Summary#
Montréal city council unanimously approved a sale by the City to Les Ponts Jacques Cartier et Champlain inc. (PJCCI) of 21,472.2 m² of land along the Bonaventure Expressway, including Carrie-Derick Street, in the Sud-Ouest borough. The sale is for the Bonaventure Expressway redevelopment; city staff say the goal is to support its conversion into an urban boulevard.
- The approved price is $286,001, plus applicable taxes. The sale is conditional on the City first obtaining authorization by decree from the provincial government.
- Most of the land is priced at a nominal value. The remaining 1,064.1 m² is priced at market value.
- If the project is cancelled or left unfinished, or if PJCCI transfers its road infrastructure to an entity outside federal jurisdiction, the agreement gives the City preference rights over some of the land, including a right to repurchase certain lots at nominal value.
- The sale is without a legal warranty of quality. Before it proceeds, a permanent servitude (a legal right over land) must be created to protect municipal underground electrical infrastructure.
What it means for you#
- Residents: The decision transfers City-owned land to PJCCI for the redevelopment. The council resolution does not itself set out the construction plan or a public access process.
- Businesses on Carrie-Derick Street: City staff say the sale would leave properties fronting the street without access to a public road. Staff say the City plans to build replacement streets and assign new civic addresses.
- PJCCI: It may access the land once the sale promise is signed, so it can begin work before the final sale. It must pay the purchase price and applicable GST and QST.
- City: The sale terms provide for the maintenance of existing water and sewer pipes through a federal operating permit. PJCCI is to legally give up its benefit under the environmental servitude protecting the groundwater barrier.
Money#
The City expects to receive $286,001, plus applicable taxes; no cost estimate for the related street work is provided.
- City staff say the price includes nominal-value pricing for 20,408.1 m² and market-value pricing for 1,064.1 m². The materials do not give the separate market-value amount.
- PJCCI is responsible for GST and QST.
- City staff describe the wider federal project as an investment of nearly $300 million. That is not the amount paid to the City for this land.
What is unclear#
- The resolution makes the sale conditional on provincial authorization, but does not say when the decree will be issued or the sale completed.
- The materials do not give a cost or schedule for the City’s planned replacement streets.
- The resolution approves the sale and refers to the sale promise and deed; the detailed terms of the preference and repurchase rights are not fully set out in the resolution.
Case for#
- City staff say the sale is needed for the expressway redevelopment and would support a public urban boulevard.
- The terms include protections for municipal infrastructure and give the City preference rights in specified cases.
- City staff say the wider project would also create a linear park along the St. Lawrence River.
Case against#
- Most of the land is sold at nominal value, and the materials do not state the market-value portion separately.
- The sale transfers a large area of public land, while the City’s planned replacement streets and their cost are not detailed here.
- The sale is without a legal warranty of quality, which limits the City’s responsibility for the land’s condition.