The winning design concept called for transforming the street into a \u201cbroad swath of green\u201d stretching from Place Ville Marie to McGill University, with an urban pond and abundant vegetation.<\/p>\n
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Architect and downtown resident Martine Savard says it\u2019s a shame the McGill College Ave. redevelopment plan has been postponed after all the work that\u2019s already gone into it. John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
The redevelopment faced delays over the construction of the downtown REM station, but underground infrastructure repairs and landscaping work had been set to begin this spring before being postponed.<\/p>\n
Martine Savard, a longtime downtown resident and architect, recently pressed the city on the project at a Ville-Marie council meeting.<\/p>\n
In an interview, Savard said it would be a shame to invest all that energy into the project\u200a \u2014 \u200ain particular the design competition \u2014 only for it not to come to completion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s already been a lot of work done to develop the sector \u2026 restoring Place Ville Marie, adding The Ring,\u201d Savard said. \u201cNow what\u2019s missing is the last piece of the puzzle, which would be the park.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alicia Fortin-St-Gelais, a project co-ordinator in urban planning for the Peter-McGill community table, said the proposed park also responds to a need: Residents have long spoken out against the lack of green spaces downtown and the negative effects of the resulting heat islands<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fortin-St-Gelais said the proposed redesign offered a unique opportunity to address the issue.<\/p>\n \u201cHeat islands affect everyone downtown\u200a \u2014 \u200apeople working there, living there, passing through as tourists,\u201d she said. \u201cBut they will always affect vulnerable people the most, because they don\u2019t necessarily have access to places to cool down.\u201d<\/p>\n A city spokesperson contacted by The Gazette confirmed the project has been postponed until 2028 and that its \u201cmore detailed phasing is currently under review.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to The Gazette, a spokesperson for the mayor\u2019s office added that the city is meeting with business owners, residents and other stakeholders to ensure the project meets their needs.<\/p>\n \u201cMcGill College is a strategic thoroughfare for our downtown, and with the REM, it serves as a true gateway to Montreal,\u201d they added. \u201cThis project must live up to the significance of the space it occupies; it shouldn\u2019t just be a place people pass through.\u201d<\/p>\n Space honouring Oscar Peterson misses 100th anniversary<\/p>\n A central part of the planned redevelopment is a new public square honouring Peterson, who died in 2007.<\/p>\n The city announced the square in 2021<\/a>, after facing mounting pressure to find an appropriate way to honour the famed pianist.<\/p>\n At the time, the city said it hoped the space \u2014 which would include a sculpture and mural \u2014 would be open by 2025, in time to mark the 100th anniversary of Peterson\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n Despite the postponement, both the mayor\u2019s office and the city said the plan is still to incorporate a square in Peterson\u2019s honour.<\/p>\n No revised time frame was provided, however.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be scheduling an exchange with Mr. Peterson\u2019s family once the phasing of the work and the next steps have been finalized,\u201d the city noted.<\/p>\n A representative of Peterson\u2019s estate declined to comment.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0311-city-ice-sotrm_301982240.jpg\")
\u201cThere\u2019s already been a lot of work done to develop the sector \u2026 restoring Place Ville Marie, adding The Ring,\u201d says architect Martine Savard. \u201cNow what\u2019s missing is the last piece of the puzzle.\u201d John Mahoney \/ Montreal Gazette files<\/p>\n
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