The future of the Horse Palace in Griffintown is looking much brighter.
The stable has been housing horses on Ottawa St. since 1862, and is still a second home to caleche drivers.
When the land was sold to developers last year, the fear was the Horse Palace would be torn down and replaced with condos.
After a year of negotiations between the Horse Ppalace foundation, the city of Montreal and developers, an agreement has been made to turn the stable into a working museum.
The idea is to open the Horse Palace to the public and give people a history lesson with walking tours, offer pony rides to children, and continue to house horses.
Juliette Patterson says going to the museum should be a hands-on experience.
"Being able to interact with the horses and learn how to take care of the horses, to brush the horses. So, that's going to be for the public at large, but more specifically for people with disabilities, and children with disabilities, as it is proven that this kind of interaction really allows them to open up to the world," said Patterson.
The board of directors with the Horse Palace foundation is coming up with a business plan and overall budget of $750,000 for the project.
The Foundation is also asking the public for donations to get up and running.
The first phase, restoring wooden sheds, is already underway.
Next, a brick building on the property will have to be restored, and after that the foundation will actually buy the land back from the developer.
