News

An exhibition highlights its history and its place in the collective memory of Montréal

Inaugurated in 1847, the Marché Bonsecours celebrates its 170 years. As an integral part of Montréal’s history, silhouette and heritage, it is also an emblematic destination for visitors. Taking advantage of Montréal’s 375th anniversary celebrations, the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM), responsible for the management and development of the Marché Bonsecours, dedicates an exhibition that highlights its history and place in our collective memory, in the form of postcards or giant photos. The 170-year-old Marché Bonsecours exhibition is presented as part of the World Press Photo Montréal, on the mezzanine of the main exhibition hall.

SHDM’s Managing Director, Nancy Shoiry, emphasized: “Participating in the vitality of Montréal also means making our built heritage better known, together with its contribution to our history and the evolution of an entire neighbourhood. This exhibition devoted to Marché Bonsecours recalls the daily life in this emblematic building during different eras and the place it occupied in the life of Montrealers for 170 years.”

“Since Marché Bonsecours is also known as a cultural venue that hosts many events each year, including the renowned exhibition of the World Press Photo, it is all the more flattering to be received in our own venues, as part of this popular event. A link is established from the outset between the two exhibitions since we drew from yesterday’s news stories magnificent journalistic photos and anecdotes of the time, all reproduced in giant format and exhibited in the mezzanine gallery.”

USEFUL INFORMATION
World Press Photo Montréal
Marché Bonsecours, 170 years of exchanges
August 30 to October 1, 2017

At Marché Bonsecours
325, de la Commune Est
Sunday to Wednesday, 10 am to 10 pm
Thursadyto Saturday, 10 am to midnight

General Admission: $13
Students, seniors (65+), FPJQ or AJIQ cartholders: $10
12 and under: free

Regarding Marché Bonsecours
With its silvery dome that shapes the Montréal landscape, Marché Bonsecours is recognized as one of the ten most beautiful heritage buildings in Canada. Designed by architect William Footner, it was home to the city’s main farmers market for more than a century, was subsequently repurposed to meet changing needs over the years by housing Montréal City Hall, the Parliament of United Canada, concert halls and banquet halls, training and armoury halls, and municipal offices. The Marché Bonsecours has become a must-see cultural and tourist destination, hosting events and exhibitions, as well as being home to the Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec, high-end ‘made in Québec’ designer boutiques, and restaurants that offer locally grown products.

Aficionados of history and archive photographs can also visit the virtual exhibition Au fil du temps presented on the Marché Bonsecours website at http://marchebonsecours-expo.com/ 

It’s in a neighbourhood that is reaching maturity that the fifth and penultimate phase of the Accès Condos accredited project – Faubourg Contrecœur – will be launched on Saturday, September 16, 2017. Already under construction right in front of Carlos-d’Alcantara Park, the project will be particularly attractive for young families and those wishing to buy in Montréal, with a selection of 95 affordable units, the majority of which offering two or more bedrooms.

Opening of the sales office 
Saturday, September 16, 2017, at 10 am
at 5200, rue de Contrecœur

“One must visit the Faubourg Contrecœur to take measure of the path we have travelled. The neighbourhood vibrates to the rhythm of the life of some 1,500 residents already settled, the large Carlos-Alcantara park and soon the services of a CPE and shops whose opening is announced for 2018. This Accès Condos, accredited phase 5 blends in the neighbourhood perfectly, and offers a choice of affordable and quality condos that meet the needs of people who wish to buy and stay in Montréal.”, said Johanne Mallette, Director of Development and Fixed Assets of Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM).

The Accès Condos accreditation enables buyers to benefit from a 10% purchase credit that is applied to the down payment, enabling them to buy with only a $1,000 deposit and to reduce their monthly mortgage payments.

The Faubourg Contrecœur Phase 5 project is developed and marketed by SEC Merlin Contrecœur, based on an architectural concept by Ruccolo + Faubert Architectes inc.

For more information, visit accescondos.org/fc5
Floor plans for the units will be available online as of September 11.

THE PROJECT
• 95 units, including twenty-one 3, 4 and 5 BDR stacked townhouses on two floors
• Eighteen 1-BDR units 
• Fifty-two 2-BDR units 
• Twenty-two 3-BDR units
• Two 4-BRD units 
• One 5-BDR unit 
• 6 floors
• 2 elevators
• 64 indoor parking spaces

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
• Neighbourhood that has been developing for a decade
• Facing Carlos-d’Alcantara Park and its many amenities (mini-soccer field, climbing wall, water games, basketball court, table tennis, slope for winter sliding…)
• Opening of a daycare centre (CPE) in June 2018 including a nursery
• Shopping area to be developed at the corner of Sherbrooke and Contrecœur
• Serviced by collective and active transport (STM, Communauto, cycle paths)

Regarding the Accès Condos program
Accès Condos is a program that accredits affordable, high-quality residential projects and provides buyers with a 10% purchase credit on the condo’s purchase value, enabling them to buy with only a $1,000 deposit and at the same time reduce their monthly mortgage payments. Since its creation in 2005, SHDM’s Accès Condos Program has enabled more than 3,000 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.

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