The Wellington Basin in Montréal is one of the properties that Canada Lands Company acquired from Transport Canada in 2010. Canada Lands Company owns the majority of the land in the sector which is bound by Mill Street, Bridge Street, the Peel Basin and the new REM (Réseau express métropolitain) line—an area of 8.5 hectares (20.5 acres).
This industrial site has been in use since 1820. It was the location of Tate’s Dry Dock and was an important area for the livestock industry. It was also the location of the Wellington Basin itself, which, before it was mostly filled in, was the Lachine Canal’s largest basin and used primarily for the transshipment of coal. The site is now largely vacant, the only remaining industrial use being a flour mill.
In early 2020, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal completed a public consultation process for the broader Bridge-Bonaventure area that included this site. One of the OCPM’s key recommendations was the development of the Wellington Basin area into a mixed-use district. Canada Lands Company is actively participating in a working table led by the City of Montréal aimed at creating a strategic vision for this area.
As the strategic vision began to take shape, Canada Lands remained committed to the goal of developing Wellington Basin into a resilient and inclusive living environment. In 2023, the Company consulted nearly seventy community groups and experts through six types of consultation activities. Canada Lands Company’s rigorous consultation process has ensured the collective input from the local community’s shared aspirations, as well as a variety of municipal, institutional, and governmental stakeholders.
The site’s redevelopment will encompass three distinct zones; a new artisan’s district will be dedicated to promoting the traditional trades associated with the site’s history and will include a new arts and crafts school, artisan workshops and maintaining activities at the Forges de Montréal. A new Basins Beach will become a recreational tourist area that will be built around Wellington Basin and the waterfront, as well as a new innovation cluster with a diversified economic hub. Following these extensive public consultations six priorities have also been established for the Wellington Basin area:
• Reconnect neighbourhoods and improve mobility,
• Densify intelligently to enhance the users’ experience and quality of life,
• Meet the city’s objectives for affordable and social housing,
• Develop a new network of parks and green and blue spaces,
• Preserve and showcase heritage and history,
• Aim for carbon neutrality by integrating the latest innovations.
