Real estate broker in the Sud-Ouest

Schools

The Centre de services scolaire de Montréal has eleven elementary schools in the borough, from Saint-Henri to Ville-Émard, and two high schools: Saint-Henri, with its music, outdoor, robotics and sports programs, and Honoré-Mercier. In English, the English Montreal School Board has St. Gabriel elementary school and James Lyng High School.

In Griffintown, the elementary school project is on hold: the school service centre remains in favour of it, but gives no restart date. If a school is driving your choice, check its territory before you make a promise to purchase.

Parks, recreation and culture

The Lachine Canal runs through the borough: a 13.5 km path, five locks, canoeing, kayaking and fishing. Farther west, Angrignon Park is 97 hectares, a lake, and in winter snowshoe and cross-country ski trails.

The borough has 120 parks and green spaces, four libraries, four indoor pools and three arenas, with free swimming and skating periods. In Griffintown, Bassin-à-Bois Park has a refrigerated skating rink. On the land freed up by the Turcot interchange, the City is preparing the Gadbois hub, with a wheeled-sports park and basketball courts, from 2026 to 2029 according to a preliminary schedule.

Getting around and shopping

Seven metro stations serve the borough, on the Green and Orange lines, including Lionel-Groulx, where the two meet. In Griffintown, the REM station is still a project, with no opening date: do not count on it for now.

Atwater Market, near the canal, is open year-round. The borough also has its commercial streets: Notre-Dame Street West, Centre Street, Wellington Street, Saint-Jacques Street and Monk Boulevard.

Before you buy here

Under the Sud-Ouest’s planning by-law, you cannot reduce the number of dwellings in a building of three or more units or, with exceptions, divide a dwelling, and the borough does not process any request to convert to divided co-ownership. If you plan to live in a unit that is already rented, know that, according to the Tribunal administratif du logement, undivided co-owners can repossess it only if there are two of them and they are spouses, and only once the sale is completed.

Near the canal and in former industrial sectors, ask what is known about the soil. The City keeps a list of contaminated lots, but it states that the list is not complete. Near a railway line or a highway, the by-law also sets noise limits for housing.

Changing a door or a window requires a permit, even if the size stays the same, and windows with a PVC exterior finish are prohibited. Check the building’s heritage status on the borough map before you price your renovations.

The area in a few facts

The Lachine Canal opened in 1825, and its five locks link Lac Saint-Louis to the Old Port. Its reopening to pleasure boating in 2002 transformed the neighbourhoods along it: Saint-Henri, Griffintown, Little Burgundy and Pointe-Saint-Charles, where industrial buildings were converted rather than torn down.

The borough also includes Ville-Émard and Côte-Saint-Paul, neighbourhoods of quiet, tree-lined residential streets. In Griffintown, the transformation of a former industrial area into a residential neighbourhood has been guided by a special planning program adopted in 2013.

In the 2021 census, apartments made up 91% of occupied homes, two thirds of them in duplexes or buildings under five storeys. Single-family houses were 8.6% of the housing stock, with the most in Pointe-Saint-Charles.

The Atwater Market opened in 1933 in an Art Deco building, and its terrace looks onto the canal. The borough’s four libraries are Saint-Henri, Georges-Vanier, Marie-Uguay and Saint-Charles.

The neighbourhood at a glance

Le Sud-Ouest is changing fast. Its population grew by 8% from 2016 to 2021, more than twice the Montréal pace, and close to one home in three was built since 2001. One home in three is also a condo, compared with 22% in Montréal.

The market changes from one neighbourhood to the next. Two-thirds of the homes in Little Burgundy are in high-rises, and 41% of its households own, the highest share in the borough. In Côte-Saint-Paul and Ville-Émard, more than 85% of homes are in a duplex or a building under five storeys. Saint-Henri has the highest share of young households: in one household in three, the person who pays most of the rent or mortgage is 25 to 34.

8%population growth from 2016 to 2021, compared with 3% in Montréal
30%of homes were built since 2001
34%of homes are condominiums

Source: 2021 census, borough of Le Sud-Ouest.

A few properties I have sold here

Frequently asked questions

Can I combine two units of a plex in the Sud-Ouest?

In a building of three or more units, and of two or more in some zones, the planning by-law prohibits reducing the number of dwellings. It also prohibits dividing a dwelling, with exceptions. Have your plan checked at the permit counter before the promise to purchase.

Can I repossess a unit in my plex to live in it?

Yes if you are the owner, following the process of the Tribunal administratif du logement, once the sale is completed. If several of you buy in undivided co-ownership, repossession is possible only if there are two of you and you are spouses. Some tenants aged 65 and over are protected.

Can I rent my home to tourists in the Sud-Ouest?

Your principal residence, yes, from June 10 to September 10, for 31 days or less in total, with a City permit to renew each year. A unit you do not live in, only in four commercial sectors of the borough. In a condo, the declaration of co-ownership or the syndicate must also allow it.

Does the REM stop in Griffintown?

Not yet. The Griffintown-Bernard-Landry station is a project: the REM mentions preparatory work, with no opening date.

How do I know if a lot is contaminated?

You can consult the City’s list and the Ministry of the Environment’s directory. The City warns that its list is not complete and that a lot not on it is not necessarily clean: only a specialized consultant can tell.

Your project in the Sud-Ouest

Saint-Henri, Little Burgundy, Pointe-Saint-Charles and Griffintown do not have the same buildings: recent condos in Griffintown, plexes and row houses in the older neighbourhoods.

For a condo, we read the co-ownership documents and fees together before you commit. For a plex, we look at the leases and the condition of the building.

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Useful links

Facts from the City of Montréal, Parks Canada, the STM, the REM, Marchés publics de Montréal, the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, the English Montreal School Board, the Tribunal administratif du logement and the 2021 census.

Le Sud-Ouest