Members of the City of Laval’s executive-committee have signed a letter of intention addressed to a real estate holding company, stating the city’s interest in purchasing a Sainte-Rose golf course for the purpose of redeveloping it into a public park.
The letter addressed to Groupe immobilier Van Houtte stated the city’s willingness to undertake negotiations with the company so that the golf course can be turned into a green space in line with Laval’s ongoing ambitions to preserve as much natural territory as possible.
CMM involvement
According to a release issued by the city, the undertaking is being done in conjunction with the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), which is a regional government authority with a mandate to eventually conserve 30 per cent of Montreal’s overall territory for an eventual network of regional parks.
The city says that in order to pay for the purchase of Golf Sainte-Rose, it will be making a formal application for a subsidy from the CMM through the regional authority’s Trame verte et bleue program.
And while the city foresees the deal closing before the end of next year, the city’s statement says the goal is for the golf course to remain open until the end of the 2027 golf season.
An unspoiled area
Surrounded by the Mille Îles river and a forested area known as the Mattawa Woods, Golf Sainte-Rose is seen by the City of Laval as an essential piece of the unspoiled green space the municipality wants to preserve permanently.
According to the city, conserving the golf course would help to restore nearby marshes and wet areas, to create a unique ecological corridor, to help deal with climate change impacts, and would also offer the population a large area suitable for games and sports in the open air.
“The Sainte-Rose golf course is a unique site in Laval, as much for its ecological value and for its recreational potential,” said Laval mayor Stéphane Boyer.
“What we have in mind is clear: to protect this territory while transforming it into a vast riverside nature park that is accessible to everyone. Few river banks in Laval offer such a large and promising area for leisure activities.
Consultations planned
“We therefore hope to develop outdoor activities that respect the natural environment and make it possible to take full advantage of nature,” Boyer added.
“Our wish is to build this vision in conjunction with the population and organizations in Laval. Together, we will turn this site into a model of balance between nature conservation, leisure and collective well-being.”
“Natural and green spaces are essential in order to deal with the climate crisis and to preserve the quality of life of the population,” said Massimo Iezzoni, executive director of the CMM. “We must act concretely and rapidly to enlarge and protect their territory. This is even more true in heavily urbanized areas like greater Montreal, where there is very little natural space left for us to reach the targets.”
Surpassing conservation goals
The city says it wants the transformation of Golf Sainte-Rose to take place with the participation of residents. Hence, citizens as well as organizations involved with the environment and leisure activities will be asked to contribute to deciding on the site’s future use.
In 2023, the City of Laval announced that it had surpassed its stated conservation goals by reaching 18 per cent protected territory, which was five times more than in 2009. Since 2021, the city has also acquired nearly 100 hectares of natural outdoor spaces thanks to $35 million in investments for that purpose.
Among those acquisitions were the purchase of Île Locas near Golf Sainte-Rose in the rivière des Mille Îles.
