The Montreal Jewish Museum has received a federal government grant of more than $3.2 million through Ottawa’s Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program toward its renovation of the 112-year-old Mile End building that houses the institution.
The 10,000-square-foot building at 5220 St-Laurent Blvd. once housed a furniture store on the ground floor and several garment factories above it. A Jewish parochial school and a synagogue were also upstairs tenants briefly. Between 1984 and 1996, the building was home to Lux, a buzzy all-night bar, restaurant, bookstore and tobacco shop; from 1998 to 2001, the film and multimedia production house Fly Studio occupied the space. In 2022, the Montreal Jewish Museum announced it would be the building’s new tenant.
The museum itself and other funding sources are contributing more than $1.62 million toward the renovation.