Article content

Part 1 in a series. If there is one thing almost everybody agrees on about Griffintown, it’s that planning for the development of such a large, historic and strategic area should have been in place well in advance of the construction blitz now underway.

Take the huge, newly-paved parking lot bordered by Ottawa, William, Ann and Dalhousie Sts., next to the Canadian National Railway viaduct.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Too little, too late? Urban plan for Griffintown came after the fact Back to video

The parking lot is promised as a park, one of at least six new parks slated for Griffintown. It is an echo of the desolation of the area just a few years ago; one can imagine that a park would provide much needed green space amid the condos and concrete.

The city, which is now in the process of expropriating the land, might have toshell over a small fortune for the lot if it pays market value. With the average price of land in the sector now about $300 a square foot, the lot of almost 90,000 square feet could be worth about $27 million.