Condo development at former CBC / Radio-Canada site won't include social housing

Developer skirts social housing in condo project A new condo project is underway at the old CBC building in Montreal, and the developer has skirted a regulation to provide social housing.

Construction is now underway on Phase 2 of the housing development at the former CBC/Radio-Canada building site in Montreal, but it won't include any social housing.

The Auguste & Louis project has 253 units, with pricing for studios starting at $290,000 and two-bedroom units going for $660,000 and up.

Although Montreal requires 20 per cent affordable and 20 per cent social housing units in building plans, developers from Devimco said they have instead made a contribution to the city to buy out of the social housing requirement.

Devimco argued that if the company had to abide by the city regulation, it would have had to charge more for the rest of the condos.

By doing this, said James Goulet, vice-president of acquisitions and development for Devimco, the company can sell at $750 per square foot, which he said is a relatively good deal for the area.

"At $750, we're one of the projects that are more affordable in downtown, so it's very great to have 253 more units in this [housing] crisis," said James Goulet, VP of acquisitions and development at Devimco, the project's developers.

Sixty per cent of the units in the building have already been purchased.

The building is scheduled to open at the end of 2025.