New city on a runway

Bois-Franc, near Montreal, is marketed as a “new city.” That’s reveals not just its urban location and high density — but also the relatively positive Canadian attitude toward cities, compared to the U.S., where the word “city” is likely to provoke a negative response. When built, Bois-Franc will have 8,000 dwelling units on 496 acres, a gross density of 16 to 20 units/acre. Yet a large centrally located park built around a lake and 25 neighborhood greens provide plentiful and well-distributed open space. Fifteen minutes from downtown Montreal in the City of St. Laurent, Bois-Franc was formerly the site of an airport and aircraft parts manufacturing plant. Its history determined the site’s unique shape; a part of the main runway is preserved as a boulevard that bisects the linear, northwest neighborhood. Developer Bombardier, the Quebec-based manufacturer of high-speed trains, watercraft and Lear jets, acquired the site from Canadair, but only needed to retain 93 acres for industrial purposes. The company could have sold off the remainder of the valuable property (now the Bois-Franc site), but instead hired Daniel Arbour and Associates of Montreal to design a town. Infrastructure costs are projected to total $115 million — and construction costs will amount to a whopping $1.5 billion (Disney’s Celebration, by comparison, is estimated to be a $2.5 billion project). Savannah, Georgia, was the inspiration for the neighborhood squares, which, along with the lake, help to relieve the monotony of the flat, featureless site. The squares are similar in proportion (typically 120 by 240 feet) to Savannah’s smaller squares. The boulevards, avenues and much of the architecture, however, are more European in derivation. Under construction since October, 1993, Bois-Franc utilizes a variety of attached and multifamily dwellings, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, apartments and condominiums. Off-street parking is accommodated in private basement garages under many dwellings — which tucks garage doors out of sight, yet saves space which can then be used for yards or more dwellings. The garage basements lift the buildings up, contributing to their vertical proportions. Where possible, garages are accessed from front driveways. This parking strategy is different from most TNDs, which rely on rear-loading garages. Home prices in Bois-Franc are competitive in the Montreal market, with condominiums starting at about $70,000 U.S. (just under $100,000 Canadian). Most homes are between $105,000 U.S. and $140,000 U.S. The town center of the project includes about 100,000 square feet of neighborhood-scale retail, generally on the first floor of apartment buildings, planned for a later phase. The center will include medium and high-rise buildings, adding to the sense of urbanity. Overall, Bois-Franc is about 20 percent complete.