$1B investment for downtown Montreal!

More than a billion dollars will be injected into the development of downtown Montreal over the next ten years, enhancing the identity of the city’s neighborhoods in the process, Noovo reports.

Indeed, to counteract the city’s slowing economic growth, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante plans to take steps to make the heart of the metropolis more attractive, with distinctive new street furniture, heritage enhancement specific to different living environments and public art circuits, among other measures.

Under the Plante administration’s new strategy, the Quartier latin will symbolically become the “quartier de la francophonie” and, possibly, include Montreal’s first “24-hour zone”, where businesses can remain open day and night.

To densify the area, the Plante administration plans to start by curbing the vacancy rate of existing buildings, notably at the former Royal Victoria Hospital and the Voyageur block, by attracting various businesses related to health, technology and culture.

Subsequently, it also plans to create two new residential neighborhoods in the Faubourgs and Bridge-Bonaventure sectors, with the potential to create over 15,000 housing units.

Finally, improving the experience of visitors to the downtown area will also require better management of construction sites and an improved pedestrian and cycling network.

An ambitious project, to say the least…

What do you think?