Tramway delays help kill huge Humaniti project on Boul. Laurier
Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
The massive Humaniti project slated to rise at a key intersection on Boul. Laurier is dead, the victim, according to the developer, of delays in the city’s tramway project, among other factors.
Radio-Canada broke the news last week that Cogir, the Montreal-based company behind the four-tower project, had let its offer to purchase the land from developer Michel Dallaire expire.
Dallaire, head of major developer Groupe Dallaire, now says the property at the intersection of Boul. Laurier and Ave. de Lavigerie is once again for sale.
Cogir president Mathieu Duguay told Radio-Canada the Humaniti project, comprising 1,500 housing units, a hotel, offices, a public square and retail shops, was predicated on the presence of a tramway line through the site.
“We needed the tramway interchange hub to justify the project,” Duguay explained. The uncertainty repeated delays and changes in the tramway plan caused, along with the rise in interest rates, inflation and construction costs, led to the decision to pull the plug, he said.
The Humaniti project replaced another ambitious plan called Le Phare, which had been proposed by Groupe Dallaire.
Coun. David Weiser, the city councillor for the Le Plateau district where the Humaniti site is located, told the QCT, “This is a clear demonstration of the negative impact that the delays caused by the provincial government concerning the tramway project have on both our city’s economic development and the housing crisis.”
Weiser, who also is the executive committee member responsible for economic development, said, despite the termination of Humaniti, “We are confident that a real estate developer will propose a new project on that exceptional property.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by Dallaire. “It’s the gateway to the city. I’m convinced that we won’t have any problem finding people to do a large- scale project.”
With the CAQ government recently giving the green light to planning and construction of Phase 1, which includes the route on Boul. Laurier, a clear decision could be forthcoming on the nature of the Ste-Foy exchange hub.