"The Griffintown development will silence its critics"

Of course it will, no one will be living there that cares anymore...

Bland, isn't it?

Btw, the original story from the Montreal Gazette has a terrible punish headline "Griffintown naysayers arrive by horse".

Such wit.

It's not every day a protest group arrives by horse and buggy to make a statement.

But the Committee to Save Griffintown said last night that horses symbolize the unique character of the neighbourhood they're trying to preserve. For that reason, five group members came in a horse-drawn carriage for the first of four nights of public briefs on a planned redevelopment of the area at the foot of Peel St. between downtown and the Lachine Canal. They were one of several groups that presented briefs or made comments last night to the Southwest borough council at the École de Technologie Supérieure engineering school, at Peel St. at the corner of Notre Dame St. W.

"Griffintown is the place where horses built Montreal," group spokesperson Chris Gobeil said. "This is where many horses live. The proposed project would get rid of all those stables."

The firm Devimco has proposed to redevelop 10.2 hectares of the neighbourhood into a mix of residential and commercial units. The project could start as early as this year and Devimco plans to complete construction over 10 years.

In its brief to the council, Gobeil's group took issue with the development, specifically the plan to built large high-rises, saying the scale of the development is way too large. That point was echoed by several groups, including Pro Point, which represents residents of Point St. Charles who are experts in urban design and architecture.

"The density is way too high, when you can get that same density, as in the Plateau Mont Royal, with three or four storeys," said Juliette Patterson, the group's spokesperson.

However, well-known architect Claude Provencher, disagreed.

Provencher, who designed the World Trade Centre in Victoria Square, told the council that people also said Montreal's Quartier International would be a failure, but they were proved to be wrong. Like the Quartier International, he said the Griffintown development will also silence its critics.

The process will continue tonight at ETS starting at 7 p.m. Additional sessions will be held Thursday from 3 to at 10:30 p.m. and Friday from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at the Georges Vanier building in Little Burgundy at 2450 Workman St. at the corner of Vinet St.