Plan to turn McGill College into pedestrian square and honour Oscar Peterson postponed

Montreal’s long-promised plan to turn downtown’s McGill College Ave. into a large pedestrian square has been postponed for at least two years as the new administration reassesses the project. 

First announced in 2018, the redesign is supposed to convert the busy street into a linear park with about 200 trees, lounge areas and a central place in honour of jazz great Oscar Peterson.

The new Ensemble Montréal administration pushed back work scheduled for this spring to 2028 in this year’s budget, and the city now says the project’s next phases are under review. 

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada recently said she wants to revamp the street but raised concerns about the plan, questioning the “enormous” operational costs — such as maintenance and garbage pickup — that  a downtown park of that scale would carry.

“Architectural plans don’t include development or operating costs,” the mayor said at last month’s Ville-Marie borough council meeting. “We’re looking into the project. How it can be done, what can be done, how much it’s going to cost.”

The shifting time frame and the mayor’s comments have caused some residents and community groups to question whether the project will be delivered as promised.

Announced by the previous Projet Montréal administration, the project has already undergone an 18-month-long planning and public consultation process and an international urban design competition, which cost the city $405,000.

The winning design concept called for transforming the street into a “broad swath of green” stretching from Place Ville Marie to McGill University, with an urban pond and abundant vegetation.

Architect and downtown resident Martine Savard says it’s a shame the McGill College Ave. redevelopment plan has been postponed after all the work that’s already gone into it. John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette

The redevelopment faced delays over the construction of the downtown REM station, but underground infrastructure repairs and landscaping work had been set to begin this spring before being postponed.

Martine Savard, a longtime downtown resident and architect, recently pressed the city on the project at a Ville-Marie council meeting.

In an interview, Savard said it would be a shame to invest all that energy into the project  —  in particular the design competition — only for it not to come to completion.

“There’s already been a lot of work done to develop the sector … restoring Place Ville Marie, adding The Ring,” Savard said. “Now what’s missing is the last piece of the puzzle, which would be the park.”

Alicia Fortin-St-Gelais, a project co-ordinator in urban planning for the Peter-McGill community table, said the proposed park also responds to a need: Residents have long spoken out against the lack of green spaces downtown and the negative effects of the resulting heat islands.

Fortin-St-Gelais said the proposed redesign offered a unique opportunity to address the issue.

“Heat islands affect everyone downtown  —  people working there, living there, passing through as tourists,” she said. “But they will always affect vulnerable people the most, because they don’t necessarily have access to places to cool down.”

A city spokesperson contacted by The Gazette confirmed the project has been postponed until 2028 and that its “more detailed phasing is currently under review.”

In a statement to The Gazette, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office added that the city is meeting with business owners, residents and other stakeholders to ensure the project meets their needs.

“McGill College is a strategic thoroughfare for our downtown, and with the REM, it serves as a true gateway to Montreal,” they added. “This project must live up to the significance of the space it occupies; it shouldn’t just be a place people pass through.”

Space honouring Oscar Peterson misses 100th anniversary

“There’s already been a lot of work done to develop the sector … restoring Place Ville Marie, adding The Ring,” says architect Martine Savard. “Now what’s missing is the last piece of the puzzle.” John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette files

A central part of the planned redevelopment is a new public square honouring Peterson, who died in 2007.

The city announced the square in 2021, after facing mounting pressure to find an appropriate way to honour the famed pianist.

At the time, the city said it hoped the space — which would include a sculpture and mural — would be open by 2025, in time to mark the 100th anniversary of Peterson’s birth.

Despite the postponement, both the mayor’s office and the city said the plan is still to incorporate a square in Peterson’s honour.

No revised time frame was provided, however.

“We will be scheduling an exchange with Mr. Peterson’s family once the phasing of the work and the next steps have been finalized,” the city noted.

A representative of Peterson’s estate declined to comment.

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Jesse Feith

I joined The Gazette in 2014. Since then, I’ve reported on social justice issues, covered landmark trials, tracked elections and written long-form features. I now cover city hall.

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