Planning process revealed for Hippodrome housing project

By Joel Goldenberg, October 31st, 2012

The city of Montreal has revealed what will be involved in the planning of the Hippodrome housing project in Côte des Neiges-NDG, and how the public can provide input.
The housing and greenspace development project, expected to result in 5,000 to 8,000 residential units and to actually start construction in 2017, was announced earlier this year. Quebec is ceding the 43.5 hectares of land on the former Blue Bonnets raceway to Montreal.
On Monday, Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay and executive committee chairman/ Côte des Neiges/NDG mayor Michael Applebaum announced that the planning process will take place from fall 2012 to winter 2016. The phases include “mobilization of citizens and experts, an urban design competition, development of the master plan, consultation meetings by the Office de consultation publique, and adoption of the master plan.”
“To achieve its goals, Montreal is calling on the cooperation of citizens and civil society to help define the project,” Tremblay said in a prepared statement. “The planning process for the Hippodrome project will be an opportunity for all to play an active role in our city's development. This project will be developed with Montrealers for Montrealers.” Tremblay added that the planned area will be a “forward-looking neighbourhood.”
Applebaum said the goal is also for the development to “become an international reference in the field of urban development.
“We want the future Hippodrome neighbourhood to offer a wide variety of local services and encourage mass and active transportation,” Applebaum added. “We also want the neighbourhood to stand out through its quality public spaces and ecological site management. The city will have sufficient time to plan the development adequately and make sure that the projects are consistent with the master plan, which will be adopted at the end of the participatory planning process.”
The process includes:
• Gathering information for a “shared vision” on how the site is to be developed, with that information to be used by an Expert Forum, being held in December.
• The result of the forum being used as a basis for public debate “at a reflection workshop for socio-economic key players.”
• The creation of an advisory committee to work with the Hippodrome planning team. The committee includes Florence Junca-Adenot, Université du Québec à Montréal; Fabrice Brunet, CHU Sainte-Justine; James McGregor, Groupe Habitat Conseil; Nik Luka, McGill University; Alexandre Turgeon, Vivre en ville, and Franck Scherrer, Université de Montréal.
• An international urban design competition to be held September of next year, with encouragement of networking by local and foreign companies, to come up with a  design that lives up to the city's UNESCO City of Design title.
• The winner of the design will then draft the master plan for the area, which will determine the project's parameters and what changes will be needed, in terms of specifications.
• Participation by Montrealers in Office of Public Consultation sessions on the “vision statement” (spring 2013); preparation of the master plan (fall of 2014) and the master plan itself (fall of 2015). The completed master plan is expected to be adopted in winter 2016, a year before ground is supposed to be broken.
For more information on the planning process and how to participate in it, consult ville.montreal.qc.ca/hippodrome.n