Will Versailles be demolished soon?

A major project for a new urban district, primarily residential, could replace Place Versailles in Montreal.

Montreal city council will vote Monday on whether to authorize the demolition of the shopping center or give the green light to a larger project with 5,000 new housing units, a school and a hotel. Like commercial spaces.

The majority of buildings will be 12 to 16 stories, and two 25-story towers are also planned.

The project could radically transform a neighborhood and 17 hectares of land that currently has 4,000 parking spaces and 200 commercial premises.

For citizens accustomed to shopping at Place Versailles, this is surprising news, but for others, the project may have positive aspects.

said a customer from Place Versailles who met TVA Nouvelles. I've been coming to shop here for 30 years so it seems a little strange to me.

“This is the only center we have,” added one person. It's not funny.”

“I think it's a great opportunity,” said one passerby. It is asphalt concrete when we need housing and density. If it goes well and we make sure it's accepted, I think it's a good idea.

Place Versailles opened in 1963 and was, at the time, the first covered shopping center on the Island of Montreal.

If the municipal council favors the project, it will survey the population through the Office de consultation publique de Montréal.

Many months, even years, are required before the first shovel of land.

Watch the full explanation in the video above.