Griffintown: A Local Broker's Top 7

01

The Horse Palace sign, an urban stable since 1862

History

1804, Mary Griffin, and 200 years on fast-forward

It was a woman, Mary Griffin, who had the neighbourhood's streets laid out in 1804, and generations of Irish workers who built it, from the canal to the Victoria Bridge. Two centuries later, the city's master plan targets some 16,000 homes: the story is still being written.

Ask me about it: ask me what is left of Irish Griffintown when you know where to look. The walking tour makes a good first date with the neighbourhood.

02

A Griffintown street with its modern condos

The future

The REM on the horizon

The Griffintown–Bernard-Landry station is confirmed and funded: on Dalhousie Street, two minutes from Central Station, with an opening expected at the earliest in 2030. In real estate, an announced station works in your favour years before the first train even runs.

Ask me about it: ask me what an announced REM station does to values BEFORE it even opens. Timing is everything.

03

Waterfront

The Peel Basin and Smith Promenade

The former "terminus of Montreal," the only stretch of the canal deep enough for ocean-going ships, restored by Parks Canada, with a view of Silo No. 5 and the Farine Five Roses sign. And Smith Promenade, half street, half park, born from a pan-Canadian design competition.

Ask me about it: ask me which condos have the real view of the Five Roses sign. That has become a selling point all on its own.

04

Living heritage

New City Gas

Built between 1859 and 1861 to light Montreal with gas, this brick giant now gets the whole city dancing: an event venue of more than 40,000 sq. ft., reopened in 2012, with its industrial heritage preserved. The spirit of the neighbourhood in a single building.

Ask me about it: ask me why reactivated heritage buildings push up the value of their whole block.

05

Culture

Arsenal contemporary art

80,000 sq. ft. of contemporary art in a former 1850s shipyard, right along the canal. And at the edge of the neighbourhood, Fonderie Darling adds its own touch. Griffintown has become a must-stop for art in Montreal.

Ask me about it: ask me why galleries choose former industrial neighbourhoods, and what that signals for values.

06

Griffintown, between industrial brick and modern towers

The dining scene

Nora Gray, Le Richmond, and company

Nora Gray, Le Richmond, Grinder, Bird Bar, Candide: the food scene moved into the old workshops, while Peel Street lined up with design boutiques. You can live here without ever crossing into downtown.

Ask me about it: ask me which Griffintown street is becoming the next destination. Commercial leases tell the story before the condos do.

07

Neighbourhood life

New parks and the memory of the Horse Palace

Parc du Bassin-à-Gravier (2016) gave the neighbourhood its first family park; Parc du Bassin-à-Bois is on its way, with a refrigerated skating rink. And two places of memory keep watch: Parc de l'Écurie-Horse Palace and the remains of the Irish St. Ann's Church. The neighbourhood does not forget where it came from.

Ask me about it: ask me why the arrival of parks is the real signal that a new neighbourhood is becoming a real one for good.

Griffintown

What makes Griffintown's heart beat.