Broccolini is leading the redevelopment of Montreal’s Pointe-Saint-Charles Northern Triangle with a two-phased, purpose-built rental project in the city's Bridge-Bonaventure district.

The 76-year-old, Montreal-based development company is also making its first foray into affordable housing — in partnership with the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, the City of Montreal, Maison le Point Commun and Bâtir son quartier — with the first phase of the two-building project.

The two planned towers will deliver a total of 800 units plus commercial space and a range of amenities.

Broccolini acquired the site in 2019. It's divided into two parcels of approximately 33,000 square feet each, which are separated by a street. One parcel is empty while the other has light industrial buildings occupied by two tenants that Broccolini is in discussions with regarding next steps.

“There's a new master plan for the whole Bridge-Bonaventure sector which allowed for consideration of residential use in various areas of the larger sector, and this site happened to be in that sector,” Broccolini vice-president of residential real estate development Adam Martelli told RENX.
 
“Once that became known, we started looking at opportunities and ways to advance the project.”

Partnerships and funding

The City of Montreal’s Bridge-Bonaventure master plan requires a minimum of 40 per cent social affordable housing in the area, which has made it difficult for many developers to create projects that pencil out.

Broccolini did financial modelling and came up with a plan to develop two very similar buildings, one entirely affordable and one to be entirely leased at market rates. The proposal was accepted after negotiations with other potential stakeholders.

“This is an example of groups working through their collective differences and coming up with a solution,” Martelli explained. “I think the final versions of these buildings are going to be something that we're all proud to leave as a legacy in the city of Montreal and that action took place as a result of this very open way of advancing.” 

The land for the affordable housing development will be sold to Point Commun, a non-profit real estate company that designs, owns and protects social and affordable housing.

Martelli said Bâtir son quartier, a community real estate developer that supports low- and moderate-income organizations and households, will be involved with coordinating and supporting operations and maintenance once the building is substantially completed by Broccolini.
 
A combination of funding levers under the Canada-Quebec agreement through the Housing Accelerator Fund will make major contributions to the first phase of the project. This combination, which includes the Société d'habitation du Québec's Programme habitation abordable Québec and Programme de financement en habitation, maximizes resources and reduces some of the funding needed by creating 20 to 25 per cent more units with the same level of contributions.

The Government of Canada is contributing $11.6 million, the Government of Quebec is contributing $11.6 million and a $13.7-million loan, and the City of Montreal is contributing $12.06 million to the project.

The project’s first phase

Phase one will be located on the vacant parcel. It will deliver 376 social and affordable housing units for below-market rents to families with low to modest incomes in a 20-storey, 314,000-square-foot building that Broccolini will develop and build.

The apartment will have 225 social housing units, with capped rents for low-income families, and 151 intermediate affordable units, with rents 50 per cent higher but still below market value. There will be a mix of bachelor and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with an average size in the 900-square-foot range. 

Most of the building’s still-undefined amenities and non-profit-programmed community activation spaces will be on the ground floor along with some retail space. 

Groundbreaking for the building, which has a construction budget of $130.68 million, is to occur next summer with completion in the fall of 2028.

Martelli said Broccolini would consider developing other similar affordable housing projects under the right circumstances.

The project’s second phase

Phase two of the project — another 20-storey, 314,000-square-foot building that will be financed, developed, built and owned by Broccolini — will add 424 market-priced units on a triangular-shaped lot. 

It will also have a mix of bachelor and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, but the average size will be smaller than in the first building.

Martelli expects the building will have a similar amount of amenities, which will likely differ somewhat from the first building and have a health and wellness orientation, as well as retail and food and beverage space at grade. There could also be a small park facing a neighbouring canal.

Broccolini is targeting Q1 2027 to launch construction, with completion expected late in the summer of 2029.

The Bridge-Bonaventure district

The project is part of the revitalization and intensification of the Bridge-Bonaventure district, which is expected to add between 12,000 and 13,500 housing units in the coming years. 

The area also has the potential for approximately 6.5 million square feet of commercial space, 106 acres of green areas and parks, 12 kilometres of bicycle paths, and a Réseau express métropolitain light metro rapid transit station.

Railways, highways and port waterways already run through the district, which acts as a gateway to Montreal and is home to several of the city’s iconic features, including Habitat 67, the Farine Five Roses sign and Silo Number 5.