Bound by University and Sherbrooke streets, Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Avenue des Pins, the homes in Milton Parc were originally built between 1875 and 1900 for families of the bourgeoisie. The neighbourhood was then characterized by great architectural diversity: large single-family Victorian homes stood cheek-by-jowl with duplexes, triplexes and apartment houses. After the Second World War, the bourgeois families deserted the neighbourhood, gradually replaced by students, young professionals, immigrant families and modest-income families.

By the late 1960s a promoter, Concordia Estates Ltd, had acquired 96% of the properties as part of plans to build a massive residential complex, threatening the neighbourhood and the urban landscape of Milton Parc. In the 1970s, residents began opposing the mass destruction of their neighbourhood. In all, 255 properties were demolished to make way for a vast urban renovation project, of which the La Cité Complex would be the first and only phase built.

Between 1958 and 1968, Concordia Estates Ltd purchased, through various intermediaries, 96% of the properties in Milton Parc. With rumours abounding of a massive real-estate development project, residents formed the Milton Parc Citizens Committee in November 1968 to protect their neighbourhood. They expressed their opposition to the Concordia Estates project, and proposed alternatives to it, by means of petitions, workshops with McGill and Université de Montréal students, hunger strikes, publications and other tactics.

In 1972, Phase 1 of the La Cité project began, and tenants on certain blocks were evicted. On May 26, 1972, a demonstration organized by the Committee resulted in 56 arrests. The remaining properties owned by Concordia Estates were then sold to a new company, Paxmill, which took over their management. In 1978, the Milton Parc Citizens Committee sought Heritage Montreal’s assistance in their plan to buy the blocks and create housing co-ops. Heritage Montreal met representatives of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to convince them to buy the Paxmill blocks.

On May 16, 1979, CMHC purchased the properties for $5.5 million, with the objective of helping residents set up co-ops. CMHC entrusted management of the properties to the SPUM, created with help from Heritage Montreal. The SPUM mapped out an action plan for assessment of the financial requirements for non-profit associations to purchase and renovate the dwellings. In 1980, a new non-profit organization, the Société d’Amélioration Milton Parc (SAMP), was created to become the temporary property manager.

Supported by Heritage Montreal and Phyllis Lambert, residents created the largest co-operative housing project in North America between 1979 and 1982, which resulted in renovations to entire rows of buildings built at the turn of the century. To support the Milton Parc Citizens Committee in their fight to become owners of their homes, Phyllis Lambert met the directors of CMHC to persuade them to buy the properties and form housing co-operatives. Heritage Montreal later created the Société du patrimoine urbain de Montréal (SPUM), tasked with managing the properties and developing an action plan, including an assessment of the project’s financial aspects.

On June 23, 1987, the Quebec National Assembly passed a private bill that paved the way for a new governance structure: the co-ops and NPOs in Milton Parc became the owners of the land, except for common areas, which are owned by a legal person called a “syndicate”: the Milton Parc Community (known by its French abbreviation, CMP). The CMP’s governance structure includes representatives of all the co-operatives. The Declaration of Co-ownership” is unique in that it includes restrictions concerning social responsibility and non-speculation.

The creation of the SPUM by Heritage Montreal helped implementation of the neighbourhood co-operative housing project by ensuring its financial viability. The engagement of the Montreal community in confronting a giant real-estate developer saved an entire neighbourhood and transformed it into one of the largest co-op housing projects in the history of Canada—and a model recognized in 2013 when the co-op was selected as a finalist for the Habitat for Humanity Awards.

The Milton Parc co-operative was born out of strength in numbers: by working with an entire neighbourhood community to thwart the destruction of its urban landscape. The resulting community cohesion continues to be a force today, in other dossiers. In 2014, a hundred or so Milton Parc residents along with sympathizers gathered at the nearby Hôtel-Dieu hospital to protest against its closing.