Westmount residents voice concerns over controversial development plan

Montreal Gazette

19-06-2025

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About 200 Westmount residents gathered at Victoria Hall on Wednesday evening to voice their concerns about a controversial development plan for the city's southeast sector near Atwater métro.
While many residents at the public consultation said they support the development plan — which aims to increase housing density and revitalize the area around Ste-Catherine St. W. and Dorchester Blvd. — many also shared concerns that proposed highrise apartments will change the city's character, which is defined by low-rise buildings and Victorian architecture.
'I think it's changing the entire essence of Westmount if we're bringing the city over on Atwater,' Alexia Winter-Reinhold, who was born and raised in Westmount, said during the meeting. 'If we wanted to live downtown, there are condos. There are buildings downtown that are available. ... If that's what we wanted, then we would move there.'
The initial redevelopment proposal for the sector, produced for Westmount by architecture firm Lemay and presented in November 2024, was criticized by several architects and two former mayors of the municipality as 'a wholesale renunciation of Westmount's traditional low-rise, dense urban environment.'
At a public consultation on the proposal, a handful of residents voiced concerns that the highrises with 500-square-foot single-occupancy units would be unwelcoming and undesirable for families, leading to the creation of the new plan.
The public consultation on the new version of the mini urban plan Wednesday was moved from Westmount City Hall to Victoria Hall to accommodate the large turnout, with attendees spilling into the aisles and onto the second-floor terrace.
Conrad Peart, the commissioner of urban planning for Westmount, acknowledged in the meeting's opening remarks that 'the plan is not perfect, but it's actionable.'
Peart pointed out that Westmount already has highrise apartment buildings near downtown, and the new development would match much of the existing architecture. Near Westmount Square, he said there are buildings six to 12 storeys high, and seven-storey apartment buildings on Sherbrooke St. W. He also pointed to a 22-storey apartment building near Dawson College, noting that the new buildings will be smaller.
He also said that the new developments will strive to match the architectural style in Westmount, noting that the city was designated a national historic site of Canada for its exemplary Victorian and post-Victorian architecture. According to Peart, 80 per cent of Westmount buildings were developed between 1890 and 1930, and the final 20 per cent were developed over the last hundred years.
Frédéric Neault, director of the urban planning department for the city of Westmount, described the area that will be developed as 'disparate.' None of the land slated for redevelopment is residential. It includes three empty lots and multiple decaying vacant properties on Ste-Catherine St. W., as well as the Alexis-Nihon Plaza, Neault said. He added that with the new zoning, Alexis-Nihon could be preserved with apartment units built on top.
One of the buildings on Ste-Catherine St. W. will be zoned up to 20 storeys high, down from 25 storeys, after residents expressed concern, Neault said. Another building in the project was originally planned to be 10 storeys, but has since been reduced to seven for the same reason.
The development plan comes amid a housing crisis in Greater Montreal, as municipal-led projects are slowed by red tape and many Montrealers struggle to find an affordable home.
Resident Jessica Winton, a recent urban planning graduate, noted that the 500-square-foot single-occupancy homes will not create new housing for families.
'It seems kind of discouraging to me, as somebody who wants to raise a family one day,' said Winton, adding that her studies showed the standard size for a family dwelling is 1,300 square feet.
Neault said the plan to create smaller units aligns with a new zoning regulation from the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal that requires 'transit-oriented destinations' — like the urban centre near Atwater métro — to have a minimum density of 480 dwellings per hectare.
Resident James Murphy, 38, welcomed the proposed change on the basis that many renters in Westmount are feeling pinched by the lack of available housing.
'I have a young family,' Murphy said during the question period, pointing out that Westmount is a diverse urban community. 'We need more housing. ... If anyone tells you that Westmount is defined by our built heritage or low-rise buildings, let me tell you, they're missing something huge.'