Montreal has rolled out a new strategy that aims to speed up approval for real estate projects and help private developers deal with an administration often decried as too slow and overly complex.
Under a pilot project announced Wednesday, four boroughs have each appointed an individual to serve as the point person for real estate development, executive committee member Luc Rabouin said. Ville-Marie, Sud-Ouest, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie and LaSalle, as well as the Namur-Hippodrome area, will serve as “laboratories” to test the plan, which includes 23 concrete actions designed to give developers more predictability. About 80 projects will be affected.
Montreal’s about-face comes as the city grapples with a shortage of affordable and social housing while planning for the creation of new neighbourhoods such as Namur-Hippodrome, near the old Blue Bonnets racetrack, and Bridge-Bonaventure, at the southwestern edge of downtown. City hall’s handling of the Bridge-Bonaventure redevelopment has come in for repeated criticism, with developers saying last year that the Projet Montréal administration dragged its feet and misjudged the area’s potential.
“Apparently, it can sometimes be complicated to develop real estate projects in Montreal,” Rabouin said earlier during his address, eliciting laughter from the audience. “Some people even speak of a veritable ordeal. What I want to tell you is that we recognize that the situation is problematic.”
Montreal’s plan is the result of discussions between the city, elected officials and real estate promoters as part of an advisory council known as the “facilitator cell” that was created in 2021. It pledges to create a “flexible regulatory framework,” improve communication between stakeholders, optimize consultation processes and offer developers greater clarity on approval procedures and delays, among other actions.
Real estate projects of at least $10 million will automatically be considered “structuring,” meaning they will become a priority for the administration, Rabouin said. All social and affordable housing projects will also be treated as priorities, he said.
“The challenge is that we are in the process of changing the city’s culture in its relationship with real estate promoters,” Rabouin said. “We want developers to stay in Montreal. We want to make it easier for them to develop good projects that meet the needs of citizens and our vision of the city.”
Reactions from property officials who spoke at the Urban Development Institute event were generally favourable. UDI head Jean-Marc Fournier lauded the plan as a “sign of rapprochement” between the city and the real estate industry.
“At the end of 2023, we are going to have to sit down to look at what was achieved. I’m very confident, but I will be vigilant.”
