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Published on : October 02 2020
Last modified on : December 19 2024
In 1786, John Molson became sole proprietor of the brewery that had been built a few years earlier on the corner of Notre-Dame and Papineau streets. He had a new stone building erected and purchased two lots to extend his property from Notre-Dame Street to the St. Lawrence River in 1788 and 1789. Many buildings and residences were built on these lots, including John Molson’s home. Over the course of the 19th century, the buildings on the brewery property were significantly expanded and modified. The surrounding districts rapidly developed and the Molson family seized the opportunity to erect, on the rest of their property, new buildings, including a church, a college and housing, including the Molson Terrace, one of the first examples of row houses. In 1852, a major fire ravaged Montreal, destroying many of the dwellings as well as the brewery. However, the stone walls remained intact, which allowed the brewery to be rebuilt and brewing operations to resume.
During the 20th century, the site underwent major development. In 1913, a large stone building was erected, helping to unify the façade of the industrial complex. As of 1922, warehouses, a boiler house, grain dryers and fermentation rooms were built, as the Jacques-Cartier Bridge was taking shape right beside the complex. After 1945, more expansion work was done and a new brewing house was built in 1985, endowing the site with its present-day aesthetic.
Complexe de la brasserie Molson
Source: François Roy, archives La Presse
Source: Projection du nouveau site de la Molson – Source : Montoni / FTQ – Quartier Molson
The Molson Brewery is an industrial complex composed of an eclectic ensemble of buildings of varying forms and materials that reflect the different periods of its construction. The neo-Classical cut-stone façade situated near Papineau Avenue is the oldest part of the complex. Further to the west, the style is typical of the industrial period, first in stone, then in brick and, finally, in concrete. Today, certain elements, like the smokestack, the clock and the “Molson” lettering, on the Notre-Dame Street façade, are important landmarks on Montreal’s landscape, particularly from the Jacques-Cartier Bridge approach to the city.
In 2017, the Molson Brewery announced that it was moving its operations to Longueuil and leaving its Montreal complex behind. Concerned about the future of this emblematic site, the City commissioned the OCPM to hold public consultations on the Faubourgs sector with a view to developing a Special Planning Program (SPP) for Centre-Sud. The Montoni Group, in partnership with Selection Group, acquired the site and plans to develop a mixed ensemble based on the live-work-play principle, with residential units of varying typologies for different clienteles, businesses, offices as well as recreational equipment. It was agreed from the outset that the purchasing consortium will cede some of the land to be used to build a school, a community centre, a park, a riverside walkway and social housing.
The consortium, composed of Groupe Sélection, Montoni and the Fonds immobilier FTQ, issued a press release on March 9, 2022 to “present the first orientations of the redevelopment project of the former Molson brewery site”, more specifically concerning the Voltigeurs block, which includes the oldest buildings of the brewery complex. In February 2022, it submitted the project to the Ville-Marie borough’s Comité consultatif en urbanisme (CCU), which issued a favorable opinion on the project with certain conditions; the CCU’s opinion can be consulted in the minutes of the Ville-Marie borough council of March 8, 2022, on pages 1247 to 1250. The consortium wishes to preserve and requalify 75% of the existing buildings, while the remaining 25% will be demolished to give the site a breath of fresh air through public spaces, visual openings and access to the river, as well as to improve links with neighbouring districts. Although the details concerning the new constructions in the Voltigeurs block will be known later, we already know that they will have a cascading profile around the Molson Tower in order to avoid an overly massive built environment.
As for the heritage component, two silos located in the eastern part of the site will be restored in order to be highlighted in the project. The clock and the Molson Tower sign will be removed, restored and stored for reinstallation in the new buildings. The chimney is also planned to remain intact, after being restored to its former glory. Finally, other heritage elements, such as the grey stone façade on Notre-Dame Street East, will be preserved, restored and integrated into the project.
In February 2023, new financial partners to the project are being considered. Indeed, Groupe Sélection, the main project holder, has been protected from its creditors since the fall of 2022. The project continues, but the controller of the file (PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)) seeks to solidify the consortium (Groupe Sélection, 40%; Groupe Montoni, 30% and Fonds immobilier FTQ, 30%).
In December 2024, Héritage Montréal welcomes the project to redevelop the site of the former Molson brewery, whose origins date back to 1786. The consortium is now composed of two parties, Groupe Montoni and the Fonds immobilier FTQ. Sid Lee Architecture helped design the plans for the new district. This long-discussed project represents a unique opportunity to combine conservation and urban development in a perspective of balance between preserving heritage elements, opening up public spaces and windows onto the remarkable river panorama, and integrating contemporary uses into old buildings and new volumes.
This industrial complex is of exceptional heritage value, emblematic of the city’s industrial and commercial history and landscape. Although the former brewery, one of the most important industrial heritage sites in Quebec and Canada, does not benefit from any protective designation, this vision of requalification within the urban planning framework of the sector provides an avenue to perpetuate the site.
Heritage Montréal is very attached to the Molson brewery, which constitutes a formidable historical witness for the metropolis in addition to being an important landmark in the Montreal landscape.
While the project is still in its infancy, and the development of the site should be completed around 2035, we have already raised a few concerns about the Molson Brewery’s industrial heritage. Since the site was sold to the promoters as is, its emblematic features, such as the smokestack and illuminated sign, should ideally be integrated into the project to preserve the memory of its industrial past and the important role that the Molson Brewery played in the development of the sector.
In 2018, the Molson Brewery industrial complex is the subject of one of our annual resolutions (2018-02), calling for:
In 2019, as part of its annual ArchitecTours, Heritage Montréal presented the history of Montreal brewers to the public, highlighting in particular the importance of the Molson brewery in the economic and architectural landscape of the metropolis.
Heritage Montréal had the opportunity to talk to the Molson family about the importance of this industrial heritage and continues to put pressure on various actors so that the rehabilitation of this formidable site is worthy of the importance it is for the industrial memory of Montreal.
In 2024, Héritage Montréal welcome the dialogue initiated by the developers and their architects with organizations like ours. This project will make this site, once enclosed and closed, accessible to the public, while at the same time highlighting this heritage in its historical and landscape dimensions and in its architectural components, including the administrative building and the famous giant clock.
Ville-Marie borough
Mechanisms for protection
Urban Development
Urban landscape
Consortium (Montoni Group with the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ)
Lack of knowledge
Demand for land, speculation
Demolition
Owners
Industrial
1786-1789 (first buildings); 1913 (new building and unified stone facade); 1945 and following years (expansion by McDougall, Smith et Flemming, architects); 1985 (new brewing room)
Building of exceptional heritage value Located in an area of exceptional heritage value – Molson Brewery
How do you see this Montreal site? What legacy has it left us? What future can we create for it? Where to start to get there? Who wants to participate in the project?
You have questions? Want to do more, but lack the information? Consult our toolkit to learn more about the heritage of the Montreal metropolitan area, the preservation mechanisms in place and possible actions.
