Vincellli's Garden Centre, March 2023

I finally took some photographs of the old Vincelli's Garden Centre; they closed about two years ago. What you see below is about one quarter to one third of the size of the property, and public hearings on building a large condo building here are slated for this week. This is also one of the few unbuilt property lots in the City of Cote Saint-Luc (which is adjacent to where I live in Montreal); it is a mostly residential city but includes Cavendish Mall and Cote Saint-Luc Shopping Centre. Is this the best development of this property? Housing is needed, or seems to be needed, and a growing population means more tax dollars for Cote Saint-Luc. Of course, this might be considered a remote location in this area, but nothing is all that far from something else in CSL; and while there are some stores across the street from Vincelli's, out of five stores only two are still in business, so I am not sure if the commercial part of this development will succeed. I am also not sure other services are available for the future inhabitants of this condo; I expect they will be mostly elderly people moving from single family residences to condos. The development (one tower will have 8 to 12 storeys) will bring a lot of people and their cars into the neighbourhood; stores, bus service, EMS, infrastructure, and so on will have to be improved, or will have to be provided. Would it be better to make this a park instead of more condos? That won't happen because the desire for increased tax revenue is strong and there is no need to promote the area for future residents, many people want to live in CSL and residents are happy to live there. Personally, I don't like what I see slated for this site; if I lived in the area I would oppose it, oppose two years of construction, trucks, noise, pollution, and an influx of people to the area. But it is a prestige condo development as long as no one cares about the noise from the adjacent CPR rail yards. Consider a modified version a done deal. 

This is what is planned at this location

People have begun dumping construction material and other garbage on the site

There is a cardinal on the left, the site is home to many birds and small animals

Farewell, Village Shopping Plaza

The sky over the Village Shopping Plaza

The windows are boarded, the doors are locked, electrical wires are disconnected, the water has been turned off, the halls are empty, the stores are closed and littered with junk, the rooms and halls are in darkness, The Knights of Columbus moved years ago, stores have relocated, stores have closed permanently, no children at the daycare, no one buying bread and bagels at the bakery, no antiques being sold, concrete stairs are disintegrating, windows are closed, everything is silent, the parking lot has been sealed off with large concrete blocks, no one is here, no beer or food being consumed at the Robert Burns Pub, what's left to do? Tear it down, tear it down and build some condos say the developers. Tear it down and let us make money say the developers. It`s just an eyesore now, so tear it down! Soon, the Village Shopping Plaza will be demolished.  

BTW, this location would have been a good site for a commuter train station (talk has included a train station behind the Cote-St-Luc Shopping Centre). There is lots of room here for parking, it's close to the train tracks, and it's a very large piece of land with an adjacent piece of land for sale next to it. Just an idea...

 

Egoût collecteur Rivière Saint-Pierre,1933

Here are historical photographs taken on 31 October 1933 showing the burying of the St. Pierre River. The only section of the St. Pierre River still above ground is in Meadowbrook Golf Course and it is slated to be buried. The question is, why? Because it is polluted with fecal matter from incorrectly connected sewer pipes near the golf course? Isn't the common sense thing to do is to stop the pollution, not bury the river? I suppose the cheaper thing to do is to bury the remaining exposed section of the river. But government has a lot of our money they can spend any way they want and common sense isn't something government is known to have. 

This is a section of the St. Pierre River before it was covered but not necessarily the same section as in
the photographs below ...

Historical Maps of the St. Pierre River

Historical maps to locate the St. Pierre River. 

This map, showing the St. Pierre River (in 1696?), is found in a history of Loyola College; you can see
the river on the top right and how it forms the Petit Lac St. Pierre in the bottom foreground. 

Map from 1739; you can see the St. Pierre River beginning on Mount Royal, 
going through present-day Cote St. Luc and Montreal West, then forming a lake
in what were the Turcot train yards before emptying out at the St. Laurent River.

Another old map, from 1744, showing the Island of Montreal, surrounding areas, and St. Pierre River.

Here is a contemporary map showing the St. Pierre River highlighted in purple.

 

St. Pierre River on a Cold Day

Photos taken on 28 November 2021 after the first snowfall. 

It was a cold day but there were dog walkers and their dogs, and always a friendly "Good Morning". Why is this creek so important to people? Why not build more condos? Someone told me that the golf course is protected from future development. I hope they are correct. But why are people so adamant that the golf course should be protected and, by extension, that the river-creek not buried? All I can say is that, personally, I think we've had enough progress and development at the expense of our environment. We need to preserve some nature (not just parks) in the city for future generations, including land and a place for urban wildlife. This isn't a park, it's a golf course, and one day I hope it is allowed to revert to its natural state, let the grass grow and wild flowers thrive. Call it Parc St. Pierre and keep it undeveloped; it could be similar to Parc Angrignon. 

What is covered can be uncovered and, I suspect, some future generation will see the St. Pierre River restored, above ground, in at least a few places. That is my hope. 

BTW, in this area, there have already been several new condo developments, several new residences for the elderly, and both Vincelli's Garden Centre and the Village Plaza on Robert Burns are slated for being demolished and apartments or condos built on these sites. Enough is enough. 

Train tracks on the left that you pass to enter the golf course.

Walking to the St. Pierre River

You can see something of the St. Pierre River by going to Toe Blake Park in Montreal West, the river is on the other side of the fence. Or, you can visit the river by walking down the slope at the Westminster Bridge (it is an overpass at the train tracks on Westminster Avenue) and there is an open gate, walk along the path until you come to a parking lot behind some apartments, then proceed to the golf course from there. Suggestion: go soon.

Here is the path to the river from the railway overpass bridge on Westminster Avenue.