JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1510 West
Earlier this fall, opposition to plans to demolish a former convent in Dorval prompted city officials to reconsider proposed plans. But now, continued pushback from residents has pushed officials to put all discussions of the future of the four-storey building on hold.
That was the decision announced by Dorval Mayor Marc Doret earlier this month.
The move came after the city held a public consultation meeting on the future of the building known as 12 Dahlia, a 40,000 square-foot annex building on Dahlia Avenue, at the site of the former Congrégation de Notre Dame.
Doret cited the Nov. 26 public presentation on the future of the building that had seen pushback from several attendees as one of the reasons to postpone a decision on the building’s fate until 2025. He added at the beginning of the meeting that he would not be answering questions on this topic.
This, however, did not have the intended effect, as the meeting saw more than an hour of questions and debate about the future of the building from both residents and councillors.
“Citizens clearly expressed their concerns on how the city has not given serious study to alternative use of (the annex) and the entire site,” said Fernando Pellicer, a retired architect with a specialization in the restoration of heritage buildings, during the question-and-answer period at the Dec. 9 council meeting.
Animated public presentation
The Nov. 26 presentation offered residents a look at five possible scenarios on the future of the building and their approximate costs.
Two scenarios would see the annex building demolished, two would see restoration work done to the exterior of the building, while one would have the building left as is.
Participants took turns voicing their disapproval with each of the scenarios. Many lamented the fact that they had no decision-making power over the future of the annex, as the presentation did not constitute a public consultation.
“I want to just remind the audience that they’re here to listen to the scenarios, but that we don’t have a vote on these scenarios,” resident Bruno Fournier told attendees.
“I want to see the city solicit proposals from the community, that the community can think about, research and come together,” said resident Rachelle Cournoyer.
Doret and the councillors had attended the Nov. 26 presentation, but did not participate in discussions. Questions from attendees were addressed by Benoît Lévesque and Jad Kadi, Dorval’s directors of urban planning and engineering, respectively.
“I think what came out of the presentation is that everybody wants a public debate with all the real costs on the table,” said councillor Pascal Brault at Monday’s council meeting.
A building with potential
“There are many potential uses,” said Pellicer at the Nov. 26 presentation. He is opposed to demolishing the building.
“The commercial kitchen has fantastic potential,” he said. The annex “could be a music centre. It could be an arts centre (. . .) the usage can be multiple.”
Speaking with The 1510 West, Pellicer said he had voluntarily inspected the annex and had drawn up a mock budget for the building’s restoration. His budget sets the price tag for restoration at around $7 million.
“Total restoration, complete upgrade to code – envelope, roof, windows, everything new,” Pellicer explained.
The two scenarios presented by the city that would see the annex’s exterior restored had an estimated cost of just under $10 million. However, Pellicer maintained that the figures that had been presented “are totally arbitrary.”
Given the public pushback, Doret said council will not rush to a decision on the future of 12 Dahlia. Instead, he said city officials will reflect on the subject “through January and possibly even February,” and that the file will be reopened “maybe as late as March.”
The City of Dorval purchased the former Congrégation de Notre Dame site in 2022 for $8 million. It has two adjoining buildings: the “Quatre Vents” section, and the annex section. The Quatre Vents manor was built in 1873 and was the home of Dorval’s first mayor, Désiré Girouard. It currently is the site that hosts city council meetings.
The four-storey annex is a brick building that was added to the Quatre Vents manor in 1965. The structure served as a residence for the nuns of the congregation and contains a large commercial kitchen, a dining room, two floors of meeting rooms and two floors of bedrooms.
In April, council adopted a resolution of intent to demolish the annex, citing an architectural report stating that the building had no heritage value and did not meet the requirements in the Quebec Construction Code to be used in its current state.
An ongoing petition, organized by residents looking to preserve the annex from demolition, has collected just over 600 signatures.