Several dignitaries agree to join a panel discussion on the role of the cultural and heritage area of the Griffintown Project

    MONTREAL, Feb. 19 /CNW Telbec/ - Several Montreal dignitaries will
discuss the cultural, heritage and tourism area that the Devimco company is
planning to build within its Griffintown Project.
    That's what Mr. Serge Goulet, co-chair of Devimco, announced today,
wanting to submit an exemplary quality cultural offer complementary to
Montreal's current offer.
    "Located across from the Peel Basin, this cultural and heritage island
will strengthen the cultural offerings of the Southwest borough and will
exercise its attraction within the Montreal area," said Goulet.
    The cultural and heritage island within the Griffintown Project could
include a theatre, activity spaces on the border of the Peel Basin with
restaurants and shops, a hotel, a marina, an interpretive centre or a museum
and artists' studios.

    So far, the dignitaries who have agreed to be part of the Committee are
the following:

    
    - Claude Benoît, President and CEO, Old Port of Montréal Corporation
    - Sébastien Fauré, President, bleublancrouge
    - David B. Hanna, Director, graduate programs in urban studies,
      Université du Québec à Montréal
    - Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO, Board of Trade of Metropolitan
      Montreal
    - Soeur Madeleine Juneau, CEO, Maison Saint-Gabriel
    - Sylvain Lafrance, Principal Vice-President of French Services, Société
      Radio-Canada
    - Luc Laperrière, CEO, Théâtre Corona
    - Claude-Armand Piché, Managing Counsellor of Cultural Resources, Western
      Quebec Field Unit, Parks Canada
    - Luc Plamondon, President, Productions Lunablu
    - Madeleine Poulin, President of the Table des acteurs culturels du
      Sud-Ouest, former journalist and resident of the Southwest borough
    - Martin Saint-Pierre, CEO, Old Montréal Business Development Corporation
    - Representatives from the City of Montréal and the Southwest borough

    The committee members will be asked to begin open, wide and creative
discussions prior to the project. This is likely to give the project the best
guarantees of integration within its environment.

    The committee's mandate is to propose:

    - The general orientation: objectives, exclusive nature of the offer,
      functions and services, specialized equipment;
    - Outline of the programming of the main facilities and public spaces;
    - The main features of functional programming;
    - The general principles for development and integration within the
      environment.
    

    To fuel its deliberations, the Committee will consult with major economic
and social activists involved in the project.
    In response to this thinking, the project will be detailed, its costs
will be estimated and its economic feasibility will be evaluated. The
Committee will be informed of the results of this study and will be invited to
respond.
    The creation of this committee fits well with the process of consultation
and information with stakeholders, started last June by Devimco in order to
enhance the project.

    Organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the
Southwest of Montreal, Montreal Heritage, the Irish Societies Council, RESO
(Regroupement Economic and Social Southwest), the Ecole de technologie
supérieure (ETS), Société du Havre de Montréal and the Board of Trade of
Metropolitan Montreal have agreed to collaborate on the development of
conditions for realization of this residential, commercial, cultural and
tourism project with a land area of 1.1 million square feet.

    Devimco, the City of Montreal and the Southwest borough have agreed to
the project guidelines and it is on the basis of these broad guidelines that
discussions with stakeholders are continuing.

    www.projetgriffintowm.com

For further information:

For further information: François-Olivier Gagnon, Communications André
Bouthillier, (514) 732-4114, (514) 686-1463