‘There’s no other plan, there’s no budget,’ claims St-Bruno councillor David De Cotis
Nearly a year after the city announced a wide-ranging strategy for the transformation of a long-vacant expanse of land at Laval’s centre into a mixed-use project, Action Laval is demanding the Boyer administration come clean on its plans for Carré Laval and share whatever information is available with Laval’s taxpayers.
In September last year, with much fanfare, Mayor Stéphane Boyer announced that the Carré Laval project would be taking place over a span of at least 20 years on a mostly vacant square of land at the southwest intersection of Autoroute 15 and Saint-Martin Blvd.
The most notable landmarks there until now have been the Palais de Justice, as well as the abandoned stone quarry behind the courthouse, and in more recent years the staging base for the lightshow entertainment start-up Illumi Laval, who have vacated the site.
A major project
In a press release issued by the city last year, Laval officials referred to Carré Laval as a “flagship project,” serving possibly as a prototype for similar developments elsewhere in Laval.
The city acknowledged it is an “ambitious vision” for an area that was chosen largely because of its strategic location immediately next to the A-15, allowing widespread exposure to a steady stream of traffic passing through Laval and greater Montreal.
During an expected first phase, a 22-hectare regional park (the equivalent of 30 football fields, according to the city) would be created, with the disused stone quarry dominating the middle. Eventually, 3,500 units of housing would be built in Carré Laval, although the initial plan calls for the creation of 1,000 housing units, 500 of which would be affordable.
Working with Angus developer
To reach this goal, the city said last year that it would be working closely with the Société de développement Angus (SDA), a property developer that operates on principles of social economy. SDA’s main accomplishment to date was the redevelopment of the former Angus railway yards in the east end of Montreal into a mixed-use residential/commercial community.
The City of Laval signed an agreement in principle with the Société de développement Angus, which sets out three phases for SDA’s involvement with Carré Laval: construction of 500 units of affordable housing; development of an additional 500 housing units of an unspecified type; and the realization of a public building built around the “One Health” concept, as well as life sciences and commercial research.
The city launched a wide-ranging public consultation on Carré Laval with an initial presentation in September last year. The plan also calls for life and health sciences companies to eventually locate their research facilities in Carré Laval.
‘Just an announcement’
“When the mayor announced this project, along with things like social housing that was supposed to go with it, it was basically just an announcement, right,” said Action Laval councillor for Saint-Bruno David De Cotis.
“But there’s no other plan, there’s no budget associated with this. It’s just a dream, but with nothing around it. Nothing to say any of this is actually going to happen. Which is why we’re asking for transparency.”
During the August Laval city council meeting two weeks ago, Action Laval’s interim-leader Achille Cifelli tabled a motion asking the city’s executive-committee to publicly release all documents relating to the Carré Laval project.
Among other things, the motion asks the executive-committee to hold an independent audit of the expenses associated with the project, as well as the anticipated tax impacts, while asking that public additional consultations be held.
‘Not against development’
“We are not against development, but it has to be transparent, responsible and supported by the population,” Cifelli said in a statement. “Today that is not the case with Carré Laval.” Action Laval’s motion is scheduled to be debated during the September city council meeting.
“The elected officials from the Action Laval team will be present to defend the motion and to protect the interests of the citizens,” added Frédéric Mayer, the party’s candidate for mayor in the November 2 elections.
“All Laval residents are entitled to know how their money is being used and how Carré Laval is being managed,” he added. “My colleague’s proposal seeks clear information and real consultations of the population.”
