Quebec City wants to buy 37 whole properties

The City of Quebec has its eye on 37 properties with a total value of nearly $ 45 million that it wants to acquire in full to build its tram network.

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The BAPE unveiled Thursday morning the map of acquisitions that will be necessary along the route of the tram.

In all, the City wants to buy 37 buildings. It will also make 315 partial acquisitions and impose easements on 125 plots.

The newspaper has calculated the value of the 37 properties that the City wants to buy in full.

According to the last assessment roll, they are worth a total of nearly $ 45 million. However, this includes land already belonging to Quebec City, for a value of more than $ 12 million.

Owners contacted

Thursday, the mayor of Quebec, Régis Labeaume, assured that the tram project office had contacted each of the owners whose land was the subject of an acquisition – total or partial – and by the easements.

“Each owner has received a letter. We will take a very correct, very empathetic approach. There are some who disagree, but there are some who like it very much. “

Among the total acquisitions, in the Sainte-Foy sector, the City is targeting large strips of vacant land in the Chaudière pole.

Shell and Ultramar petrol stations are also in the crosshairs along Laurier. The latter is the most expensive property on the list. It stands at $ 4.6 million.

Two other service stations at the corner of Belvédère and Cartier are among the lots to buy.

On Honoré-Mercier, a complete block, which houses a café and an RTC information center, will be acquired.

In Limoilou, the City has its eye on a series of lots and buildings along 1st Avenue, particularly at the corner of 18th Street, in the tree sector, at the corner of 41st Street and near the Charlesbourg terminus .

Many shops and restaurants are affected. Among others, the Subway restaurant at the corner of 18th Street, a burner, a driving school, a convenience store near the Drouin bridge, a pharmacy and a denturology clinic.

Support

The mayor insisted that the City will support each of the owners in this situation.

She will pay for the valuation that they might want to make in order to know the market value of their property. It will also offer the services of architects and planners for those who lose a strip of land and who would like to redevelop their storefront.

Unhappy people can also appeal to the City Ombudsman. Tenants who lose their accommodation may be taken care of by the Municipal Housing Office.

Régis Labeaume noted that the list of targeted properties may change a little, for example depending on the location of the entrance to the tunnel in Upper Town.

This is particularly the case for the Suicide Prevention Center in Limoilou, which, even if it appears on the map, is no longer included in the acquisition plans.

Potential expropriations

SAINTE-FOY

• Terrain vague rue Louise-Fiset
• Vacant lot avenue Le Gendre
• Charest vacant lot
• Terrain vague rue Mendel
• Two vacant lots on boulevard de la Chaudière
• Vacant land at 918 boulevard Pie-XII
• Parking lot behind Canadian Tire
• 2940 boulevard Laurier (service station)