Condo towers to go up around Montreal heritage building in the Plateau

Quebec and the City of Montreal have chosen a developer to transform the long-vacant former home of the Montreal Institute for the Deaf and Mute into housing.

Quebec and the City of Montreal have chosen a developer to transform the long-vacant former home of the Montreal Institute for Deaf-Mute Girls into housing.

The massive heritage building that sits between Berri and Saint-Denis streets, between Cherrier and Roy streets in the Plateau, has been sitting empty for a decade, and the province asked developers to come up with ideas for what to do with the space.

Residia will preserve the original building and surround it with towers of up to 25 storeys high.

“I wanted this process to mobilize all partners around a common vision: to meet urgent housing needs while promoting inclusive, sustainable and heritage-friendly urban development,” said Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau. “This is concrete proof of what can be achieved when we bring together local forces around a common vision to increase the supply of non-profit housing.”

When finished, the site will have more than 800 residential units, several of which will be reserved for low-income housing.

“It’s a very intelligent project and an ambitious project because we have different challenges,” said Projet Montreal leader Luc Rabouin. “We want to preserve this heritage building, that is a challenge in itself, but we also want to develop housing for low-income people, social housing ... To be able to conjugate these challenges, we need to offer density.”

A public consultation will follow, and development is set to begin in spring 2026.

“The proposals received were evaluated according to criteria that are important to Montrealers and our government, including the integration of housing, the enhancement of built heritage and harmonization with the existing urban fabric,” said Quebec Infrastructure Minister Jonatan Julien.

The institute was relocated to the Berri Street location in 1864 and operated until it was shut down in 1975.

It was then home to the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de Montréal from 1979 to 2015.