Ivanhoé Cambridge to invest $200M in Montreal real estate project

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s real estate subsidiary is investing $200 million in a Montreal commercial real estate project.

As part of the Projet Nouveau-Centre, a $1-billion revitalization plan for the city’s downtown, the funds invested by Ivanhoé Cambridge will go towards the renewal of the Esplanade and the commercial spaces at Place Ville Marie.

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Montreal-based firms Sid Lee Architecture and Menkès Shooner Dagenais Létourneux Architectes will take on the project. “Our primary goal is for this civic space to be a catalyst for downtown social activity,” said Jean Pelland, architect and senior partner at Sid Lee Architecture, in a news release.

“Given the importance of this iconic space, we sought additional exposure to urban activity, making it more accessible and usable. Our major architectural interventions are in line with this desire for great openness.”

Henry Cobb, one of the original architects of the Place Ville Marie’s design, noted in the release that he’s “enormously happy” to see the spaces’ original purpose of improving civic life come to pass. 

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The Projet Nouveau-Centre aims to breathe new life into the heart of Montreal by investing in flagship downtown properties. The plan has so far involved the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth hotel, which reopened in July 2017, and the Maison Manuvie, a modern office building to be inaugurated on Nov. 27, 2017. The project also includes ongoing work on Montreal’s Eaton Centre until 2020.