Photo: RoyalMount

By Mario Toneguzzi

The massive Royalmount mixed-used development in the Town of Mount Royal in Montreal is set to begin construction in the spring, paving the way for the city’s future world-class lifestyle and shopping hub.

On Thursday, Carbonleo and L Catterton Real Estate, the developers of the project, announced that site preparation is underway at the southwest corner of Décarie Expressway and Highway 40 to prepare for the construction of this new urban destination. The developers say the privately funded project will become a world-class lifestyle hub and a state-of-the-art destination for the surrounding community, the city as a whole, and visitors from abroad.

The first steps in preparing the site for construction will be the demolition of buildings located at 8400 and 8600 Décarie Boulevard while those at 8300 and 8500 will be preserved for future integration into the Royalmount project, said Nicolas Désourdy, Carbonleo’s Executive Vice-President & Partner, Leasing.

“The project has actually started,” said Désourdy. “Demolition has started on the biggest building on site, at 8400 Decarie, which we’re tearing apart as we speak − and 8600 Décarie is going to go under demolition very shortly. When you put all that together, I think it’s a pretty exciting time. It’s a spectacular mixed-used retail project that will redefine how Montrealers shop and are entertained. Our first deals are signed and it’s happening.”

He said no less than 80 per cent of the materials - concrete, wood, glass, steel, copper and aluminum - will be recuperated on site and recycled.

“While continuous discussions are underway with local partners and authorities, plans are in place to keep inconveniences down to a strict minimum for local businesses and residents during terrain preparation for Royalmount,” said Désourdy.

Royalmount is located in the heart of the island of Montreal, transforming a former industrial district into a cultural and commercial hub of mixed-used development in about 3.6 million square feet of retail, hotel, hospitality and office space. The developers control over 74 acres of land at the site and the project will create 15,000 new jobs.

Désourdy said the retail component will consist of about 1.4 million square feet of space with most of it enclosed in a mall environment with a “mid to high-end offering and flagship stores.”

“In that retail, there’s a large food and beverage component with over 100 food and beverage options including a food court, a food hall, sit down restaurants, cafes and bars,” he said.

A piazza and high street area will make the site a popular and vibrant destination for shoppers, people dining out, and for simply hanging out in what will be Montreal’s newest hot spot.

Désourdy said there are plans for five to seven hotels on the site with the potential of up to 1,500 rooms.

Two buildings on site will be kept for office space with over 240,000 square feet of space.

“We’re going to add probably another 250,000 square feet and then we have the ability to add another million. We could go up to 1.5 million square feet but with office space it’s a little bit different because it’s market driven. It depends on the demand,” said Désourdy.

The Royalmount development will be about four years in the making with opening expected in the fall of 2022.

“If you look at the site, it’s the epicentre of Montreal. It’s centrally located on the island. It’s next to one of the city’s wealthiest neighbourhoods. Also, in being next to Highway 15 and Highway 40, it offers the best visibility in the province,” said Désourdy. “It’s 360,000 cars per day passing through this interchange.”

Royalmount will also be directly connected to the subway.

“The other interesting part for Montreal is the whole luxury market. If you look at Montreal and you compare it to Toronto which has many luxury nodes . . . Montreal really has only one place to go which is a shop-in-shop experience at Holt Renfrew next to our Four Seasons project. There’s really a void in Montreal for the luxury market and what we’re seeing so far is a very strong interest from the luxury retailers. Retailers are ready to commit to projects that have a vision and that integrates the mixed-use component, the public transport connection, the food and beverage, the entertainment, the hospitality. They see the added value and really, what they want is traffic coming into their stores. By combining all these uses that’s what we’re bringing to them and they see the added value. They’re actually ready to engage in this project.”

The developers say the hub of Montreal’s new Midtown will be reminiscent of other famous world class central boroughs such as Midtown Manhattan, Tokyo Midtown, and Midtown Toronto. Montreal’s new Midtown will complement other iconic city boroughs such as the Mile End and the Plateau-Mont-Royal, said the developers.

Carbonleo is a private Quebec-based property development and management company with a track record of developing successful next generation mixed-use developments. The company, which employs 50 people and was founded in 2012, has numerous projects in its stable including Quartier DIX30, Royalmount, as well as Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Montreal.

L Catterton Real Estate has over $15 billion of equity capital across six fund strategies in 17 offices globally. It is the largest and most global consumer-focused private equity firm in the world. Since 1989, the firm has made over 200 investments in leading consumer brands. L Catterton was formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) and Groupe Arnault.

Mario Toneguzzi, based in Calgary has 37 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald covering sports, crime, politics, health, city and breaking news, and business. For 12 years as a business writer, his main beats were commercial and residential real estate, retail, small business and general economic news. He nows works on his own as a freelance writer and consultant in communications and media relations/training. Email: mdtoneguzzi@gmail.com

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