The Village (akak Centre-Sud) was originally a poor working-class rowhouse neighborhood given its close proximity to the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Centre-Sud neighborhood became increasingly attractive to the gay and lesbian community (both anglophone and francophone) in the 1980s attracted by the neighborhood’s affordability after the migration of many LGBT businesses from other parts of the city. The name Le Village de l’Est (“the East Village”) was promoted by one the main Gay business owners modeled after his time living in New York City’s East Village. Eventually, the name was simplified to “The Village”. The area has become considerably gentrified since the 1990s due in part to significant investment from all levels of all government.
While still hosting Montreal’s largest LGBT community, The Village is one on Montreal’s best urban districts outside of the Dwtn core thanks to its mixed-use character, 4 urban commercial districts, abundance of pocket parks and playgrounds, great retail & cultural amenities, excellent public transit and bike infrastructure, and solid urban form where modern in-fill mixes seemingly with historic rowhouses. The Village has also managed to squeeze in a ridiculous amount of trees inside the tight rowhouse blocks and the main commercial district (Saint Catherine) has largely been pedestrianized. The main improvement I would like to see of the district is more affordable 3 & 4 bedroom homes and apartments. This would make the district more appealing for families. There is also a fair amount of grit reminding one of the neighborhood’s sketchy history but for the true urbanist, this poses little issue.
Click here to view “The Village” album on my Flickr Page
URBAN STRENGTHS:
* The Village hosts one of Montreal’s longest pedestrian streets along St. Catherine.
* One of Montreal’s most vibrant and mixed-use districts outside of Dwtn. Also a large office present especially along the district’s southwestern edge.
* Nice mixed of historic and quality urban in-fil.
* Four major commercial districts (Rue Ontario, Bd de Maisonneuve, Atateken, and Saint Catherine St.).
* Lots of small pocket parks and plazas. Most blocks in The Village have their own neighborhood park. A couple medium sized parks located on the edge of the district, although the expansive Parc La Fountaine is only a couple blocks Northwest of the district. All the pocket parks and very intentional tree planting in the small backyards creates a decent tree canopy.
* Excellent bike infrastructure including several dedicated lanes and many bike sharing stations. The neighborhood is also served by 4 subway stations and has great proximity to Dwtn and Vieux Montreal.
* Lots of studio, 1-bed & 2 bed rentals availably and moderately priced.
* Decent for sale options but generally on the expensive side. 1-bed condos start around 250K and 2-beds around 300K. Some 3 beds available too starting at around 400K. Price go above 1 M across all sizes.
* Excellent retail amenities including several supermarkets and drug stores. Solid all around cultural amenities especially, restaurants, bars, cafes
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
* Plenty of grit and underutilized buildings spread throughout The Village.
* Av. Papineau and René-Lévesque East are wider roads that line two of the Village edges and are have a more auto-centric feel.
* Modern ADA curbs is hit or miss.
* 3 & 4 Bedroom apartments are pretty limited and expensive.
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 