Organizations in Saint-Léonard fear that the interest of real estate developers in the surroundings of future blue line stations is accelerating the gentrification of the neighborhood and driving out families.
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“What we want is for there to be social housing that develops, not condo towers,” says indignant Sylvie Dalpé, community worker for more than 20 years with the Action Dignité Saint-Léonard housing committee. .
Friday, The newspaper revealed that many residential projects were planned near the future Anjou and Saint-Léonard metro stations, in eastern Montreal.
Real estate giants Groupe Mach and First Capital are among developers working behind the scenes to develop residential towers on land occupied by shopping malls.
Explosion of rents
“What worries us is the impact it will have on the families who still live in the neighborhood. Will they still be able to afford to live there?” asks Simon Dumais, coordinator of the Social Housing Promoter Committee in Saint-Léonard.
He is already seeing tenants complaining about rent increases of $100 or even $150.
Anjou and Saint-Léonard are in fact among the sectors where the price of rents has increased the most in the last year, according to the most recent data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The average rent for private apartments rose from $793 to $938 from October 2021 to 2022, an average increase of $145.
“Families can no longer afford to pay their rent. People call us crying. There is a distress, ”says Ms. Dalpé, who fears that low-cost housing will be demolished to accommodate the new residential towers.
“The people of Saint-Léonard, many of them cannot afford to pay the current rent, I don’t think they have the means to afford condos,” adds Mr. Dumais.
An “unprecedented opportunity”
Ms. Dalpé regrets that some projects submitted do not contain “a line on social housing”.
The 241-unit project that First Capital wants to develop on the land of Anjou’s “Toys R Us” is in an area where developers are not required to develop affordable housing.
The city’s housing manager, Benoit Dorais, was not available for an interview.
However, the administration of Valérie Plante assures that the sector will be subject to a 20-20-20 regulation and that “new affordability zones” will be created.
“The extension of the blue line represents an unprecedented opportunity to develop and revitalize the east end of Montreal and to increase the supply of social and affordable housing in the area,” said the executive committee’s press attaché in a statement. Marikym Gaudreault.
In effect since April 2021, Regulation 20-20-20 requires developers to contribute to the supply of social, affordable and family housing in the metropolis. On-site construction is strongly encouraged by the City, but at any time, they can also pay financial compensation instead.
