St-Remi Artist Lofts

[b][u]Past[/u][/b] These budget lofts were expropriated sometime at the end of 2012 to make way for the new Turcot interchange they are building right above the almost century old building.

The story begins in 1922, when the "king of tobacco", Sir Mortimer Davis, (president of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada) bought the land to construct a 3-storey tobacco factory. The red brick building, built to withstand fire and earthquakes, remained fully operational until the 1950s. It then served as a recycling factory for old cotton rags. The recycling company deserted the building, and it eventually served as a Hells Angels hideout for a number of years.

If I translated and understood the French article properly, it wasn't until 1998 when a real estate developer purchased the old factory as a project to flip it into a residential building.

In early 2009, when the first eviction rumors began to circulate, the residents came together in a committee and tried to change the plans for the new interstate, in an attempt to save their beloved homes. Unfortunately their efforts and attempts to save the lofts did not work, when the residents received their notice of expropriation in spring of 2011.

[b][u]Present[/u][/b] The lofts are in pretty rough shape, with obvious signs that people were still living inside until just a few months ago. Now that the building is locked up tightly, no vagrants have been sleeping here. Each room is different from the next, containing a different floor plan and an original piece of graffiti. It's nice to see the 'Artist' lofts still be left to the artists.. Even though I'm not a big fan of graffiti, Montreal has a lot of it to offer!