Royal Bank office building in Old Quebec to go residential
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
Built at a time when modern architecture began to invade the Old City in the name of urban renewal, the Royal Bank office tower in Place D’Youville is destined to be transformed into a residential building.
The city has confirmed that the owners of 700 Place D’Youville have plans to convert the 11-storey building into some 115 small apartments.
The impetus for the transformation would appear to be the exodus of the major tenants of the building, including the Royal Bank that built the tower in 1965, gave it its name and was a principal occupant.
The owners of the building, Montreal-based THM Immobilier, confirmed in various media reports the termination of the lease and departure of the offices of the Société québécoise des infrastructures as well as those of the ministry of economy, innovation and energy.
Some 200 Royal Bank employees are expected to relocate to the SAAQ building in Lower Town as of next year, according to a company spokesperson quoted in one report.
Coun. Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc, who represents the downtown Cap-aux-Diamants district, welcomed the news of the coming residential units in a Facebook post.
She applauded the “structural measures” that reflect the city’s push to make housing a priority. The current administration has set a goal of increasing the residential population in the Old City.
She said, “Converting vacant office space into housing is one of the keys to revitalizing and making life in our central neighbourhoods more accessible, and Old Quebec is no exception.
“We are already well positioned to exceed our goal of bringing 500 new residents to Old Quebec with the numerous housing projects underway in the area,” Coulombe-Leduc said.
THM Immobilier spokesperson David Benatar told Radio- Canada, “The project is moving forward, but it’s not yet finalized. We’re accelerating the process to start work as soon as they [the current tenants] leave. We’re estimating costs to see if it will be profitable.”
He said it’s still possible there will be office space available in the building. “Let’s just say there might be room to keep one or two floors of offices. The demand for offices is decreasing; there’s always some, but not enough to occupy the entire building.”
The conversion of the Royal Bank building would not be the first such transformation the company has undertaken. Le Kozi apartment complex at 1005 Chemin Ste-Foy housed the offices of the provincial health and social services ministry before being transformed into 107 rental units.
The QCT was not able to get in contact with Benatar or any other representative of THM Immobilier.
Despite its incongruous lo- cation just outside the walls of the Old City and its modern architecture, the Royal Bank building is considered of heritage value.
The citation on the city’s website says: “Considering the resolutely modern language of the Royal Bank building in the Place D’Youville sector, its excellent formal and material authenticity, the presence of the work of art by Paul Lacroix in the lobby of the building as well as the national and international renown of the architect Fred A. Dawson, the architectural and artistic interest is superior.”
Construction of the building began in 1965, in the immediate wake of the city’s demarcation of the limits of the Old City and establishment of zoning regulations.
The building, the city directory says, is “a witness to its period of construction” and to “the renewal sweeping through the national capital with the development of Parliament Hill, Ave. Honoré-Mercier and the Autoroute Dufferin-Montmorency.”
The building now appears to be part of a new trend to convert office buildings into residential housing.