It was once the most revered building in hockey but 21 years after the Canadiens departed, the Montreal Forum has fallen on hard times.

Thousands of fans used to mob the Forum to watch the beloved Habs, who won 22 of their 24 Stanley Cups while calling the building home but the team departed for Bell Centre (then called the Molson Centre) in 1996.

Five years later, it reopened as an entertainment complex that featured a movie theatre, restaurants and other amenities, all while maintaining a replica of the former centre ice of the arena it once was.

It was to be an economic shot in the arm for the area between Guy and Atwater, but many of the businesses that once called the building home have since departed. Future Shop closed its location four years ago and a SAQ store is set to move to a new location on Ste-Catherine St. on April 19.

Building manager Andre Jude said several factors played a role in the decline, including changes to the entertainment industry and the state of the neighbourhood.

“There was a period of almost 10 years in this area where nothing happened,” he said.

That period of decay could be at an end. Over the last five years, 1,200 new apartment and condos have been constructed in the area with another 1,400 being built on the former site of the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

“The area is probably undergoing its most significant transformation since the early 20th century,” said Jude.

To capitalize, Jude said he’s trying to attract new businesses to the Forum, with a focus on restaurants.

“We have a rather unique food emporium coming into the southwest area where Guido’s and Angelina’s and Eggspectation used to be,” he said.

With so many new living units being built, there’s also hope of attracting more home décor retailers.

Meanwhile, there are plans for Dawson College, which uses the forum as a satellite campus, to expand its presence and the owners are looking into the possibility of building housing above the current structure.

“We will be pursuing the feasibility to densify this building,” said Jude. “We have the right to do so after this phase, which take about two years.”