City to Sell Land for Transit Expansion

Summary#

Montréal city council adopted a position supporting the sale of a 364.3-square-metre lot in the Sud-Ouest borough to the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), for $495,150 plus applicable taxes, if any. It also supported closing the lot and removing it from the public domain before the sale. The agglomeration council makes the final decision at a later meeting.

  • The lot is at the corner of Saint-Jacques West, Place Saint-Henri and Notre-Dame West, beside the Place-Saint-Henri metro station.
  • The sale is for expanding the station entrance building, including adding elevators. City staff say the construction work is already complete.
  • The sale would be without warranty; the property would be at the STM’s sole risk.
  • The city’s 2020 authorization allowed construction before the property sale was completed. This decision would support transferring ownership to the STM and recording the sale revenue.

What it means for you#

  • Metro users: The decision does not itself add a new service. City staff say the completed expansion includes elevators intended to make the station universally accessible.
  • STM: If the sale proceeds, the STM would own the lot and bear the risks under the sale’s no-warranty terms.
  • City taxpayers: The city would receive the sale price, with applicable taxes added if required. The lot would no longer be part of the public domain.

Money#

The sale would bring in $495,150, plus applicable taxes, if any; the materials give no estimate of other costs.

  • City staff say the price is based on evaluations by both parties and was set in 2020.
  • The revenue is assigned to the agglomeration budget and would be recorded in the operating budget of the Service de la stratégie immobilière et de l’habitation.
  • The materials do not give a cost estimate for the completed construction work.

What is unclear#

  • The final sale depends on the agglomeration council’s decision. The materials do not give the completed sale date.
  • The materials do not provide the evaluations used to set the price or explain whether the 2020 price was updated.
  • The sale is without warranty, but the materials do not detail what property conditions or risks the STM has accepted.

Case for#

  • City staff say the sale would regularize the STM’s ownership after it built the expanded station entrance.
  • The completed expansion includes elevators. City staff say making the station accessible supports access to public transit.
  • The city would receive sale revenue.

Case against#

  • The city would give up a public-domain lot for a price set in 2020; the materials do not show the evaluations or whether the price reflects the lot’s value now.
  • The STM would take the property without a warranty and at its own risk. The materials do not explain the risks covered by that term.
  • A possible trade-off is that transferring the lot to the STM supports the station expansion but removes it from the public domain.