Montreal shopping site to become $3.5B mixed-use community

A vast site in the east of Montreal, currently occupied by two shopping centres, will be redeveloped into a transit-connected mixed-use neighbourhood. The project will unfold over seven phases spanning 15 years and require a total investment of $3.5 billion.

Groupe MACH is planning to include 7,000 residential units as well as a structuring linear park for the LANGELIER project. The neighbourhood will span 1,450,000 square feet, comparable to 25 football fields, at the intersection of Jean-Talon Street and Langelier Boulevard.

Out of the first phase will come five residential towers totaling 1,000 housing units (condominiums and rentals) and 250 social and community housing units dedicated to students. It will also feature a 75,000-square-foot cultural centre composed of a library, multifunctional rooms, and a 250-seat performance hall, which will be arranged around a public square centred on the future metro station. All gentle mobility paths of the project converge towards this square. Completion of this phase is expected to coincide with the opening of the new station, scheduled for 2031.

Currently, the site stands as a major heat island. The proposal aims to transform it into a people-centric urban hub that emphasizes environmental sustainability, promotes active mobility and fosters social diversity. The constructed areas will total about 5.8 million square feet.

“This is the largest mixed-use development in Greater Montreal in recent years,” said Daniel Arbour, vice-president, Major Projects, Groupe MACH. “Our vision is centred on human-scale urbanism, aiming to revive a declining urban landscape.”

The new neighbourhood will also entail a Quebec first: the creation of a residential complex through a limited partnership between Groupe MACH and Transgesco, which will leverage the assets of the Société de transport de Montréal. Two residential towers will directly link to the future blue line station at Langelier.

This partnership was possible through adoption of Bill 61 last December, which permits transport companies to partner with third parties for the construction of real estate projects and establish subsidiaries for this purpose.

What also makes the project unique is designing a mixed-use community of this scale with gentle mobility—particularly pedestrian mobility—as a guiding principle and closely integrating it with major infrastructure like public transportation.

Groupe MACH is promising to give residents direct access to public transit, no matter where they are located within the community. Adding a network of continuous pedestrian paths, secure bike lanes, and seamless routes linking shops, residences, and public and community spaces will permit individuals to traverse the entire area and reach the metro station within eight minutes on foot.

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