According to the Ateliers Saint-Louis Safeguard Committee, the project to turn the venue into a blue space and create permanent exhibitions there at Jules A. Brillant and logging is already dead. The committee members did not want to interview us on the topic, but they say about 100% The project will not come true.

The Espace bleu project submitted to Quebec proposed covering the car park to the east of Ateliers Saint-Louis to make it a green space and a space for publication, while inside, it was possible to present exhibitions related to the history of the region.

Photo: Courtesy of the Ateliers Saint-Louis Concierge Committee

Although the mayor of Rimouski, Guy Caron, is not categorical, he does have similar information.

What I heard, for example, behind the scenes at the ministry level, was that the idea was interesting but the chances of success were not very high given the criteria that had to be met at the program level., He said. Mayor Karon himself does not support the project, believing that it is unlikely to come true. However, he was backed by the former mayor, Mark Barnett.

Last week, the city of Rimouski announced that those interested in getting the building for a dollar and renovating it have until September 30, 2022 to do so. After that, demolition can be considered.

” I really hope we have a rehabilitation project. […] You can’t have something imaginary and not real. We want a viable project. »

If there is rehabilitation, the selected project will have to take into account not only the costs of repair, but the future maintenance of the building, as the mayor determines. In one health record released in February, at least $1.2 million work was reported just for the building’s exterior structure. Furthermore, Counsellor Luke Papen texted thisnothing[vait] No economic advantage to keep.

CISSS is still interested

The Bas-Saint-Laurent Integrated Center for Health and Social Services (CISSS), which raised the idea of ​​buying the land where Ateliers Saint-Louis is located, is still interested. Its proximity to Rimouski Hospital presents interesting avenues for the organization, which at the moment refuses to disclose the projects envisaged at this location.

The CISSSIntegrated Health and Social Services Center du Bas-Saint-Laurent still has a great interest in this land. We also reaffirmed our interest in the city, says its spokesman, Jill Tormel. if it was CISSSIntegrated Health and Social Services Center He lays his hands on the Ateliers Saint-Louis, however it will be demolished.

For its part, the Ateliers Saint-Louis Protection Committee says it is already working on other options, but believes it is too early to reveal them now.

There is no official rejection from Quebec

However, the Espace bleu project has not been officially excluded, according to the Ministry of Culture, which replied to us in a brief email: Ateliers Saint-Louis And Analytics in progress.

in an interview in same frequency Last week, the president of the Société rimouskoise du patrimoine (SRP) also confirmed that the project had been postponed. This is what we understandMarielle Esclabes said.

Ateliers Saint-Louis and Cégep de Rimouski were both built in the 1920s by the same architect, Pierre Lévesque, from Quebec. Both buildings appear here in 1929.

Photo: Author Unknown / Collection: The Sacred Heart Friars Archives / Remousquis Heritage Association

Blue space or not, she considers it necessary to invest public money to save the building.

” It’s really a group project. It may be necessary to put your hand in the community purse. […] It is the city and the governments who can put the necessary funds into the support, whether they are citizens, an organization or a corporation, to maintain the building. »

For his part, Rimouski member Harold Lebel said he had no indication that the Espace bleu project would be rejected. But he thinks it is not a bad idea to set a deadline for this file, as the city has done.

At some point, you have to draw a line, that’s what City did and that’s okayHe said.

Until September 30, the century-old building can still be saved. It remains to be seen whether the file viable project It can be identified and presented, which has not been achieved in six years of proceedings.