The Ownership of Old Rental Housing in an Appreciating Central Montreal Neighborhood

The author examines the housing situation, circa 1970, in the twenty-four block area known as the Quartier Ste. Famille neighbourhood in central Montreal that includes the Milton-Park area, commonly known as the McGill Ghetto. The Milton-Park area was slated for redevelopment by Concordia Estates Holdings Limited in the 1970s, which proposed to demolish six blocks of older residential houses to build highrise apartments, offices, shopping areas, and a hotel. At the time, the Milton-Park area was predominately Anglophone. Community activists were concerned that the proposed redevelopment would not only destroy the neighbourhood's character, but also eliminate the lower-cost rental housing. The author examined the economic rationale for redevelopment put forward by the developers (who maintained that the existing older residences were no longer economically viable) compared with the how existing property owners cared for their houses and tenants.

Master's Thesis

McGill University

Montreal

1972

en