BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

Imagine waking up one morning to find the scenic view to Lake St. Louis from your house windows blocked off by a high-rise.

That is the fate residents on de l’Église Avenue near Lakeshore Road in Pointe Claire managed to avoid on Monday evening at a city hall meeting. Five years of negotiations and public consultations later, they came to an agreement with the municipality and a private developer.

“The one constant was council really going out of their way to make sure the community was involved, and I think the one reason for that was because the community showed themselves willing to be,” said Brian Stafford, a salesman whose home has a backyard near the back of the lot in question.

Neighbouring the Ste. Jeanne de Chantal church, the lot houses two decrepit buildings that used to be a school and a convent. A bylaw change was approved at the city meeting to convert the public area into a residential zone. The buildings are scheduled for demolition over the course of the week. Silver scaffolding already surrounded the two structures the Sunday before Monday’s meeting.

“Somebody who’s not willing to compromise will not get very far,” said Michael D’Arrisso, a Sutton Group real estate agent who represents developer Cours des Sources Inc. with the City of Pointe Claire. D’Arrisso explained that the developer was willing to meet with the citizens and negotiate with them to find out their needs.

He said six rows of four townhouses each will be built on the lot, all facing each other and leaving a path in between.

“Abandoned buildings in any area are never good for the neighbourhood,” said Lakeside district councilor Paul Bissonnette, who maintained he was happy that the project was going ahead with everyone’s approval.

Perhaps the only ones who will miss the buildings are the two children who were seen playing hockey in the large, vacant lot between the church and one of the forlorn buildings on Sunday evening.

“Somebody who’s not willing to

compromise will not get very far,” said Michael D’Arrisso, a Sutton Group real estate agent who represents developer Cours des Sources Inc. with the City of Pointe Claire. D’Arrisso explained that the developer was willing to meet with the citizens and negotiate with them to find out their needs.

He said six rows of four townhouses each will be built on the lot, all facing each other and leaving a path in between.

“Abandoned buildings in any area are never good for the neighbourhood,” said Lakeside district councilor Paul Bissonnette, who maintained he was happy that the

project was going ahead with everyone’s approval.

Perhaps the only ones who will miss the buildings are the two children who were seen playing hockey in the large, vacant lot between the church and one of the forlorn buildings on Sunday evening.