Les Forges de Montréal, established since 2000 in the former Riverside pumping station, will become owners of the heritage building located in the Bridge-Bonaventure sector, which will enable them to launch their expansion project shortly.
It is an agreement with the City of Montreal, owner of the building, and the Canada Lands Company (CLC), owner of the land, which allows the non-profit organization to ensure the continuation of its activities in this place. preservation and transmission of know-how related to the forging trades. The assets were sold to him for the symbolic sum of one dollar.
“When we arrived here, it was an abandoned, poorly maintained place that no one wanted, but its high ceilings, solid stone and brick structure, were ideal for hosting the forges project. We don’t bother anyone, since we’re in an industrial sector,” says Mathieu Collette, founding blacksmith and workshop manager of Les Forges de Montréal.
Now that the place belongs to them, the Forges de Montréal will be able to move forward with their expansion project, to redevelop the reception of the museum, the workshop school and the Traditional Forge Heritage Space.
The organization is committed to renovating the building for an amount of 3 million, while respecting its heritage character.
The City, for its part, will redevelop Riverside Street to move it away from the pumping station and allow for the expansion.
The mayor of the Sud-Ouest borough, Benoit Dorais, points out that these renovations will help to showcase the Pointe-du-Moulin sector, which brings together various artisans, such as a glassblowing workshop and another where we build organs.