By: Marion Gale, Ellen Heshusius, Ted Horton, Chelsea Medd, Thushanti Selvarajah

McGill University School of Urban Planning

Studio 2

Winter 2013

The Bassin du Moulin plan was built around the idea of a diverse community in a neighbourhood that promoted active-transportation. Oriented in the east towards the Peel Basin waterfront and a renewed Wellington Basin, which echoes the site’s industrial heritage; the site is divided by a chain of green parks that provide ample activity spaces for its residents and surrounding community. With one of the lowest parking minimums for a new development in Montreal, the Bassin du Moulin connects to active transportation paths both inside and outside of the site to bring residents downtown and to the surrounding communities of Griffintown and Pointe-Saint-Charles. Such green facilities and mobility options will serve the project’s diverse community well – 15% of the residential units are affordably priced and a further 15% will be allocated as social housing, positioned within a built environment of mid-rise buildings with a range of market and luxury units featuring spectacular views of the downtown and waterfront.”

Project Features and Factors:

•2,274 units

•27% public space

•9.6 hectares

•5,200 m2 of commerce

•12,000 m2 of office space

•12,000 m2 of park

•$573m total project cost

•36% return on investment

•$144m net present value

Building Uses

External Connections

Green Space

Internal Connections

Parcels

By: Mark Elsworthy, Cara Fisher, Lora Milusheva, Ève-Marie Surprenant

McGill University School of Urban Planning

Studio 2

Winter 2013

Wellington Blue team created a framework in order to capitalize on the site unique features.  The site’s barriers are isolating the housing development from the rest of the borough’s community. The main goals of our project were to find ways to improve the links to the surroundings and facilitate access to the Lachine Canal in order to foster a vibrant community.

Concept Plan

Master Plan

In our master plan we are proposing to restore one part of Wellington basin and bring back the docks ambiance along a green landscape design. Also, the new development can benefit from existing infrastructure. In order to improve connectivity, the Wellington tunnel is restored as a distinctive entry to the site. Oak street is being reconnected to Wellington street which it was before the construction of the basin in 1880. Saint-Patrick street is extended towards Oak street. Common area near the water is another important feature in the new development. We believe that the waterfront has to belong to the community. The public park can accomodate organizations promoting sporting activities related to the water and the Canal’s path. Citizens will be able to access dynamic activities on the Peel Basin. A visitors’ pavilion adjoining the recycled silos includes a multi-functional hall. This feature is a focal point from Ogilvie street.

Master Plan

We propose a variety of residential typologies. Due to the site location, we believe it is realistic to build more affordable and medium housing units. The density and the height culminate near the park and the water where the luxury units are found. The different lots include more than 1 920 housing units. Social housing gets special attention in the master plan with a nice inside courtyard.

Streetscape along rue Ogilvie

Cross-section West to East north of rue Bridge

Cross-section West to East north of Rue Oak

Community Space

Commercial and business spaces are located on the outskirt of the site. They shelter the housing units from the noises coming from the main arteries. The buildings are oriented towards the streets and they observe the existing grain of the area. Parking spaces are available on the rear. Bridge street offers medium size retail services on the ground level and office spaces on the second and third level. Mill street will be an ECOtainer’s area with offices and/or artisanal spaces such as la verriere.

Quantitive Summary

Project prices

Scenarios Based on Market Prices

Investment vs. Revenue

A Redevelopment Proposal for the Wellington Basin

By: Megan Albinger, Christian Binette, Simon Chauvette, Gabriel Damant-Sirois, Vincent-Charles Hodder

McGill University School of Urban Planning

Studio 2

Winter 2013

Pointe-Aux-Silos is a dynamic plan for the Wellington Basin that capitalizes on the on the site’s proximity to downtown Montréal, and preserves its historical character as a piece of the cradle of industry that once abutted the Lachine Canal. Connections to neighbouring Griffintown and to the thriving downtown core are enhanced with the construction of a footbridge over the canal and a pedestrian tunnel under the railway line.

Guiding Principles 

Our six guiding principles – water, social equity, industrial heritage, human scale, cultural corridor and employment – have inspired a plan that will create value for investors. Building off of the creative corridor, studio space in a beautifully restored industrial building will attract artists who will contribute to the exciting character of the new neighbourhood. Our housing portfolio offers a variety of options catering both to young urban professionals moving in the area, and families currently moving out of the island. The signature Wellington Basin and restored Tate Park will recall the industrial heritage of the site and extend the consciousness of water as a crucial element of the neighbourhood’s image. Environmental best practices, like bio-retention ponds and sidewalk rain gardens, promise to also reduce the costs of water management.

A sensible financial strategy and a respectable return on investment (33%) are central to the Pointe-Aux-Silos Redevelopment Plan. In order to minimize risks, it adopts a phased approach. Flexibility in the timing of each phase, guaranteed by the multiplicity of residential and employment uses, is an obvious advantage. Furthermore, including 22% affordable and 15% social housing minimizes the risk of opposition to the plan from surrounding residents.

All this is achieved in a walkable and human scale development that will open an exciting new chapter in the area’s history.

MasterPlan

Perspective: Park Wellington

Perspective: Neighbourhood Park