Montreal Unveiled Plans To Transform Avenue McGill College Into A Huge Downtown Forest

Bringing nature to the heart of downtown.
Senior Editor

The City of Montreal unveiled the winning design for the overhaul of avenue McGill College downtown.

Under the proposed concept, the wide but little-used street with a spectacular view of McGill University and Mount Royal will transform into "a large green corridor that will become the distinctive element of [an] imposing new public square," according to a statement from the city.

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The redevelopment of avenue McGill College square is a major project that will change the image of the downtown core.

Mayor Valérie Plante

The "large green space [...] will become the symbol of this new Montreal space," Design Montreal said.

This forest, it continued, will "extend the mountain all the way to Place Ville Marie."

Renderings of the winning concept show the scale of the project and its potential to transform the downtown.

civiliti + Mandaworks et SNC Lavalin

civiliti + Mandaworks et SNC Lavalin

The firm civiliti + Mandaworks and SNC-Lavalin are behind the design.

According to a timeline on Réalisons Montréal's website, work on avenue McGill College is set to take place between 2023 and 2024.

  • Thomas MacDonald
  • Senior Editor

    Thomas MacDonald was the Senior Editor of MTL Blog. He received a B.A. with honours from McGill University in 2018 and worked as a Writer and Associate Editor before entering his current role. He is proud to lead the MTL Blog team and to provide its readers with the information they need to make the most of their city.