Heritage Montreal accuses retail store of gutting century-old building downtown

Heritage Montreal accuses retail store of gutting a century-old building downtown

Heritage Montreal is accusing JD Sports of gutting a century-old building downtown, saying that it was altered far more than necessary.

The building, formerly the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, is located on 777 Sainte-Catherine St. West.

Over the decades, the interior and exterior have been modified slightly, but now the inside has been gutted, according to Dinu Bumbaru, a policy director of Heritage Montreal.

Bumbaru says the city has assured this property would be maintained during development.

“Somebody decided this would all go to the dumpster,” Bumbaru said.

“The integrity of the building is not just the appearance from the outside, it’s also the inside. And municipalities have been granted the authority and power since 2012 to at least have some consideration for the interior.”

‘The whole chain failed somehow’

He says the stakeholders involved turned a blind eye when it came time to build a new sports store here.

“Just can’t understand that the architect on this file didn’t have their eye open, that the developer, the real estate broker, the whole chain failed somehow,” he said.

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada says the recommendations from the city are not binding.

“The Heritage Council gives recommendations. It doesn’t stop any buildings or any projects to go forward,” she said.

“It will give you recommendations. The recommendations can be, ‘We don’t think this is a good project,’ and in order to make it happen, this is what we suggest.”

‘City recommendations need more strength’

Bumbaru says city recommendations need more strength to make a real difference. He is asking the city to mandate its heritage council to investigate and identify effective measures to prevent other similar destructions.

CTV News reached out to JD Sports for a comment, but the store declined.