La Petite Maison sur Laprairie: A Decisive Step Taken in Creating a Community Hub in Pointe-Saint-Charles

MONTRÉAL, Dec. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - As soaring rents and the repossession of nonprofit workspaces threaten the future of front-line organizations, La Petite Maison sur Laprairie (PMSL) announces the acquisition of a site at 1295 rue de Laprairie to build an innovative community hub. Scheduled to start construction in 2025, this ambitious project will provide a lasting, sustainable solution to ensure affordable workspaces for community organizations in the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood.

Responding Collectively to the Affordable Community WorkspaceCrisis

Confronted with the imminent repossession of their facilities, four organizations—the Centre de femmes Madame Prend Congé, the Club populaire des consommateurs de Pointe-Saint-Charles, the Regroupement Information Logement (RIL) and Familles en action—, along with the neighbourhood association Action-Gardien, have joined forces to create the PMSL community hub. Their goal is to offer sustainable, affordable workspaces for the front-line organizations that provide essential services to the neighbourhood's diverse residents.

"Our project, La Petite Maison sur Laprairie, is the result of years of collaboration and consultation between our four groups and the Sud-Ouest borough, which supported the project from the outset by setting aside the site for our building. We're very proud to serve as an example for how to pool resources and expertise in order to ensure continued access to essential services for the thousands of people who benefit from them every year," says Ishelle Macz, President of the PMSL board of directors and coordinator of the Club populaire des consommateurs de Pointe-Saint-Charles.

Reserved in 2019 by the Ville de Montréal in partnership with the Sud-Ouest borough, the site was sold to PMSL for a symbolic $1, making this major initiative a reality.

"This new milestone brings us one step closer to our goal of creating a major community hub in Pointe-Saint-Charles and increasing the percentage of community and social housing to meet the neighbourhood's pressing needs," adds Benoit Dorais, Mayor of the Sud-Ouest borough, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee and Head of Housing, Real Estate Strategy, Property Assessment and Legal Affairs at Ville de Montréal.

Opening Scheduled for 2026

In a 19,500 sq. ft. complex, PMSL will bring together its four founding organizations as well as their expertise, organizational resources, and networks. The community hub will occupy the building's two lower floors and house a community thrift store, a women's centre, a drop-in daycare, a solidarity grocery store, a collective kitchen, a housing committee, meeting facilities, and a small plaza.

The community hub is part of an overall mixed-use project that includes 52 social housing units built on the upper floors by nonprofitLes Habitations Laprairie. Developed in collaboration with Bâtir son quartier, the building will be certified carbon-neutral, therefore contributing to the socially just and ecologically responsible development of the neighbourhood.

With 90% of funding already secured through government grants and private donations, PMSL is on track to achieve its goal. Infrastructure Canada, the Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, the Fonds d'initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole, the Caisse Desjardins du Sud-Ouest de Montréal and Centraide, among others, played a key role in this collective success.

A Promising Success Story

In many Montreal neighbourhoods, community organizations face rent increases and repossessions by the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal and private landlords. PMSL stands shoulder to shoulder with the various mobilizations across the city to preserve existing workspaces and develop new ones. PMSL's success is proof that when local mobilization, public support and infrastructure funds are combined, it is possible to carry out large-scale, resilient projects that promote social justice.

About La Petite Maison sur Laprairie

Founded in 2020 by four local community organizations, La Petite Maison sur Laprairie (PMSL) is a charitable organization committed to preserving essential community services. Its mission is to implement sustainable solutions to ensure the accessibility and longevity of resources for individuals in need in Pointe-Saint-Charles and the Sud-Ouest borough.

SOURCE Action-Gardien, Corporation de développement communautaire de Pointe-Saint-Charles

Information: Fannie Lézarts, Development Manager, La Petite Maison sur Laprairie, [email protected], 514 715-8482; Media Relations: Camille Gagné-Turbide, Brief Communication, [email protected] | 514 755-5354