UdM campus threatens Park Extension housing and community, report says
Avleen K Mokha
A report released Wednesday, June 3, considers the negative impacts of Université de Montréal’s MIL campus on Park Extension. This report, published by Park Extension Anti-Eviction Mapping Project, comes just as the university welcomes Daniel Jutras as its new rector.
Risk of ‘studentification’
The report says the opening of the campus has already changed the housing market for the worse. More UdM students want to live in Park Extension, displacing families rooted in the neighbourhood.
“We have witnessed a rise in evictions, rent increases, and landlord harassment aiming to force tenants from their homes,” Darwish said.
A team, led by a professor at UdM’s department of Geography, documents the recent impact of UdM’s new campus on the neighbourhood.
Violaine Jolivet’s team research studied 665 public listings to rent, posted online since April 2019. More than a third of the listings mentioned UdM or the MIL campus.
Good intentions, little action
Public messaging from UdM included a plan to develop student housing. However, the university has sold the land put aside for student housing to private developers.
Shazma Abdulla researches Social Policy and Planning at York University. She believes the absence of student residences worsens the housing crisis.
“The initial layout of the campus included student residences that would include between 800 and 1500 units,” Shazma Abdulla said.
“We believe that UdM should take up this idea to limit its impact in Park Extension.”
Alessandra Renzi is associate professor of communication studies at Concordia University and a member of the Anti-Eviction Project. Renzi believes the report shows how UdM’s promotional messages differ from its actions.
“Not only are these actors pretending they aren’t doing damage, they’re actually pretending they are doing good for the neighbourhood,” Renzi said.
Renovictions, rent hikes
“Gentrification of Park Extension will mean that families and recent immigrants will lose their really strong networks.”
Gentrification happens when richer tenants move into historically lower-income neighbourhoods.
For instance, renovictions represent a kind of gentrification. Renovictions happen when landlords evict tenants to renovate the rented units. Often, landlords rent the units to higher-income tenants or sell the land to property developers.
Renzi said that it is hard to track renovictions, especially because many tenants cannot realistically fight evictions.
“Families might not fight the eviction for many reasons,” Renzi said. “For example, they may not even know their rights, or they may be afraid.”
“Gentrification of Park Extension will mean that families and recent immigrants will lose their really strong networks.”
Sale of family-run bakery
The report outlines the negative impact of gentrification on small, family-run businesses.
In November 2019, residents of Park Extension came together to dispute the sale located on Beaumont Avenue. The site was purchased by the Montoni Group, which planned to demolish the bakery to build over 100 luxury residential units on the site.
Renzi says the demolition of the bakery should worry family-run businesses in town.
“As we have seen in Mile End and the Plateau, the new tenants find the nice little stores cute and exotic at first. But after a while, they want fancier restaurants. So the impact on small, family-run businesses is going to be huge.”
Absence of social housing
The bakery’s demolition is also controversial because it was taken down to build luxury condos, not social housing.
Right now, only 54 of 225 social housing sites promised by PDUES, the Plan de développement urbain, économique et socialare, are being built – none of which are in Park Extension.
Artificial intelligence hubs
The City of Montreal has given millions of dollars to attract artificial intelligency (AI) companies and startups.
For example, the UdM science department works closely with AI companies like the Microsoft Research hub which moved its office to the Mile-Ex neighbourhood recently.
“It changes the face of the neighbourhood when certain professionals move in,” Renzi said. “Now it’s become harder for people to find affordable housing.”
Social mandate: practice what you preach
The first building on the MIL campus is home to four departments in the Faculty of Arts and Science.
The University plans to open two new wings in the coming years.
Norma Rantisi is a professor in Geography, Planning and Environment at Concordia University. She thinks UdM has a responsibility to reduce the harm caused to long term residents in its neighbourhood.
“Several universities have taken initiatives to recognize their own responsibility to society, by encouraging a better alignment of their activities with different community needs,” Rantisi said. “UdM can learn from these examples.”
Moving forward
“Progressive planning centers around the voice of the people.”
Rantisi says the time to act is now. She supports the report’s recommendations to hold a series of public discussions on the matter.
The City of Montreal has a tool known as the fight right to refusal, which allows the city to purchase land for public purposes. According to Rantisi, Montreal could enforce this right to improve social housing and to protect the displacement of Park Extension residents.
“Particularly, we need to see the identification of sites from the City. So far, only one has been identified.”
However, Rantisi believes the City should identify sites in cooperation with the borough council and local community groups.
“Progressive planning centers around the voice of the people,” Rantisi said. “Planning skills should further the needs and wants of the community. But not just any member of the neighbourhood – especially, the most marginalized.”
This story was first published in print for the June 12 issue of Parc-Extension News. Click here to read the full issue.
