Construction of new Armenian centre
Published November 4, 2009
By Silvet Ali• TLN

On the afternoon of October 23, Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt was invited by members of the local Armenian community to visit the construction site of the new Holy Cross Church expected to be completed within eighteen months.
Situated on Souvenir Boul. in Chomedey, the site will not only be home to a new place of worship for the Armenian community, but a community centre for Lavallers as well. “Today we have invited the mayor for a visit. We already started the project, and it’s going to be a church, community centre, old-age residence, youth centre, and a daycare. It is quite a big project,” explained Bishop Bagrad Galestanian, head of the Armenian Church of Canada.
Growing community
Mayor Vaillancourt was joined by members of city council Basile Angelopoulos, Jocelyne Guertin, and Ginette Legault-Bernier. Chomedey MNA Guy Ouellette was also present. “I like very much that they decided to invest and build a church here, and they will also be building some residential units next to them,” stated the mayor. “For this community, it’s an important moment. They are growing in Laval.” There is estimated to be about 10,000 Armenians residing in the city.
The cost of the total project is approximately $7.5 million and is expected to be completed within eighteen months. Construction officially started April of 2008. “I think now that they have finalized the financing, they are going to be able to build this infrastructure, which is a very important infrastructure for their community. I think they have a bright future here in Laval,” added the mayor.
Open to all
The support of local politicians means a great deal to the growing Armenian community, according to organizers. “The mayor was present at the groundbreaking of this site and has always very much supported the project,” explained Bishop Galestanian. “He was anxious to see the project elevated, so today we invited him to see with his own eyes that the trust is the community is not lost. It’s in place.”
Fundraising for the project began over eight years ago for and aims to expand into a large-scale community centre for all Laval citizens. “We are continuing to build and to support the city because it is not only going to be for the Armenian community, but the community-at-large for our society, for the city of Laval,” concluded Galestanian.