Developers part of new group pushing for Cavendish extension to be built

A new group that includes developers is once again pushing for the Cavendish extension to be built.

But there's still no date for getting it done.

For residents of Côte Saint-Luc, plans for the Cavendish extension are practically nostalgic at this point. Jack Noodelman was warned about the project when he moved in in 1985.

"I was crazy to do it because they were about to open up Cavendish Boulevard because it would be a highway here and my house would be worth nothing," said Jack Noodelman, a Côte Saint-Luc resident.

But now, with the nearby Royalmount project just months away from being ready and a plan to build up the old Blue Bonnets site, developers are getting in on the push. They're joining with local mayors calling themselves the business alliance for Cavendish.

"Can you imagine? We're investing $1.5 billion dollars in an area that is clearly congested," Claude Marcotte, the executive vice-president of Carbonleo.

The Cavendish Extension has been discussed for decades and CTV News has reported on it for just as long but yet it's still not built.

The group says the major difference this time is the number of developers pushing the extension and the major projects going up in the area.

"We have a beautiful opportunity to have a Montreal midtown and it would be a key element in unlocking this entire area," said Sam Scalia, president of Devmont.

In 2022, the city let a reserve to build and buy part of the land but they let it lapse and that makes the Cavendish extension project even more complicated because other developers have moved in.

The city says now the proposed road is part of the plan for the hippodrome area, telling CTV News in a statement that "a study on the extension of jean-talon and cavendish will be undertaken this month."

The statement went on to say "in the fall, a study will look at a revitalized project, including a tramway, in the namur-hippodrome area."

Local mayors have long said the extension would help ease traffic on the Decaire, especially with housing set to go in.

"Right now, the existing traffic is so bad we can only imagine what would happen when we open these other developments," said Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein.

"You can't put in 20,000 units without having a transport plan … if we want to unlock the value of the hippodrome- cavendish is a no brainer," Alan de Sousa, mayor of Saint-Laurent.

But for residents who have seen these kinds of plans come and go for 40 years now, "this is something that maybe my kids will get to enjoy ... or maybe my grandchildren will get to enjoy," said Jack Noodelman, a Côte Saint-Luc resident.

The group is hoping to meet with the city to push the project forward again.