If all goes according to plan, Montreal’s former Blue Bonnets racetrack site will contain 20,000 homes in the future.

The City of Montreal has unveiled a new master plan for the area. The area will be known as Namur-Hippodrome and house up to 40,000 people, says the city. Many of the homes are expected to be multi-family rental buildings.

“Namur-Hippodrome is a city within a city,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante at a news conference. “It’s the equivalent of building a city like Boucherville [or] Rouyn-Noranda within Montreal.”

The city, province and federal government have each pledged to $2 million to advance the project’s plans.

A new streetcar line is slated to be developed along Jean Talon Street in conjunction with the community. Many of the residences will be intended for social and community housing, and will be affordable and family-friendly, according to a city description of the development.

Plante indicated that about 50% of the housing units will be available at below-market rates but did not provide further details. A news release says 10,000 of the homes will be “sheltered from speculation.”

The former horseracing venue is also slated to contain retail stores and other businesses, along with schools, community centre, library, sports facilities, healthcare facilities. And, 14 hectares of parks and public squares will be included.

The city acquired the land from the Quebec government in 2017, and planning efforts have been in the works for years. Public consultation on the master plan is scheduled for May.