Sainte-Marie- a once distressed but not Revitalizing Urban District on Montreal’s Northeast Side

Sainte-Marie is a solid urban district mixing a lot of different styles from the 1910s-1960s with older blocks towards the southwestern edge of the neighborhood. Sainte-Marie, and the Centre-Sud more broadly, have a long held reputation for poverty, organized crime and prostitution. Because of this, much of Sainte-Marie was demolished for urban renewal in the 1950s and 1960s. Fortunately most of what was rebuilt had decent urban form.

Ontario Street is the best commercial district running the length of the neighborhood. Some good mixed-use stretches along St. Catherine as well and plenty of other mixed-use blocks throughout Sainte-Marie. As the district is still recovering from several decades of blight, crime, and prostitution from the 1950s even into the early 2000s, much of the neighborhood still has a gritty feel and some blocks are even blighted. But the neighborhood is clearly on an upward trajectory and this is certainly reflected in its real estate prices. Filling the main vacant or underutilized commercial spaces, especially along St. Catherine, is a priority in my opinion for improving Sainte-Marie and creating more vibrancy. 

Click here to view my Sainte-Marie neighborhood on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

• Good commercial district along Ontario street, some good mixed-use stretches along St. Catherines.
• Sherbrooke has a good urban feel with larger apt buildings lining a 5 lane streets. Get a bit too autocentric in the Northwestern edge.
• Good number of small and medium sized parks but not as many as The Village.
• Access to 3 metro stations. Also a good # of bike lanes and dedicated bike stations although not as many as other neighborhoods.
• Pretty good tree canopy.
• Decent amount of rentals and generally moderately priced. Good amount of 2 & 3 beds too.
• Lots of for-sale options. Some more affordable 1 & 2 bedroom condos. 3 & 4 beds are plentiful but expensive.
• Decent cultural amenities including lots of restaurants, bars, & cafes, and some night clubs.
• Good retail amenities too including several supermarkets, some drug stores, several boutiques, a couple gyms, some bakeries & dessert shops, and other neighborhood shops.
• About half of the ADA curb cuts are to modern standards, which is pretty good for Montreal.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• Still a lot of grit and even some blight in parts. This was one of Montreal’s notorious crime and prostitution neighborhoods until the early 2000s but it has come a long way since then.
• Not much beyond food & beverage businesses for cultural amenities.
• Could be a lot more retail amenities especially unique and locally owned shops.
• Architecture while good urban form is often lackluster and utilitarian.
• Decent amount of dead spaces or underutilized spots in some of the commercial districts.