One-on-one with newly appointed Police Station 9 Commander Stéphane Desroches
Two months of Hydro-Québec work slated for Rembrandt Ave.

Sales of five buildings on Sir Walter Scott and Kildare Road raises concerns

Five residential apartment buildings in District 2 have been sold for more than $40 million.

The buildings implicated are 5755, 5765 and 5775 Sir Walter Scott and 6565 and 6575 Kildare Road. They were previously owned by the CLV Group.

For Côte Saint-Luc, the good news is that at a time when our finances have been adversely affected by a lack of home sales due to high interest rates, inflation, city of Montreal transfers and more, we will net $1.2 million in welcome taxes. However, tenants of the five buildings have sounded the alarm due to the mysterious nature of the new owners. The company listed is Immeubles Galleons S.E.C. It is unclear who actually heads this enterprise. One name kept coming up; a developer I have worked with in my day job. When I reached him he insisted that he was originally a prospective buyer. “I flipped the offer to another investor prior to closing,” he stated.

Kildare apartments
Some of the buildings on Sir Walter Scott Avenue.

A letter advising tenants of the change was not printed on any kind of letterhead and rather than being delivered to each door, it was merely posted on some of the walls in high traffic areas.

Two property managers, Mr. David and Mr. Avi, are listed. They actually work for the person who denies he is the real owner. “They are helping the new owners with his renovations after hours,” he told me.

I was able to connect with Avi, who is a constituent of mine. I recommended that letters be delivered to each door with clear instructions of how to pay the rent. They cannot assume everyone will respond to a flyer posted on wall minus any stationary.

Tenants fear that the new company will proceed with renovictions - the eviction of all of a building's tenants on the grounds that a large-scale renovation is planned. Having represented District 2 for 18 years now, I know for a fact that in each building there are tenants who called these places home for many years. So I was not surprised to start hearing from some of them soon after the posting of the new ownership occurred. They immediately fired out letters to City Hall, getting the attention of the mayor, council as well as our legal and building inspection departments. Deputy Mayor and Councillor Dida Berku was a tenants rights lawyer for 40 years and last fall she was instrumental in drafting our first ever renoviction bylaw. It emphasizes that prior to the issuance of a permit for major works that require evacuation, written documentation must be provided demonstrating that affected tenants have agreed, in writing, to either temporarily relocate or voluntarily vacate their dwellings during the work. Tenants who have agreed to temporarily relocate must have been presented with a clear expected timeline for their return. The contact information of each affected tenant must be provided.

Councillor Berku and I met with tenants last Thursday night. There were representatives from each building. They are being proactive, having already engaged a lawyer.

One tenant told me the new owners state no dogs are allowed in the building. As the councillor responsible for Animal Protection, I have been told of such edicts before. A dog (or cat) is truly a member of one’s family. Such a clause by a landlord can only be used for new tenants.

Clearly this is a developing story which we will continue to follow.

Comments

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Rick

Thank you Mr.Cohen for bringing this to light in your newsletter. I am a tenant living at one of these locations and would hate to have to leave both my apartment and Cote St Luc. It's truly sad that people's wellbeing and their right to a home they've inhabited for many years, in many cases with their beloved pet, are threatened by those who just want more wealth and to line their pockets using shady business practices. These 5 building are not warehouses for people, they are a community. Leave us alone to live in peace!

Anonymous

Can someone please kill zavriyev already???

Debra Fogel

Interesting. I am in a long term fight with the management of these buildings over the estate of my late aunt. I did receive a communication from someone who claimed to be "Mr. Avi" but no other identifying information was forthcoming and he hung up on me after refusing to hear my concerns. If you know this person, perhaps you could inform him of the laws governing rental housing in Quebec, as he clearly does not have a passing acquaintance with them.

Rhona Brenner Backler

I’m also the niece of my late Aunt, who lived on Sir Walter Scott for over 40 years.
Sadly she passed away June 2, 2023.The Family has been locked out since then, and we have not had the opportunity to clear out the apartment since June 10, 2023.They changed the locks and we don’t know why! We have been to Tal, and they say they never heard of such a thing, and so far they say they can’t do anything about it.Rent was paid automatically until The end of July 2023

Dan

It’s odd that you were told “They are helping the new owners with his renovations after hours,” when the notice that was posted in the elevators and high traffic areas indicates that Mr. David and Mr. Avi are the on-site managers and can be contacted during regular office hours, from Monday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

This flies in the face of what you were told.

With all due respect, Mr. Cohen, it appears that you are being lied to!

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