30 March 2006
University of Montreal Acquires Switching Yard Site
Montreal - The Universite de Montreal (UdeM) has exercised today its option to buy the
switching yard site in the borough of Outremont. The site, measuring over 180,000 square meters, was the property of Canadian Pacific
Railway (CPR). The university plans to use the land to create a university campus, giving this part of the city a collective use.
"This is a historic phase in our institution's history," stated vice-rector of planning, Pierre Simonet.
"By deploying its activities on this site, the university will be able to pursue its development, meeting the community's needs
for science education and the furtherance of scientific knowledge."
Note that, last September, the City of Montreal and borough of Outremont officially and enthusiastically indicated that they supported
the UdeM in developing this major project.
An important step
In acquiring the property, the UdeM is taking a major step toward developing a new university campus, which will be an extension of
its main campus on the slopes of Mount Royal. On the basis of this excellent start, the university will be able to move forward in
negotiations with the various levels of government for remediating the site and making it viable.
"Canadian Pacific Railway is delighted with the Outremont Yard's new vocation," remarked Ronald Bilodeau, Vice President,
Government Affairs. "Bringing this large property back into the urban weave will mean better harmonization with the surrounding
areas, thus helping to improve the quality of life in the neighbourhood, while enabling the rail links and services that are essential
to Montreal's economy to remain in place."
In fact, the acquisition contract stipulates that yard activities will cease as soon as an agreement for relocating them is reached
with the various tiers of government. The rail link connecting the Port of Montreal to CPR's Saint-Luc Yard, located
further to the west, will be retained, although the tracks will be moved toward the northern edge of the property. Finally, commuter
service between Blainville and Montreal will not be affected by the transaction in any way.
To handle the transaction, priced at 18 million dollars, the UdeM will take out a loan, which will not affect the institution's
operating budget.
Consultation process
Of Canada's research universities, the UdeM is, to date, the least well-endowed in terms of space per student. Moreover,
the current campus, located in the historic and natural district of Mount Royal, is in essence saturated, and cannot meet the
university's future needs adequately. An internal work group has been mandated to plan, in consultation with the university community,
how to reorganize the campus around two poles so that the university can fulfill its teaching and research missions in a complete and
responsible manner.
Parallel to the steps being taken with the university community, UdeM has undertaken a consultation process with area residents. In
agreement with the Ville de Montreal, the university will submit its project for public consultation via the Office de consultation de
Montreal.
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