CLC acquires Senneville Lodge property

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Canada Lands Company (CLC) announced earlier this week they have acquired the former Senneville Lodge property, a 60-acre greenspace located near Senneville Road, from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).

In 2005, the property was approved for sale to the CLC -- a crown corporation that purchases properties no longer needed by Government of Canada programs for resale – after it was declared a surplus to the government several years ago.

In 2003, a group spearheaded by former Lac St. Louis MP Clifford Lincoln that included Ste. Anne de Bellevue Mayor Bill Tierney, Senneville Mayor George McLeish, and other community activists and businesspeople, announced their plan for the property. They wanted to build 60 units of affordable seniors’ housing on the land, which is currently home to the municipally run Senneville Golf Club and is zoned for use as a golf course and institutional use.

“There will be discussions now between Senneville and CLC about the operating of the golf course,” said Maggie Michaudville, the acting communications and commemoration director at VAC’s Ste. Anne’s Hospital.

Constructed in 1946, the Senneville Lodge was home to about 300 veterans until its closure in 1990.

“We no longer used the property to deliver our services and programs, and that’s why the treasury board approved the disposal,” Michaudville said, adding she could not comment on what CLC had planned for the property.

Gordon McIvor, CLC’s vice president, public and government affairs, said the organization will work to come up with a project that meets the community’s vision.

“We will be working with the town and the local community to come up with a redevelopment plan,” he said, adding there will be public meetings regarding the project, but the first step is for CLC to sit down with Senneville’s planning department. “That’s traditionally how we proceed.”

One of the most well known CLC projects in Montreal is Benny Farm, which was redeveloped into a 530-unit affordable housing development. According to McIvor, Benny Farm found it self in the media very often, because there were about a dozen different proposals for the site.

“When we take over a property, there are usually many visions for it,” he said. “Our job is to build consensus.”

Senneville Mayor George McLeish did not return The Chronicle’s phone calls before press time, however, Ste. Anne de Bellevue Mayor Bill Tierney said the town will have some “soul searching” to do.

“It’s quite a large piece of land,” he said. “Its value will be determined by its use.”

Michaudville said VAC is happy with the recent development.

“Our department was ensured the disposal was conducted so that it took into consideration the best interests of the veterans and many stakeholder groups that have expressed concern,” she said.