This Italian restaurant, which for more than 60 years ruled the front of what was once called Perry Square, moved a little west in 2021 to make way for a real estate project.
The city of Ville-Marie recently authorized the Mondaev company responsible for the project to demolish the buildings, but on the condition that it settle the case with the tenant, Carla White, who has since installed the planned 176 condominiums there. Ten years in the building located rue Saint-Hubert, behind the old restaurant.
However, the real estate project has been put on hold as no agreement has yet been reached.
Promoter Mondaev says he paid Carla White a lot. The company’s president, David Owen, explained that he paid the Ville-Marie Borough demolition team first $8,000, then $12,000.
She was offered a sum of $20,000, which she refused, he laments. Told our lawyer we wanted a penthouse and more than $50,000.
David Owen notes that Carla White refused a lease on one of his buildings because she didn’t like its location near Beaudry Metro station.
Carla White in front of the former Da Giovanni restaurant.
Photo: Radio-Canada
” All I can think of is what am I going to do after all this confusion. »
Her lawyer, Manuel Johnson, replies that Mrs. White is not asking for the moon. As a tenant on a five-year lease we can offer him housing, for example, a penthouse, I don’t know. Otherwise, he will take compensation that allows him to find the same conditions [d’hébergement que présentement]But not for six months [ou] A year there. Compensation should be sufficient to cover a good period of time.
Unlike Monde, who did not want to comment publicly on the case, Ms. White’s lawyer thinks he’s on the case. Better negotiating position
The city’s demolition team coordinated the construction project with the tenant to settle the file.
In fact, this means, according to him, the actual contract with the tenant and not the ruling of the Administrative Housing Tribunal, where both parties are invited at the end of June.
” These are two opposing rights. We believe that the right to profit from real estate is more important than the basic right to housing. It should be a priority. It’s a bit of a class conflict. [sociales]Let’s say this. »
I think the landlord has a good desire to offer something interesting to the tenant
said Robert Beaudry, head of urban planning for Montreal’s governing body.
The borough’s elected officials want the file to be resolved as soon as possible, giving more life to the sector, which has both a bad look and a bad reputation. We expect there to be a decision between the owner and the tenant so we can move forward with demolition and construction permits.
No social housing is provided on site
According to the Ville-Marie Housing Committee, the Mondeau project will not provide social housing on site, even if the sector needs it. Spokesman Eric Michaud calls on the city of Mandaue to provide a portion of the land, precisely, to build social housing there.
It’s a land donation that will allow Ms. White to continue developing a project that can be relocated, she says.
The file between the Mondève and its tenant remains unresolved, and the Da Giovanni brand is dying in this sector of the city center that has been hit hard in recent years.
