Brief History of the Rockhill

45 Years of Prestige (1966-2011)

Designed by architects Webb, Zerafa, and Menkès during a period marked by Quebec's determined entry into modernity – the establishment of the Caisse de dépôt et de placement (1965), the opening of the Montreal Metro (1966), Terre des Hommes (1967), Habitat-67, Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine Tunnel Bridge (1967), Manic-5 (1968), RAMQ (1969), UQAM (1969) – the construction project for the Rockhill complex is completed just in time for Expo67.

The Rockhill apartment complex, in the eyes of its developers, aimed to be a response to suburban living, offering all conceivable services and innovations that contribute to comfort and quality of life. The architects sought to convey this main idea by consolidating various services in the basement – parking, shops, and a recreational center – to create an extensive communal space, notably free of vehicles. Therefore, the Rockhill evokes the large-scale European deck urbanism projects, a three-dimensional urban planning approach where various functions are organized on multiple levels, departing from the traditional two-dimensional planning.

City of Montreal

The complex stands on the mountainside in an enclave known as l'Entre-Mont, right in the heart of the Mount Royal Heritage Site, just a few minutes' walking distance from Remembrance road that crosses the Mountain, passing by Beaver Lake and the Smith house along the way.

It includes an interior terrace that "establishes, through its location and artificial character, an interesting connection between monumental nature, the mountain, and a pastoral landscape, the plain of the cemetery."

The large windows open the apartments to the daylight and the shimmering night. Tenants on the upper floors enjoy an unobstructed view towards the Saint Lawrence River, Rivière-des-Prairies, Saint Joseph's Oratory, or Mount Royal Cemetery: the windows encircle each of the six buildings in the complex.

Similar to Expo, people from all over the world live side by side in what the first owner describes as "A New Concept In Community Living." Nearby Jean-Brillant Park is a perfect place for families, adepts of outdoor sport, and music lovers.

The December 1968 edition of the ABC magazine – Architecture, Building, Construction – provides its assessment of the premises:

Caisse de dépôt et de placement (2011-2019)

Like all massive reinforced concrete constructions of that time, the buildings of the Rockhill complex have always needed a lot of care. From the first owner, Manucape Holdings Ltd, to the current owner, Minto Apartment LP, stewards of this heritage have come and gone, with varying degrees of success.

The most significant problems begin in 2011. The Manufacturers’ Life Insurance Co., incorporated since 1887 by parliamentary decree of the Dominion of Canada, sells the real estate complex to the "savings of Quebecers," the Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec.

Soon after, major renovations are undertaken, spanning five years (2013-2018).

The Caisse invested $20 million to restore the splendor of the premises. This initiative allowed Ivanhoe Cambridge to increase rents, resulting in a 17% rise between 2013 and 2018.

Martin Jolicoeur, La Caisse vend le Rockhill pour 268M$, Les Affaires, 10/05/2019

Tenants at that time paid a high price for these major renovations, both in terms of quality of life and rental costs. A few hundred of them contested the exorbitant increase in their rents during those five years. For the past 7 years, they have been waiting for a resolution of their case at the Administrative Housing Tribunal.

However, despite the hardships experienced by the tenants, the resources devoted by the Caisse to revitalize the Rockhill, in collaboration with various stakeholders concerned with this heritage site, have breathed new life into it:

[...] as Rockhill is part of a territory governed by regulations from the Ministry of Culture, the Sid Lee Architecture team had to follow several steps to obtain approval from all parties involved, which was made possible through close collaboration with various stakeholders.

La deuxième vie du Rockhill, Inno Magazine

Once the work was completed, the sale of Rockhill apartments to Ontario interests allowed the "nest egg of Quebecers" to obtain a substantial return on its investment, at the expense of the tenants' savings.

Minto Group (from 2019 to now)

At the end of 2019, the Ontario-based group Minto Apartment LP adds the Rockhill complex to its already well-stocked real estate portfolio. This marks the first in a series of acquisitions in Montreal. Like an increasing number of corporate players in the Montreal real estate market, Minto's mission is straightforward and the calculation proven: to achieve the best possible return for its shareholders by maximizing income and minimizing operating costs.

However, far from shareholder meetings and portfolio managers, in the real world, the results are overwhelming for the human beings living at Rockhill: accelerated deterioration of their living environment, nearly impossible communication with other human beings to address housing issues, and negligent management to the extent that serious concerns arise regarding the health and safety of residents.

J’ai l’impression de vivre dans un pays du tiers monde

Review by a tenant on the Rockhill's Google page, spring 2023

Is it necessarily contradictory to achieve a good return for Minto Group shareholders and, at the same time, to treat tenants with dignity, respecting their right to peaceful enjoyment of their apartment?

For the moment, the rights of tenants seem to be the least of the concerns for the Montreal administration, which, having lost sight that they are the main source of income for the Minto Group, adopts both a neglectful and confrontational attitude towards them.

Real people live here. They are entitled to expect the services owed to them.