February 19th, 2008
Griffintown News Roundup #3: Feb. 6-Feb. 21
By Chris Erb // 1 Comment
Still from the 1982 NFB film Albedo, a film about the late David Marvin who documented the history of Griffintown. The film can be viewed at the NFB's CineRobotheque at the corner of de Maisonneuve and St-Denis.
News about the proposed Griffintown redevelopment is once again piling up so, here, in chronological order are all the news stories of interest concerning the project as well as meeting times, and other announcements since my last roundup:
Feb. 6: Le Devoir critiques Devimco’s redevelopment plan and gives examples of times in the past when public pressure and resistance has stopped unpopular developments. The Gazette also runs a story concerning upcoming public consultations and another about the formation of a group of residents planning on fighting the project called the Committee for the Sustainable Redevelopment of Griffintown.
Feb 7: Le Journal writes a short piece on the proposed tramway, Le Devoir runs a pro-Devimco op-ed, and The Gazette reports on a U.S. company that is interested in opening a large private medical clinic specalising in “medical tourism” in one of the planned office towers. Developer Roland Hakim also comments that Griffintown, if redeveloped, “will become the new downtown core."
Feb. 8: Another developer pitches a plan to redevelop the area around the Peel Basin reports Radio-Canada. Development firm Roland Hakim et Associés wants to build an “ultramoderne” private hospital, a tramway, a 500 room hotel, and a 60 storey tower (which I assume would serve some sort of purpose).
Feb 9: La Press talks at length about how Devimco’s redevelopment scheme will be highly beneficial to big business.
Feb. 11: The McGill Daily, as part of its special issue on housing, gives a good rundown on the whole redevelopment scheme. Excellent reading for anyone not familiar with what is happening and some of the problems associated with the project. They also run a couple editorial pieces that are each highly critical of the project.
Feb. 13: Although Griffintown is not mentioned directly, the Public Consultation office’s recommendations that the city have an overall plan for development in the city could have a significant impact on how the area is redeveloped.
Feb. 21: The first in a series of public consultations will be held at ÉTS on Notre-Dame and Peel at 7PM in Hall A. This promises to be a very interesting and well-attended meeting. Devimco will apparently be unveiling a totally revamped plan taking into consideration criticism given to their previous plans. The Sud-Ouest borough portal has a whole list of the various meetings they have lined up.
-As mentioned above, the group created to fight Devimco’s redevelopment plan, The Committee for the Sustainable Redevelopment of Griffintown is holding regular meetings and has just launched a blog. If you’re interested in getting involved, there is contact information on the site. Also, A.J. Kandy’s Save Griffintown blog is more active than ever and is well worth reading.
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great summary, chris. thanks for this!
Comment by maggie
February 21, 2008 | 12:00 am