Press release
“Recovery is in the works now:”
A series of announcements herald a big year for Montréal
Montréal, March 19, 2010 – The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal is thrilled with the many announcements made at its Strategic Forum on major projects in Montréal. The event, called “Recovery is in the works now,” brought the Mayor of Montréal and a dozen players responsible for key initiatives in the city’s economic development to the podium. All told, preliminary estimates suggest that these projects represent an investment in the city of over $8.1 billion.
“The series of announcements made during the Strategic Forum suggest that 2010 will be an excellent year for Montréal’s development,” said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade. “Whether for the Quartier des spectacles, the Quartier de la vie, the major university hospitals or the emergence of the Quartier de l’innovation around the École de technologie supérieure, a good number of construction sites will be operating in the next few months.”
The morning’s highlights included the director of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), Christian Paire, in his first major public appearance since taking the helm of the organization. He took the opportunity of the forum to announce that construction on the CHUM research centre should begin by mid-April. The President and CEO of the Angus Development Corporation, Christian Yaccarini, unveiled new plans for the 2-22 building, with work to begin on May 3, 2010.
Other base-building projects for the urban grid, such as the Quartier de l’innovation and the Quartier de la santé, were also presented to an audience of some 350 members of the metropolitan area’s business community. Finally, the President and CEO of the Canada Lands Company, Mark Laroche, talked about the systematic advances in the new harbourfront project for Montréal and his intention to initiate the process this year to overhaul silo number 5, for delivery in time for Montréal’s 375th anniversary celebrations in 2017.
“Our Strategic Forum on major projects has become an annual meeting where the city’s main developers update the community on their projects,” Michel Leblanc said. “It’s the place where, to borrow the words of the Mayor of Montréal, productive tensions are created that result in the realization of projects. This time next year, we are confident that we will see concrete advances in projects that are already underway and that we will hear about new private sector projects.
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and local businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec's leading private economic development organization.
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Source:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015
sylvie.paquette@ccmm.qc.ca