A major redevelopment of the former Molson Brewery lands in Montreal could add up to 1,000 additional housing units under new municipal planning rules, La Presse reported.

Developer Groupe Montoni is seeking approval to increase the scale of its planned project on the former Molson brewery site following changes to the city’s urban planning framework that allow taller and denser buildings in the downtown core. The adjustment could add roughly 600,000 square feet of residential space—equivalent to about 1,000 units—to the proposed development.

The Ville-Marie’s urban planning advisory committee recently gave a favourable opinion on raising the future towers on the eight-block site, according to La Presse. But the committee wants a “gradation” of the heights to be respected up to the centre of the site to be respected, where the Molson emblem will stand with the future Sohmer park at its base.

Originally unveiled in December 2024, the project envisioned about 5,000 homes across multiple towers, including a 100-metre building featuring the iconic red Molson sign visible from the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Recent amendments to Montreal’s Plan d’urbanisme et de mobilité 2050 (PUM) could allow that tower to rise to 120 metres, according to La Presse.

Montoni requested permission to increase the height of several towers across the site. Under the revised concept, one tower initially planned at 65 metres could reach 85 metres, while another along Notre-Dame Street East could grow by as much as 45 metres, La Presse reported.

Frédérick Truchon-Gagnon, Montoni’s public affairs and communications director, told La Presse that the committee’s favourable opinion is “good news for Montreal, and PUM reflects a planning framework that enables ambitious projects with more open ground space, public areas and large parks.

“If we really want to increase density in the right places, Ville-Marie is one of them,” Isabelle Melançon, CEO of UDI Quebec, told La Presse. 

The Molson lands project must still clear several municipal steps, including a public consultation scheduled for March 25. Before obtaining building permits, Montoni will also need to negotiate with the city over the share of social and affordable housing required under Montreal’s inclusionary zoning rules, according to La Presse.

New Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s administration is reviewing the regulation covering social and affordable-housing quotas in a mixed metropolis. She had pledged during last fall’s election campaign to abolish it. The framework was originally introduced under former mayor Valérie Plante.

Demolition of the site’s remaining industrial warehouses has recently been completed, though construction has not yet begun. Montoni previously estimated the full buildout of the new neighbourhood would take seven to 10 years.

Montoni is partner on the redevelopment project with the Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ. The Fonds, Montoni and Groupe Sélection acquired the site together after acquiring from Molson Coors Canada in 2019 for $126 million. Groupe Sélection later withdrew from the project.

Such features as the Molson tower, chimney stack, clock and lighted sign are to be enhanced, becoming key neighbourhood landmarks.

The companies said previously that the project is designed to be a model for the future of sustainable real estate development, targeting both LEED and Zero-Carbon Building certification, and will use advanced energy-efficiency technology, including, potentially, an energy loop system currently under study.

Photo: © Adrien Sallandrouze Photographe, distributed by, and republished with the permission of CNW Group/Montoni/Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ.