The Montoni Group has broken ground on a new $150-million cultural centre in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Que.

The four-storey complex will include a library, auditorium, art gallery, dance studio, event spaces and accommodation for artists as part of an artist-in-residence program.

Quebec’s ministries of culture ($44 million) and environment ($6 million) are investing $6 million.

The development site is located in downtown Laval near Montoni’s Espace Montmorency, where the project was unveiled. Local architecture firms Atelier TAG and NEUF are designing the 258,000-square-foot project, which is slated to open in 2027.

“We are honoured to be able to contribute to our city’s growth and vitality with this ambitious and forward-looking project for our community,” said Dario Montoni, the Laval-based company’s president, in a news release.

“The architectural genius behind the site and the technological innovations in energy efficiency make it a model of sustainable development and design of public infrastructure.”

The building is targeting LEED Gold certification. Sustainable features will include a sponge park, which is green infrastructure designed to manage rainwater effectively, replenish the water table and preserve biodiversity.

Montoni said the project will also include advanced electromechanical features for energy efficiency, such as photovoltaic (solar-energy) curtain walls with air pre-heating and a geothermal well.

The building will also contain a public green rooftop terrace intended to “help combat heat islands, improve water management, support biodiversity, capture atmospheric pollutants and enhance the site’s overall energy efficiency,” said Montoni in the news release.

Montoni develops, builds and manages diverse real estate projects. The company has completed about 5.2 million square feet of LEED-certified buildings and has another 7 msf of LEED-targeted projects under construction.