Quartier Concordia

Quartier Concordia has transformed the Sir George Williams Campus from a collection of scattered buildings into a welcoming and cohesive urban campus in the area bordered generally by Sherbrooke, Guy, René-Lévesque, and Bishop.

The goals of the Quartier Concordia project included improving the use of outdoor spaces, stimulating street life, and providing respite for the Concordia community and the public. The project optimizes vehicular and bicycle traffic as well as pedestrian flow, facilitates movement between campus buildings, and ensures the safe interaction of vehicles and pedestrians. Quartier Concordia also maintains a welcoming environment for the Concordia community and the public, highlights landmarks, improves the use of space, promotes the display of artwork and creates a distinct campus environment within the downtown core.

Groupe Cardinal Hardy (now called Lemay+CHA) won the urban design competition and is working with the City of Montreal, which is leading this project.

The first phase of the project began with construction of a two-way bicycle path on the south side of De Maisonneuve Boulevard that passes directly through the Quartier Concordia area. The path stretches between St-Hubert Street and Greene Avenue, linking downtown Montreal east and west. The spring/summer 2008 welcomed a new setup for Norman Bethune Square and traffic configuration for de Maisonneuve and Guy, as well as updated civic infrastructure and new outdoor furniture. The third phase is underway and includes the complete redesign of Bishop Street.