.