Developers defend Mount Royal project

“If we want to progress as a city, we have to be intelligent about development,” says Tony Micelli, co-owner of Cato Development Inc.

Constructed in the late 19th century, the former Marianopolis College property was part of the Sulpician Fathers’ Domaine de la Montagne dating back to the 17th century.

The Sulpicians put the property up for sale after Marianopolis ended its lease in 2007. The 65,332 square metre site is part of the natural and historic district of Mount Royal, making it subject to strict development rules.

Micelli and his business partner, Carlo Bizzotto, who bought the site for $46 million, hope to turn it into a $300 million, 325-unit residential community to be known as the Boisé des Sulpiciens.

However, les Amis de la Montagne maintain the project will test the city's new protection plan for Mount Royal.

In an interview with the Examiner last week, the developers stressed that the site is private, even though some people treat it as though it is a public park. During the time Marianopolis was a tenant, the college built a large sports complex, which was sublet. But the lease, which was transferred to the new owners, ends in August.

“You might hear people say that a gym is needed in the area,” said Micelli. “But the problem is that this is not a community gym. We didn’t buy a park. There’s another issue. People seem to think that this is a park. First of all this is not Mount Royal Park. We’re in the beltway … This never was a park. It’s private property.”

Despite this, they insist they want to give the public access to part of the site through a deal through which the developers would grant a servitude of non-build on a forested belt to the City of Montreal for $1, although “the city doesn’t want to have the onus of the maintenance,” Micelli said.

“The access that people seem to feel is their right is not the case. They are actually trespassing on private property, whether we owned it or the Sulpicians or Marianopolis. So we are trying to formalize these things via servitude, right of access, etc.”

While some critics maintain the project will be too dense and take up valuable green space on the mountain, the developers insist that is not the case. They also claim their buildings — none of which can be taller than the existing former college — respect guidelines established on Mount Royal for height.

Sylvie Guilbault, executive-director of les Amis de la Montagne, said le Boisé des Sulpiciens is the most important issue the group has dealt with since 1999, when a former federal government armoury property on Atwater Avenue north of Sherbrooke Street was redeveloped into a housing project.

“The protection for Mount Royal, which is a City of Montreal document, decrees that the city recognizes that there is limited capacity for developing the mountain,” she said. “This past April 30, a protection plan was also adopted, so we now a law to protect it.”

Guilbault claims Cato’s project “changes” the rules set out in Montreal’s urban plan, as well as the “spirit” of the decree and the protection measures. “That’s why it will be a test case, if that project passes as presented, despite all the measures the city and government has put in place,” she said.

From the City of Westmount’s perspective, the project presents no immediate problems. The developers plan to close off a roadway at the western end of the property that used to lead towards Ramezay Road in Westmount. However, according to Mayor Karin Marks, Westmount still has reservations.

“We were not as adamant that there should be absolutely no development,” she said. “But I do think there’s too much development. There’s even a nine-storey building there, which seems quite high and doesn’t seem appropriate for the site.”

Photo: Martin C. Barry