This iconic site offers a 180-degree view of the river, stretching from the Jacques Cartier Bridge to the Champlain Bridge, passing by Calder’s sculpture at Jean-Drapeau Park and Habitat 67. It also serves as a much-needed cooling zone in the heart of Old Montreal, which has few parks and wooded areas. Heavily frequented by Montrealers and visitors alike, it represents an opportunity to create a park that the growing population of surrounding neighborhoods increasingly needs, especially with the construction of numerous residential towers. Moreover, it forms a continuous link with the riverside promenade running east to west, planned in the Faubourgs Specific Planning Program (SPP), which would extend from the Molson Brewery area to the Lachine Canal.

In June 2017, the Old Port of Montreal Corporation / Canada Lands Company (OPMC/CLC) submitted a preliminary master plan for public consultation aimed at revitalizing the Old Port. For the Clock Tower Wharf area, the plan included the addition of commercial buildings, a multi-level parking lot along the marina, and an event plaza, representing a densification of the site that would obstruct the river view from de la Commune Street and create heat islands. A petition with 1,166 signatures was submitted to the House of Commons in September 2018 requesting that the Clock Tower Wharf area become a pedestrian port park maximizing river views and green spaces while prioritizing public transit. No announcement has been made since. However, a call for expressions of interest was launched in January 2020 for the redevelopment or replacement of Hangar #16 with another commercial building of the same size.

Financial pressures and profitability goals tend to push for widespread commercialization of the site, threatening the only remaining relaxation and cooling area in the Old Port as well as the preservation of the landscape. The Friends of Clock Tower Wharf therefore call for a consultation with citizens regarding the future purpose of the Clock Tower Wharf area and the Old Port as a whole. Furthermore, they submitted a brief in March 2019 as part of the public consultation by the Montreal Urban Planning Agency (OCPM) on the Faubourgs Specific Planning Program, as well as a second one in October 2020.

Finally, we wish to highlight the heritage recognition statuses of Clock Tower Wharf and its components, as well as the awards received by the firm Claude Cormier + Associés:

Heritage recognition statuses

• Clock Tower: federally designated heritage building (1996)

• Clock Tower Wharf

  • Located within the provincially designated heritage site of Old Montreal (1995)

  • Located within the municipal jurisdiction of the exceptional heritage value sector of Old Montreal

Awards (source: Claude Cormier + Associés)

• Clock Beach: regional citation (Design category) from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (2015)

• Clock Tower Wharf: Lumière Award 2014 – Illuminating Engineering Society, Exterior Architectural Lighting category – in collaboration with Public Lighting

In 2024, the Old Port revitalization plan was abandoned due to lack of funding. No alternative project has been proposed.