Montreal sets aside $5.6M for affordable housing in the Plateau

Montreal is working on transforming Manoir Lafontaine, a 93-unit building across from Lafontaine Park, into affordable housing.

The city's executive committee authorized a $5.6 million grant to acquire the building.

Interloge, a group specializing in affordable housing, has been working on the project for a few months. Its mission is to acquire and develop apartment buildings with affordable rents. Its housing stock includes more than 730 housing units and 1,000 others in the making.

Benoit Dorais, the vice-chair of Montreal's executive committee, says the move is an important step in increasing the number of affordable housing units in Montreal.

"The executive committee has decided to reserve $5.6 million for the project to ensure that there is sustainable affordable housing, affordable for the cost of life, outside of speculation," he said.

Manoir Lafontaine is one of Chantier Montréal Abordable's pilot projects, which aims to increase the construction and preservation of affordable housing in a sustainable manner through various partnerships.

According to Dorais, a transaction is "imminent," but other steps must be taken in the coming weeks like obtaining a loan guarantee.

Interloge and the city are also seeking partners from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAMH).

Quebec announced a grant of $350 million for housing projects to be carried out by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Mouvement Desjardins last June to create 2,000 units of social and affordable housing over three years.

$430,000 per dwelling

According to Radio-Canada, the construction budget for the Manoir Lafontaine totals $39 million — nearly $430,000 per housing unit.

This amount includes major renovations totalling more than $15 million that could be spread over two to three years, mainly for the heating system and elevators.

"The goal is to prioritize the accommodation of the ten households that still reside in the building, and they will be relocated temporarily during the works," the executive committee said in an administrative document.

A company run by Brandon Shiller and Jeremy Kornbluth has owned the building for several years.

'Affordable housing in perpetuity'

For the mayor of the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, Luc Rabouin, "the Manoir Lafontaine was a symbol of an unscrupulous speculative investor."

"Now we've managed to acquire the building with a community organization to keep it as affordable housing in perpetuity."

Built in 1966 as an upscale hotel for Expo 67, the Manoir Lafontaine was later transformed into a residential building.

In the spring of 2021, the current owner of the 14-storey building sent eviction notices to the building's tenants, informing them that they had to leave on June 30 for a period of at least seven months.

In May 2022, the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) rejected the owners' request to temporarily evict tenants to carry out major work.