The Chevalier house will be sold to Gestion 1608. It will house the buildings of the Tanguay Group’s real estate division.
The deal was approved by the Minister of Culture by government decree published in Newspaper official, Wednesday.
Everyone is put before the accomplished facts. We squander public property for reasons we don’t even give. We don’t particularly know what other avenues were possible. It’s the dark side that bothers me
, criticizes Gérard Beaude, professor in the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal.
historical significance
The house of Jean-Baptiste-Chevalier was built in 1752 in the Petit-Champlain region. It is part of a heritage siteUNESCO.
It is the first building on the Place-Royale sector that was restored at the end of the 1950s. In the history of heritage development in Quebec, it is a building of paramount importance
Explain the city plan.
The building belongs since 1987 to the Museum of Civilization, and therefore to the state. It has become redundant and no longer meets museum standards. Gérard Peauddy believed there were options other than selling it to private interests.
Since the house houses heritage organizations, which will be evicted, the professor assures that it could have been converted into a heritage house.
no consultations
Gérard Beaudé criticizes the Quebec government for not consulting it extensively before deciding to abandon the home of Jean-Baptiste Chevalier.
This sale is more surprising like Sodic It owns 26 buildings on Place Royale. Why did you not propose to the Museum of Civilization to hand over the Chevalier House to this organization?
, He says.
The restoration of the house of Jean-Baptiste Chevalier (1956-1963) was the first intervention carried out under the Place-Royale (Archives) project.
Photo: Radio Canada/Myriam Vimbri
The opposition in the National Assembly also believes that the sale of the house of Jean-Baptiste Chevalier was done in an opaque way.
According to opposition spokeswoman for culture Christine St-Pierre, the minister should have held consultations before agreeing to the deal.
Mrs. Roy acted secretly
According to her, this decision contradicts the provisions of Bill 69 adopted last spring.
In this case, Ms. Roy acted in secret while the new law stipulates that the persons or organizations concerned must be consulted as to the directions to be taken in matters of protection and transmission of cultural heritage.
Christine St-Pierre argues.
The ex-leader of the angry tourism bureau
The former head of the Quebec Tourism Office, Pierre de Tremblay, sent a letter to the Minister of Culture to denounce the sale. He would have liked Ms. Roy and the management of the Museum of Civilization to have acted differently.
This is a very bad decision by the Minister of Culture of Quebec. Unfortunate and unacceptable sale. This house, which has been under their ‘responsibility’ for several years, could be a place to display these blue spaces that will appear in all regions of Quebec.
-Can we read in the letter.
The sale bond, whose value has not been disclosed, is expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
Christine Saint-Pierre accuses the Minister of Culture of lack of transparency in the file of selling the heritage house (archive).
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boasino
Since it is a heritage building, the future buyer will have to comply with the provisions of the Cultural Heritage Act.
Commitments
Owners are obligated to take the necessary means to preserve the heritage qualification of the listed building. All urgent work must be done, while the approval of the Ministry of Culture must be obtained first.
These judgments do not reassure Gérard Baudet.
If we look at the auditor general’s report on the way the department handles its responsibilities, it will not be reassuring at all. There is no guarantee that things will go right
, he thinks.
In collaboration with David Rimmillard.
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