Abandoned since 2009, Hippodrome de Montreal is one step closer to the wrecking ball
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The Quebec government, whose racing agency SONACC has owned the property since 1997, announced Friday it will cede it to the City of Montreal to develop as it sees fit.
In return, it will get half the profits when the city starts selling off the 44-hectare property, but that won't happen before 2017 to allow for elaboration of a master plan for the sprawling site, capable of accommodating as many as 8,000 housing units.
"We want to develop one of the most attractive neighbourhoods in North America," Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay said.
The property near the downtown core hosted horse racing for just over a century. It went dark when Attractions Hippiques, the private company chosen by the government to manage Quebec's four harness tracks, got into financial difficulty and ultimately went bankrupt.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Paul Delean)
A sickening waste. There is
A sickening waste. There is nothing attractive about more condos on the grave of harness racing history. If there was ever a case where a benevolent investor was needed to perform some Jeff Gural-style magic in Canada, this is it. I don't understand the apparent lack of interest in efforts to revive Hippodrome de Montreal as a racing venue.