Heritage preservation and the Lachine Canal revitalization project

Abstract

Between 1997 and 2002, the City of Montreal and the Government of Canada invested $100 million to reopen the Lachine Canal to recreational boating and to catalyze the revitalization of the adjacent working-class neighbourhoods, in decline since the canal closed in I 970. The canal's historic infrastructure was largely restored. The design of newly landscaped public spaces focused on helping visitors understand the past of this cradle of Canadian industrialization. However, the rapid response of the private sector's $350 million worth of projects already leads to concern about the impact of real estate development on the privately owned industrial heritage of the area.