It has been more than a year since Trudel began work on the Vanier Sector shopping center. After “deconstructing” part of the Fleur de Lys, the sports experts' turn approaches.
“Unfortunately, they're going to have to tear down the building we're in,” said Martin Boucher, CEO of the Boucher Group, which owns the franchise.
“Our intention is to officially relocate to another brand new store on the Fleur de Lys.”
– Martin Boucher, CEO of Boucher Group
If talks are well underway to decide where the Sports Experts brand will be reborn in the new development, the current store will have to close its doors in the meantime.
Posters announcing the foreclosure sale are also on the facade of the building. With merchandise selling out quickly, Mr Boucher believes “there won't be much left” by the end.
Trudel plans to demolish this section of the shopping center in mid-June.
The story of due dates
However, this scenario was initially off the table.
A “combination of circumstances” led to its realization, Mr. Boucher said. “We thought it would be better to relocate earlier. Currently, we are in the process of preparing the new store.
A long wait before Quebec City-issued authorizations could disrupt initial plans.
“The delays experienced by Trudel ended up in our backyard.”
– Martin Boucher, CEO of Boucher Group
“If the city had done what it was supposed to, we would have been able to move into our new premises before the section we were in was demolished. It did not happen because of endless delays,” he pointed out.
The man who heads nearly thirty sports professionals, weather and L'Entrepôt du hockey franchises doesn't hide his frustration.
“The people at Boucher Group and Trudel, we did everything we had to do. We're here because of the inertia of the city. And the customers are the ones who suffer because of it,” said Laurier, who invited the athletes to his addresses in Quebec and Beauport.
Minimize the loss
On Trudel's side, David Chabot, director of the Office of the President, indicated that the plan had been planned for “a long time.” There was no option to go ahead with the demolition, so the next phases of the project emerged.
However, he admits that procedures with the municipality are complicated.
“It took four years to get the basic zoning of the whole site. From that point on, it was always about building permits, going through the Commission d'urbanisme et de conservation de Québec (CUCQ) and having all levels of authority,” Mr. Chabot said.
“The talks with Martin Boucher would have been different if things had happened more quickly with City. But we are there,” he admitted.
Mr. Tetris said a suitable operation was set to move the tenants of the shopping center so that they could retain their position on the site. Chabot explained. and to overthrow the wing which they afterwards occupied.
Sports professionals, however, are one of the exceptions to the rule.
Along with East Side Mario's Restaurant, which closed its doors in January 2022, Hart's Store, located in the active area of the construction site, recently decided to abandon its continued operations in the area.
“It didn't last,” asserted the director of the President's Office at Trudel.
First tenants
The first building to emerge from the Fleur de Lys redevelopment project is expected in the spring of 2025.
Commemorating the mall's opening date in 1963, Vingt-et-un Mars will have 480 rental units and 100,000 square feet of retail space.
Future residents were also able to discover their new living environment for the first time on March 21. It is planned that they will be able to move into their accommodation in one calendar year – to date.
A commercial space that accommodates shops and restaurants, while filling up, hosts Mr. Chabot.
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