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Scalabrini – Développement résidentiel
By : Gestion PCA
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 17th edition
Discipline : Construction & Real Estate
Categories : Construction / Apartment & Condo : Silver Certification
Categories : Real Estate Development / Low-Rise Residential Development : Silver Certification
The Scalabrini Missionaries aimed to assert their social role by creating affordable housing for the neighborhood residents on the land allocated to Saint Rita’s Church in Ahuntsic. Consequently, we implemented a rental housing project intended to generate sufficient income to support the active maintenance of the church. Moreover, the complex comprising 51 units (approximately 47,000 square feet of living space) includes around ten units for isolated individuals aged 55 and above who wish to remain in the neighborhood and maintain their community identity.
Given the social nature of this project, it was crucial to create a friendly and warm atmosphere in the common areas, all within a restricted budget. Our firm contributed to the successful execution of the project in several ways:
- Management of all pre-delivery challenges, budget, schedule, stakeholders…
- Validation of the functional and technical program with the client and professionals, expert consultation;
- Financial structuring of the project including grant research;
- Municipal negotiations with all relevant authorities, including public consultations;
- Special presentations to Rome. Indeed, the Scalabrini lot, comprising Saint Rita’s Church and the 51 housing units, belongs to the Scalabrinian congregation and thus, to the ecclesiastical authorities, with decision-making headquarters located in the Vatican.
- Managing site decontamination, including undetected contamination discovered during environmental analyses.
- Coordinating grant applications related to decontamination.
Environmental soil rehabilitation Several challenges arose during the construction, including the decontamination of the site, which was partially located under the church. As a result, budgets had to be revised, and the schedule was impacted. The team effectively navigated constraints to modify the basic concept in order to reduce the planned project costs in light of decontamination expenses.
Since the congregation lacked familiarity with construction management, they turned to our firm’s expertise to handle this task. Administering and recommending contracts for expertise, cost control, and budget tracking are among the professional activities we undertook.
We advised the Scalabrini Missionaries on various regulatory, management, and design aspects:
- Although the church is not classified as a heritage monument, it possesses certain elements that are, such as its altar. This contributes to Quebec’s religious heritage, complicating its conversion into a community center. Consequently, extensive exchanges with various municipal bodies (CCU, central city heritage council, Jacques Viger Commission, Rome) were necessary to successfully complete the project, including a public consultation process.
- Negotiation with Hydro-Québec, which held an unused easement in its favor on the church’s land.
- Preparation of a Functional and Technical Program (FTP) and adjustment of the same based on the client’s requirements and objectives, which were initially unknown at the project’s outset.
- Coordination of professionals in a challenging pandemic context;
- Identification for the client of the church’s points of interest allowing for space optimization based on the enhancement of these significant elements.
- Supervision of construction work and on-site presence.
Additional tasks included financial structuring of the project, municipal negotiations, client acceptance process, public consultation, validation of demolition and construction plans and specifications, construction phase planning in collaboration with the client and contractor, and execution of payment certificates and control of receipts.
Collaboration
