City to upgrade historic Saint-Roch building for offices

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

An historic building in Saint-Roch will be undergoing a $17.5-million makeover to be transformed into modern office space for city employees.

The city announced the project in a Sept. 22 news release.

Located at the corner of Rue Saint-Joseph Est and Rue de la Couronne, and known officially as Édifice Joseph-Ernest-Gregoire, the seven-storey building was for many years the tallest structure in the district.

The building, across the street from the Gabrielle- Roy Library, had housed municipal administrative offices since the city acquired it in the 1980s. When the offices were moved to the new YMCA building in Saint-Roch in 2020, a service for homeless and vulnerable people called Répit Basse-Ville moved into part of the building. The service will remain there until next spring, when it will be relocated elsewhere.

Work began on the project on Sept. 22, with the “selective interior dismantling” which will be followed during the winter by the removal of asbestos insulation and a complete interior cleaning. The final phase, to run from fall 2027 to winter 2029, will see the “major renovation of the building, including repair of the envelope, foundations and structures.”

The building is named after Joseph-Ernest Grégoire, a former mayor of Quebec City (1934-1938) who also served concurrently in the National Assembly (1936-1939). He was the father of Gilles Grégoire, one of the founders of the Parti Québécois.

Designed by René-Pamphile Lemay, creator of many city landmarks, including the Dominion Hotel and Maison Pollack, the building was commissioned by the Quebec Railway, Light, Heat and Power Company. It opened in 1911, the tallest structure in what was then a bustling commercial and industrial area, known as Le Faubourg de Saint-Roch.

Called “Le Merger” for undetermined reasons, when it opened, according to the city’s building directory, “newspapers highlighted the building’s quality.” Among other things, they noted “the majestic entrance on Saint- Joseph Street, which seems intent on attracting crowds and clearly indicates by its importance that all of Quebec must pass through it.’”

Tenants over the years included Hydro-Québec and the Kirouac toy store. The building receives a high heritage value rating from the city for its Rationalist-style architecture.