Le Phare de Quebec (why???) (apartment, lofts, condo)
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What is the point of building this thing in Quebec City? Does Quebec City really need a single, lone tall skyscraper? The provincial government can't even keep up with its primary city's infrastructure, yet they want to throw money at some business tower in Quebec of all places? Who is going to occupy it? Are there enough businesses and residents willing to move into the city?
What is the point of building this thing in Quebec City? Does Quebec City really need a single, lone tall skyscraper? The provincial government can't even keep up with its primary city's infrastructure, yet they want to throw money at some business tower in Quebec of all places? Who is going to occupy it? Are there enough businesses and residents willing to move into the city?
This has nothing to do with the provincial government. It is developed and built by the Groupe Dallaire construction and development company. The government simply mandated that this building be designed to be the flagship business center in the western part of the city.
I'm glad at least some cities in Canada have the vision to build something bold and iconic, rather than the plethora of mediocre condo match boxes we see in Toronto and Vancouver. Not everything is about "wasting tax payer dollars" (this project is entirely privately funded and has nothing to do with taxpayers).
The government not spending money on Montreal's infrastructure? Are you living under a rock?
Both the province and the federal government has publicly committed $1.3 billion CAD on improvement of existing infrastructure from the 2016-2019, and this does not include massive new transit expansions such as the Reseau Electrictrique Metropolitain.
Both the province and the federal government has publicly committed $1.3 billion CAD on improvement of existing infrastructure from the 2016-2019, and this does not include massive new transit expansions such as the Reseau Electrictrique Metropolitain.
Yeah, about 30 years too late. It took for overpasses to crush cars and people, the busiest bridge in Canada to be in danger of collapse, the Turcot Interchange to be crumbling, potholes to literally be swallowing cars, ceilings and walls in pedestrian tunnels under downtown to be full of cracks and fissures, for them to realize something needed to be done.
I think most can definitely see that there was, until recently, severe neglect of Montreal, both by the federal and provincial governments. Canada ignored Montreal because it's in Quebec, and Quebec ignored Montreal because it doesn't represent the quintessential Quebec, and is the sole reason why Quebec isn't its own country.
Yeah, about 30 years too late. It took for overpasses to crush cars and people, the busiest bridge in Canada to be in danger of collapse, the Turcot Interchange to be crumbling, potholes to literally be swallowing cars, ceilings and walls in pedestrian tunnels under downtown to be full of cracks and fissures, for them to realize something needed to be done.
I think most can definitely see that there was, until recently, severe neglect of Montreal, both by the federal and provincial governments. Canada ignored Montreal because it's in Quebec, and Quebec ignored Montreal because it doesn't represent the quintessential Quebec, and is the sole reason why Quebec isn't its own country.
You're not really wrong in the broad strokes, but the fact is Montreal was also suffering from the same kind of de-industrialization process lots of other North American cities were at the same time, and that the effects of separatism on the economy can't really be said to have been imposed from outside the city, Montreal both has the most ardent federalists, but is also the origin of the separatist movement and has the most intense separatist neighbourhoods in the east end. It didn't vote No on mass in 1995, it was divided on the issue geographically. Quebec City, despite having lots to gain theoretically, actually had a majority No vote more consistently spread around the city, and isn't really a hotbed of support for separatist parties either provincially or federally, tending to vote CAQ, ADQ (in the past) or Liberal more often then PQ at the provincial level.
Yeah, about 30 years too late. It took for overpasses to crush cars and people, the busiest bridge in Canada to be in danger of collapse, the Turcot Interchange to be crumbling, potholes to literally be swallowing cars, ceilings and walls in pedestrian tunnels under downtown to be full of cracks and fissures, for them to realize something needed to be done.
I think most can definitely see that there was, until recently, severe neglect of Montreal, both by the federal and provincial governments. Canada ignored Montreal because it's in Quebec, and Quebec ignored Montreal because it doesn't represent the quintessential Quebec, and is the sole reason why Quebec isn't its own country.
How does any of this have anything to do with the above project located in Quebec city, managed and built by a private developer?
The above problems have also plagued most North American urban centers during the latter part of the last century. It took years for Toronto to take notice of the crumbling Gardner (with its fate still unknown and likely to be torn down entirely in the next decade), and TTC up to this day still has billions in funding shortages just to maintain the existing 2 subway lines in a bare minimum "state of good repair".
I agree that most Canadian cities have been facing crumbling infrastructure and insufficient investment over the past 3-4 decades, with the most acute problems in Montreal due to the city's massive public projects and infrastructure expansion under Mayor Drapeau in the lead up to the '67 Expo and the '76 Summer Olympics (culminating with the Turcot Exchange, Olympic Stadium, Expo Village/Haibtat 67, and 3 metro lines built in the lead up to the Olympics from 1961-76), rban sprawl that favored automobile over public transport, and endemic corruption in public projects.
I know many of us have the tendency to be skeptical and sometimes overly critical, especially given decades of mismanagement, neglect, and political fiascos. But that is the past, and sometimes you just have to give the place a chance to change, to grow, and thrive. The same saying also applies for Toronto and other Canadian cities in the midst of change and growth.
What is the point of building this thing in Quebec City? Does Quebec City really need a single, lone tall skyscraper? The provincial government can't even keep up with its primary city's infrastructure, yet they want to throw money at some business tower in Quebec of all places? Who is going to occupy it? Are there enough businesses and residents willing to move into the city?
As others have written, the provincial government isn't involved. The municipality (Labeaume) is involved to the extent that they need to approve a 65-story tower -- the Groupe Dallaire/Cominar were already successful in pushing the height limits up for their previous towers (to the right on the pic in the OP).
As for your other questions:
No point. No. (provincial government). People, I guess. No.
Everybody here thinks it is a stupid idea that will make Boul. Laurier look even worse than it does, but some variation of it will get built, because it is the developers' money. I don't know why you actually bring it up now, it was announced at least a year ago.
They have completely redone the architectural concept and there's a plan to add a performance hall now.
Funny you should ask though, the mayor just made a comment about this today. Essentially he said the project wasn't quite ready, and that public consultations wouldn't begin until next year at the earliest:
The biggest issue is that traffic is pretty much the only hot local topic in Quebec City these days and the worst traffic is exactly in the area where that thing would be put. More generally, a lot of people are against it because it would be completely out of proportion with everything that's around it, i.e. 3-story apartment buildings to the north, 6-story office buildings and surface parking lots to the east, and single-family homes beginning one block south.
However, it will be done unless this drags on so much that we get another mayor in the meantime (he will win again this year so we're talking 2021 at least here). The mayor has done everything that developer asked for and the project will give a big boost to the construction sector that is inevitably starting to have issues as growth slows down.
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