Lapsed Renovation Expenses at FACE School Unveiled

In downtown Montreal, the massive primary and secondary bilingual arts school known as FACE is up for sale, as revealed by our site last April. A mobilization of parents and students is underway to preserve the unique FACE building from falling into private hands.

The CSSDM, the organization responsible for carrying out educational renovations in Quebec, had planned to renovate FACE to accommodate all students in two renovated buildings. However, the project was halted due to the high cost, with the CSSDM unable to risk continuing it without Quebec committing to foot the bill.

The CSSDM's Deputy Director General of Material Resources, Stéphane Chaput, acknowledges that the $375 million probably would not have been sufficient to repair the school, even without the "extravagances" revealed in previous reports. Some of these extravagances included plans to transform the old boiler room into a third gymnasium with an outdoor yard on its roof and the arrangement of a recreation yard on the roof of FACE's main building.

Architect Richard Lafontaine suggests that "elements that appear superfluous" could have been removed from the renovation project to reduce costs. He believes that a less "ambitious" project would be sufficient for the FACE school and that a third gymnasium is not necessary.

The renovation project also included plans to move the cafeteria from the fourth floor to the ground floor. Additionally, a tunnel passing under an alley separating FACE's main building from the old boiler room was planned to provide access to the new gymnasium.

Despite the halt in the renovation project, secondary students continue to study at FACE, awaiting the completion of the renovation of the Saint-Urbain Street building. Meanwhile, some 650 primary students have already started their school year in a building on Christophe-Colomb Avenue, on the Plateau Mont-Royal.

Mr. Chaput notes that the bulk of the bill is attributable to renovating the entire building, including electrical, ventilation, heating, and plumbing systems. He suggests that removing the roof yards and not having a tunnel to the boiler room for a gymnasium would at most allow a reduction of "50 million" in the bill.

As the future of the FACE school remains uncertain, the community's efforts to preserve this unique building continue. The CSSDM stands ready to carry out the renovation if Quebec decides to unlock the necessary funds. However, the question remains whether the cost can be reduced enough to make the project viable.