The Griffintown Horse Palace Foundation participates in the symposium on the future of Griffintown
The Office of public consultation of Montreal has undertaken a very promising process that gives residents and other stakeholders a say on the future development of Griffintown. To this end, a symposium took place on January 20 and 21rst to debate alternative futures for the neighbourhood, and allow residents to express their views. The Griffintown Horse Palace met the public at its stand, which featured the trailer of Nadine Gomez’s film on Leo Leonard and the Horse Palace, as well as Scrapped, a life-size monument to a horse, made of recycled materials by artist Jane Zdansky.
Our presence at the symposium allowed us to meet many supporters, and measure the public’s great interest for the Horse Palace. In the presentations and debates that followed, authorities on architectural preservation such as Phyllis Lambert and David Hanna asserted publicly the importance of preserving this unique historic site and its usage.
A desire for a mixed-use neighbourhood was expressed by many stakeholders, in which residential buildings interweave with street level shops and pocket parks in a fine-grained urban fabric. The Griffintown Horse Palace Foundation’s goal is true to the growing realization that a real neighbourhood must offer more than condominium units. Renovating the stables and opening them to the public will offer a distinctive experience in the midst of the city.
Following our increased visibility at the symposium, this week the Foundation met the City of Montreal urban planning department, and a real estate developer interested in buying the property, to discuss partnership possibilities.
On Monday the 13th, the Foundation will present its memoir at the public hearings on the future of Griffintown. We warmly invite you to attend
