Several important projects will be completed in 2008

One of the major projects is the expansion of the elementary school. It consists of re-arranging twelve classes, the addition of multi-purpose rooms, a double gymnasium and a school library. All the equipment to be installed will have a community orientation and will be thus accessible to all residents. In the next few weeks, definite plans will be introduced and will call for the involvement of the Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Board, the Minister of Education and Verdun Borough. It will be necessary to put in twice the work to meet all scheduled deadlines, since students will have to be accommodated in the new premises as of September. This project will not only make it possible to fill the ratio of the seat/student requirement; it will also increase the number of facilities to be offered to students and to the public.

Alongside the Bell-Canderal project, it will be interesting to note the measures taken by the Montreal Transport Commission to facilitate the commuting of thousands of people. Public transportation resources are already judged to be insufficient by several users in L'Île-des-Sœurs; one wonders what kind of impact this additional volume will have on the entire network. It should however be considered that the new workers will arrive in the island at an hour when thousands of others are leaving it; at the end of the day, the situation will be reversed.

The establishment of Bell’s head office will however have a positive impact on road traffic. This important investment has encouraged the City of Montreal to advance plans for re-structuring the layout for the entry and exit points in L'Île-des-Sœurs. That surely won’t be a luxury, given that during the last few months, it has been observed that the slightest incident during rush hour could severely affect traffic.

As was the case during the last years, the plans are that a few hundred housing units being constructed will have to usher in new residents in the southern tip in 2008. Phase I of the Vistal tower is about to be completed while the Symphonia project continues to take shape near the site of the future golf course.

People should also expect Proment to be announcing its plan for a residential project on the northern point in 2008. Various scenarios were considered by the experts engaged by Samuel Gewurz for his ultimate project in L'Île-des-Sœurs and the words “prestige” and “environment” are focus points in his plan. One might ask as well how important the commercial sector will be in the context of this new project. One discussion which took place on several occasions was the possibility of including a hotel complex there and it is an option which is even more promising especially with the establishment of Bell’s head office in the same area.