Helene de Champlain to become high-end reception hall

CTV Montreal: $10M for restaurant renos The cost to renovate Helene de Champlain restaurant is ballooning

The city of Montreal is planning to spend millions of dollars renovating a restaurant in Jean Drapeau Park in hopes of creating a successful reception hall.

The Helene de Champlain building was constructed in 1937 and turned into a restaurant in the 1950s.

Pierre Marcotte ran the establishment for 27 years until his lease ran out on Dec. 31, 2009.

During his stewardship large rooms were frequently booked for weddings and private parties, including a lower room that opened directly into the rear garden.

In the years since Marcotte's lease ended, $16 million has been spent renovating the building to replace exterior windows and doors and remove asbestos.

The project took years longer than expected and even though work was completed in 2015, the building has sat unoccupied ever since.

Marcotte said one of his main problems running the establishment was because restaurant patrons found it difficult to get to the building, even though it is less than a 15-minute drive from downtown Montreal,.

Now the Jean Drapeau Park Society wants to spend two more years and $10 million on turning the building into a high-end reception hall.

Daniele Henkel, chair of the Park's board of directors, said the plan makes fiscal sense.

"What we want to do is what we know how to do. We rent rooms at Parc Jean Drapeau. We're fully booked until the beginning of 2019, so we need room," said Henkel.

"We want to do private events. We want to do corporate events. We want to bring in companies from the international to sit in the park and live a different experience."

She said the Society is also in talks with the STM and the Casino to improve accessibility.

The plan is to create four separate rooms with seating for 800, or room for 1,500 in a cocktail setting.

Henkel said the cost is reasonable to renovate 50,000 square feet, and studies show the reception hall would be able to cover its operating costs in its first year of operation.

Opposition councillor Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde said it was unacceptable that Montreal would invest in a building designed for the elite.

"We think it is unacceptable that all the taxpayers, and by all we mean low and middle, that will pay for a reception hall that they will never be able to go," said Lavigne-Lalonde.

During the 2013 election campaign Mayor Denis Coderre promised to turn the building into a cultural venue "and he's doing the exact opposite," said Lavigne-Lalonde.

Henkel said the building would remain open to all, even with the reception hall in place.

"It is accessible to the public. It is theirs. They can come anytime they want," said Henkel.

She added the remaining space in the building, about two-thirds of the total space, would become a museum and could include a smaller restaurant.