MONTREAL – Bell Canada, together with the Montreal property developers Canderel and Proment Corporation, announced Tuesday the start of Phase II construction of new Bell Canada headquarters on Nuns’ Island.
Plans call for the second phase to be ready for occupancy by February, 2009. Phase I, started in February this year, is slated to be ready for occupancy by September, 2008. Both phases will welcome approximately 4,000 Bell employees.
“This is the second phase of one of the largest private-sector developments in Montreal in over 30 years, which represents an investment of $250 million,” Canderel CEO Jonathan Wener said. “This project intelligently and sensitively develops one of the last major properties on the St. Lawrence waterfront, for the benefit of Bell’s employees, certainly, but for all Montrealers.”
For Bell CEO Michael Sabia, the project is a renewal of Bell’s commitment to Montreal, where the company broke ground on its Beaver Hall Hill headquarters exactly 80 years ago.
“This is also the flagship of a more innovative Bell – one that is capable of working more collaboratively, more cohesively and more rapidly. This new campus will provide our people with an inviting space, a catalyst for a more creative way of working. And it reflects in a tangible way the environmental values of our employees – and our company,” he said in a statement.
Located at the gateway to Montreal and just minutes from the downtown core, the project is being constructed in the vicinity of the Bonaventure Autoroute and the Champlain Bridge where approximately 130,000 vehicles pass daily. Bell’s headquarters will have outstanding visibility, spectacular views of the city and access to the St. Lawrence River.
“The realization of the Bell campus in Montreal clearly demonstrates the capacity of our city to mobilize its forces in order to spearhead major projects. It also confirms and reinforces our advanced status in the information technology and communications sectors,” said Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay.
As a proposed LEED-project, the buildings are designed to be environmentally sensitive, functional and ecologically friendly. LEED is the most rigorous international standard for environmental and sustainable development norms. This will be the first major Montreal office building to adopt a LEED approach to development, the company said.
