According to the Atelier’s Saint-Louis Safeguard Committee, the project of transforming the place into a Blue Space and installing permanent exhibitions there about Jules A. Brillant and logging is dead. Committee members did not want to give us an interview on the subject, but say %”,”text”:”certains à 100%”}}”>about 100%
that the project does not turn into anything.
Although less categorical, Rimouski Mayor Guy Caron has similar information.
What I heard behind the scenes at ministerial level, for example, was that the idea was interesting, but that the chances of success were not very high given the criteria that had to be met at program level.
, he said. Mayor Caron himself does not support the project as he believes it is unlikely to happen. However, he had been supported by the former mayor, Marc Parent.
Last week, the city of Rimouski announced that they were interested in acquiring the building for a dollar and renovating it had until September 30, 2022 to do so. Then demolition can be considered.
” I really hope we get a rehabilitation project. […] You can not have anything imaginary, not realistic. We want a viable project. »
If there is rehabilitation, the selected project must take into account not only the cost of repair, but the future maintenance of the building, the mayor specifies. In one of the health records published in February, work of at least $ 1.2 million was reported, only for the exterior structure of the building. The consultant Luc Babin had stipulated this, by the waythere is[vait] no economic benefit from keeping it
.
CISSS is still interested
The Bas-Saint-Laurent Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS), which had raised the idea of buying the land where Ateliers Saint-Louis is located, is still interested. Its proximity to Rimouski Hospital offers interesting opportunities for the organization, which is currently refusing to disclose the projects planned at this site.
that CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent still has a great interest in this country. We have also reiterated our interest in the city
, says his spokesman, Gilles Turmel. If CISSS get their fingers in Ateliers Saint-Louis, however, they will be torn down.
The Committee for the Protection of Ateliers Saint-Louis, for its part, says it is already working on other options, but believes it is too early to reveal them now.
No official rejection from Quebec
However, the Espace bleu project is not officially ruled out, the Ministry of Culture informs, which responds to us in a laconic email that Ateliers Saint-Louis has not been rejected
and analyzes are underway
.
In the interview at Same frequency last week, however, the chairman of the Société rimouskoise du patrimoine (SRP) also confirmed that the project had been set aside. That was what we understood
said Marielle Esclapez.
Ateliers Saint-Louis and Cégep de Rimouski were both built in the 1920s by the same architect, Pierre Lévesque, from Quebec. Both buildings are seen here in 1929.
Photo: Author unknown / Collection: Archives of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart / Rimouskoise Heritage Society
Blue space or not, she considers it necessary to invest public funds to save the building.
” It really is a collective project. You may need to have your fingers in the community wallet. […] The municipality and the governments are the ones who can set aside the necessary amounts to support, whether it is citizens, an organization, a company, to preserve the building. »
Rimouski member Harold LeBel, for his part, said he had no indication that the Espace bleu project had been rejected. However, he assesses that it is not bad to set a deadline for this case, as the municipality has done.
At some point you have to draw a line, the City did and that’s fine
he said.
Until 30 September, it is therefore still possible to save the century-old building. It’s left to see if one viable project
could be identified and presented, which has not occurred after six years of procedures.