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The Village balls — the rainbow-coloured art installation which hovered over a kilometre-long stretch of Montreal’s Ste-Catherine Street East — will grace the neighbourhood once again.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said at a news conference in the Village on Thursday that the beloved neighbourhood symbol would pay tribute to the “exceptional legacy” of its creator, landscape architect Claude Cormier, who died in 2023.
Originally installed in 2011, the 180,000 suspended multi-coloured balls were retired after being taken down in September 2019, per Cormier’s wishes.
However, the mayor said she spoke with Cormier’s family and CCxA, the landscape architecture firm he founded, to reassure them that the artwork would be brought back respectfully.
For years, the decorations were a symbol of the Village’s deep connection to the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
“Not having the balls in the Village, I think, it was something missing, and I’m really proud we brought it back,” Martinez Ferrada said.
The announcement arrives as several stakeholders in the neighbourhood have raised concerns in recent years regarding safety and cleanliness, as the area grapples with rising homelessness, drug use, and mental health challenges.
Martinez Ferrada noted that the new development plan has been designed with these ongoing issues in mind.
The art installation will go up in 2030, marking the completion of the development plan for the street, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office confirmed.
WATCH | More on the art installation returning in 2030:
Montreal’s iconic rainbow ball canopy is returning to the Village
The art installation of 180,000 multi-coloured balls that stretched over a kilometre along Ste-Catherine Street East was installed in 2011 and removed in 2019. The beloved fixture will return in 2030 to mark the completion of the city’s revitalization project for the neighbourhood.Development plan for Ste-Catherine Street East
Joined by Claude Pinard, president of the city’s executive committee, the mayor unveiled elements of the administration’s Ste-Catherine East development project.
The initiative aims to redesign a 1.3-kilometre stretch between Berri Street and De Lorimier Avenue to revitalize the area’s commercial sector.
The project includes:
New concrete and granite paver flooring.The planting of 270 trees.The addition of custom-built benches providing 300 seating spaces.A lighting system to illuminate the street in winter.
These major renovations, projected to cost $200 million, were initially announced last year by former mayor Valérie Plante’s administration as part of a vision to pedestrianize Ste-Catherine Street year-round between Berri and Papineau streets.
However, the Martinez Ferrada administration plans to create a one-kilometre pedestrian-only zone between Berri and Papineau streets, featuring a flexible design that can be converted into a shared street when needed.
This particular stretch has been closed to vehicular traffic in the summer for the past 20 years.
Pinard confirmed the previously announced schedule remains on track, with construction set to begin in the fall of 2027 and end in 2030.
Gabrielle Rondy, general manager of the Village’s Société de développement commercial welcomed the confirmation of the timeline with a profound sense of relief.
“It will allow [business owners] to plan, invest, and make decisions for the future of their businesses,” Rondy said.