Ex-Marianopolis Campus, An Urban Jewel

Old School, New Development by Irwin Block for The Gazette - April 19

On the southwestern flank of Mount Royal sits a 6.5-hectare property that can only be described as an urban jewel.

It’s the former home of Marianopolis College, and its owners, the Sulpician priests, have put the property up for sale.

But with a hefty municipal evaluation of $45 million, and a host of restrictions on how the property can be used, its fate is unclear.

GVA Devencore, the real estate broker and consultant that is selling the property on behalf of the Sulpicians, says potential buyers have shown serious interest in it.

The property is part of huge land grants the Sulpicians received under French governance. The main building, constructed in 1894, was used as a seminary.

The Congrégation Notre Dame moved Marianopolis College there in 1974 and moved out in August.

The new owners will be obliged to respect municipal bylaws and provincial decrees that protect the environmental and heritage value of the buildings and the site.

Sitting on a slope just below Montreal General Hospital at Cedar Ave. and Côte des Neiges Rd., the property is of great public interest.

Apart from the main building, there site features a modern sports complex and a small residence.

Counting the tennis courts, soccer field and wooded areas, more than half the property is undeveloped greenspace.

The Gazette invited Raphaël Fischler, an associate professor of urban planning at McGill University, and architect Dinu Bumbaru of Heritage Montreal to visit the site and discuss its potential.

Montreal developer-architect Robert Thomas Reiner was also consulted.

All agreed low-rise luxury residential units are in the cards, while anything higher than six storeys on any part of the land would be politically and environmentally unacceptable.

“I think there would be such an outcry,” Fischler said, recalling protests by residents and preservationists in 2000 that contributed to halting a 10-storey condominium project between the Trafalgar apartments and the Gleneagles condominiums on Côte des Neiges Rd.

Its park-like setting is unique.

“It’s a beautiful property, an amazing piece of land in the middle of the city,” Bumbaru remarked.

Fischler said the property could continue to have institutional use. The main building, which needs considerable work, would have to be renovated, and a modest residential development could be added.

Bumbaru said such a scenario, with minimal new construction, would be ideal for the city in that most of the green space, including stands of mature trees, would not be affected.

Being close to Montreal General Hospital, Bumbaru suggested, the property could be used as a conference centre.

But public funds are scarce and no institution is known to have signalled interest in acquiring the property.

The experts agreed a developer who is prepared to make such a substantial investment could convert the main building into condominium-style apartments.

It could resemble the Square des Gouverneurs project next to the Villa Maria métro on Décarie Blvd., where the former Précieux Sang monastery was transformed into 16 luxury apartments on its four floors, and 48 “urban villas” built in nearby rows.

The former site of Marianopolis College is considered an urban jewel. We asked three heritage and architectural experts to envision the property’s potential uses.

A six-room apartment in one of these villas is advertised for sale at $549,000, including a garage. Condominium fees are $812 a month.

The former Marianopolis site is a superior location and prices would be at least as high.

Bumbaru said the main building could be converted into “not more” than 70 condo units.

Low-rise townhouses of up to five storeys could be built on either side of the historic main building, Fischler said.

Another option, Fischler said, is to combine residential and institutional function, with the main building retained for institutional use. Its purchase and the cost of renovations would be financed by the sale of low-rise adjoining condos on the land close to Côte des Neiges Rd., where a small apartment building already exists.

(The property includes a physical education centre that is now rented out to private schools like St. George’s and The Study.) Given the high municipal evaluation, Bumbaru suggested that since there is “quite a bit” of recently built high-end housing, “it is not clear developers would jump all over each other to grab this property at this time.” Restrictions include the fact it would be impossible to build in front of the main building, which has a courtyard-like entrance.

Bumbaru says he believes the number of homes that could be built on the rest of the site is “in the dozens, not more.” Reiner, an architect who now concentrates on developing older and historic properties, was consulted because of his expertise. He designed the transformation of the historic Manoir de Belmont at the corner of Sherbrooke St. and Atwater Ave. into apartments, and the addition of an adjoining building.

For the Sulpician property, he sees a low-density, landscaped community surrounding parts of the main historic building.

It would be tough for such a low-density development to maximize the property’s municipal evaluation, but Reiner says that is fine from a community viewpoint.

“That whole Sulpician property is effectively a public resource, a public asset,” he said.

Reiner says he foresees the creation of “high-quality residences, not necessarily on large lots, but with semi-private, then semi-public and public greenspace areas, intelligently planned to make all the functions compatible.” The main building could be converted into “high-level” apartments, with some three-storey condos to create a “stepping down effect” from the main building.

“I do see an incredible development - no question, it’s a beautiful piece of land and a beautiful opportunity,” Reiner said.