Reinventing Montréal 2025-2026: Imagine 150 Louvain Ouest!

As part of the 3d participation of Reinventing Montréal in the C-40 Reinventing Cities competition, Montreal is launching an international call for projects for the site located at 150 rue de Louvain Ouest, in the Chabanel district of the city’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough. The call for projects aims to sell the land to the winner of Reinventing Montréal for the realization of the project, following the selection of the best project in accordance with the established criteria.

The international call for projects is open to local corporations and provides a unique opportunity to create an innovative and versatile urban space meant to embody sustainable and inclusive development. The project namely aims to strengthen and complete the Central district’s (District central) employment hub, to favour mixed-use development for an entire neighborhood, to mesh residential and commercial uses harmoniously, to integrate green areas and appealing public areas, to create pedestrian links throughout the bigger island, and to implement ground-floor commercial spaces in buildings.

The vacant site is rectangular and spans 45,000 square metres.

Reinventing Montréal is a unique platform that facilitates the revitalization of one of the city’s underutilized sites, in a spirit of environmentally responsible and sustainable development, through creative proposals submitted by local and international multidisciplinary teams (architects, engineers, environmental specialists, promoters, artists, etc.) Through this call for projects, the city shows its commitment to stimulating innovation and creativity, as well as promoting solidarity, equity, and inclusion, by allowing for the transformation of the site located at 150 Louvain Ouest into a more urban, diverse and integrated area blended into a residential living environment.

A neighbourhood of proximities  

The theme retained for this 3d edition of Reinventing Montréal is: “A neighbourhood of proximities – Imagine a mixed-use, zero-carbon, sustainable and resilient project for this site”. The site will become a lively neighbourhood, where residential, commercial, and light industrial buildings will coexist with public areas, all located within close proximity to bike paths and public transportation.

Call for expressions of interest   

For the first phase, Reinventing Montréal is launching a call for expressions of interest to multidisciplinary teams, aiming to rethink the use of the site located at 150 rue de Louvain Ouest, in Montreal. 

Are you a real estate professional? Do you have sustainable development ideas to improve our city? Constitute multidisciplinary teams made up of local and international real-estate professionals, including architects, promoters, environmental experts, innovators and artists, and submit a proposal to revitalize the site.

Submitting a project 

Teams must submit their expression of interest proposal by October 16, 2025. Proposals must be submitted on the Reinventing Cities website. 

Site specifications 

• A vacant site located at the corner of Rue de Louvain Ouest and Avenue de l’Esplanade, in the Chabanel district of Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.

• The site has a surface area of 45,000 square metres, with a width of approximately 241 metres and a depth of approximately 187 metres.

• The site is divided into 2 zones, each allowing for a building density of 4.5, meaning that a 4.5 m² floor area can be built per m² of land, with a maximum height of 55 metres and, at most, 15 storeys.

• The western portion, which represents approximately two-thirds of the site, allows for a mixed-use occupancy, including the following land use designations: housing, commercial, public, or institutional facilities, and institutional, as well as light industry.

• The eastern portion, making up about one third of the site, also allows for a similar mixed-use vocation, with the exception of housing, which is not permitted (this aspect is the main difference between the two zones.)

• The area is identified for transit-oriented development (TOD).

• A special planning program (SPP), as well as the Central district SPP (PPU District Central) provide the framework for the site’s development.

Information

Questions can be submitted exclusively on the Reinventing Cities website