Feds make three Old Port buildings available for housing
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Three Canadian government buildings in the Old Port could be transformed into housing under a new federal program.
Last week, the buildings – 94, 104 and 112 Rue Dalhousie – were added to the federal government’s Canada Public Land Bank portfolio of properties being made available to be transformed into residential units.
Jean-Yves Duclos, minister of public services and procurement and MP for Québec, made the announcement in an Oct. 16 news release.
The three buildings are adjacent to each other and comprise an entire block of Rue Dalhousie. They were all built in 1983-84 by the federal government.
The René-Nicolas Levasseur Building at 94 Dalhousie is an L-shaped, three-storey structure with a stone exterior, 1,362 square metres in area, according to city records.
The Louis Pratt Building at 104 Dalhousie is the tallest of the three at six storeys, with a red brick exterior and an area of 1,264 square metres.
The John Munn Building at 112 Dalhousie is three storeys with an area of 1,630 square metres.
All three buildings have been deemed to have “potential for housing” under the federal government’s Canada’s Housing Plan, announced in this year’s budget, with an aim to build four million more homes in the country.
The release said, “Wherever possible, the government will turn these properties into housing through a long-term lease, not a one-time sale, to support affordable housing and ensure public land stays public.”
Public Services and Procurement Canada spokesperson Sonia Tengelsen provided information on the three buildings, all of which have windows at the rear facing the St. Lawrence River and the Port of Quebec cruise ship terminal.
The Rene-Nicolas Levasseur Building is one of three surplus buildings on Rue Dalhousie the federal government wants to see turned into housing.
The John Munn Building at 112 Rue Dalhousie is targeted to be transformed into housing.
Tengelsen said the John Munn Building “was declared surplus in 2018, with Depart- ment of National Defence personnel as the main occupants. They have been moved to other offices and the building has been vacant since autumn 2021.”
The Louis Pratt Building (104 Dalhousie) was declared surplus in January 2022 and houses employees of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The current occupants will be relocated to other offices.
The René-Nicolas Levasseur Building currently has three sets of occupants: the Canada School of Public Service, the Quebec Port Authority and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Tengelsen said, “The occupants have been notified of the decision to dispose of the building, and plans are under way to relocate them.”
These three Quebec City properties, as well as 11 others elsewhere in the country announced last week, bring the total of federal buildings now on offer for housing projects to 70, the equivalent of 2,500 hockey rinks, according to the release. The list can be viewed on the Canada Public Land Bank website.
There is progress on proper- ties put on offer in August with the launch of the federal hous- ing land bank. The release says evaluations are underway for proposals submitted for properties in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal.
Duclos said, “The launch of the Canada Public Land Bank in August 2024 laid the foundation for our efforts to unlock public lands for housing at a pace and scale not seen in generations.”
Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand also contributed a quote to the release, saying, “In recent years, Quebec City has played an important role in the housing issue … It’s great news to be able to count on concrete announcements from the federal government like the one today. The collective awareness of the housing issue now makes it a key issue for our economy and for the vitality of the Capitale-Nationale region.”