Mayoral candidates spar over Blue Bonnets development and who can get it done
On the municipal campaign Tuesday, Projet Montreal was promising to finally get started on the development of the old Blue Bonnets racetrack.
It’s a project that has seen more than a decade of delays in the Cote-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace borough.
The former Blue Bonnets site, known as Namur-Hippodrome, has been sitting empty for over a decade, waiting for a major redevelopment to get off the ground.
Incumbent mayoral candidate Valerie Plante says a large carbon-neutral community will be built there in the coming years if she's re-elected.
“What we're saying this morning is that now we're ready to move forward,” she said. “We will be able to say to developers by 2023, ‘Here's the land.”
If it sounds familiar, that's because the idea of a development been on the back burner or a very long time – and was first announced by Denis Coderre in 2017.
When Plante was elected, she launched public consultations and overhauled the project to make it carbon-neutral.
The new blueprint calls for 7,500 housing units, 2,000 of them subsidized and an additional 2,000 affordable units.
Like her main rival, Plante said she too would cover a portion of the Decarie Expressway around Jean-Talon Boulevard to improve access to Namur metro station.
She also promises that Cavendish Boulevard will now be connected between Cote St-Luc and the borough of St-Laurent, a project first announced in the early 1970s.
“The original project was not satisfying. It was not based on today's needs, which means leaving place for cars, leaving place for public transit,” she said. “It has to be very present and active.”
Coderre says Plante has done nothing to advance the project during her four years in power.
“They had the opportunity,” he said on the campaign trail Tuesday.
Coderre's candidate for mayor of the borough, Lionel Perez, said if Ensemble Montreal takes back city hall, the project will go ahead, but will just be less ambitious. The land would remain in city's hands.
“Projet Montreal has been negligent for the last four years and now they’re promising the world because it's an election year,” he said.
Either way, both parties are saying the project will go ahead, with the developers pitching their proposals for housing by 2023 at the latest.
The municipal election is on Nov. 7.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.