A Rooftop Vegetable Garden:

Montreal continues to innovate in sustainable urban development, and the recent launch of the "Au sommet du courant" community garden on the rooftop of the Esplanade Cartier building is a shining example.

Located in the majestic shadow of the Jacques Cartier Bridge, in the Ville-Marie borough, this innovative project is the first rooftop community garden in the metropolis to be accessible to the general public, not just residents of the building.

Addressing a Crucial Need: Urban Agriculture and Food Insecurity

Space scarcity is a constant challenge for urban agriculture in Montreal. In boroughs like Ville-Marie, the waiting list for a community garden plot can span five to seven years.

 "Au sommet du courant" offers a creative solution to this shortage, while targeting a pressing social need.

The Centre-Sud district, where Esplanade Cartier is located, has been identified as a "food desert" by David Deschênes, Senior Director of Development at Prével, the real estate developer behind the project, in partnership with TGTA.

The garden directly aims to combat food insecurity and improve residents' quality of life.

An Exemplary Public-Private Partnership

This ambitious project is the result of a successful collaboration between the private sector and public entities.

 The Prével group, with its partner TGTA, initiated the development of Esplanade Cartier, a six-phase complex comprising condos, rental housing, offices, shops, and premises for community organizations.

The financial investment is distributed as follows:

• Prével: Injected $250,000 into the garden project.

• City of Montreal: Contributed $75,000.

• Federal Government: Provided $275,000 through the Canadian Healthy Communities Initiative.

• Additionally, Prével and TGTA lease the space to AU/LAB (Laboratoire sur l'agriculture urbaine), which advises the borough on the program, for the symbolic sum of one dollar.

These figures demonstrate a significant collective commitment to this type of initiative. Jean-Philippe Vermette, AU/LAB's Director of Public Interventions and Policies, even suggests that implementing rooftop gardens could prove less expensive than acquiring and decontaminating land at ground level.

An Inclusive and Generous Garden

The "Au sommet du courant" vegetable garden features 65 gardening plots, 5 of which are specially equipped with raised beds for people with reduced mobility, ensuring universal accessibility. Access to the plots is managed via a waiting list by the Ville-Marie borough, ensuring the garden serves the wider community.

Some plots have also been allocated to essential local organizations: the Y des femmes, which has offices in the building, and Carrefour solidaire, which uses the harvests to supply its neighborhood grocery store. According to Albane Marret from AU/LAB, this is the largest community garden in the Ville-Marie borough.

Challenges and Solutions:

Rooftop gardening presents unique challenges.

With only 30 centimeters of soil, certain deep-rooted species are excluded, but most popular vegetables like tomatoes, squash, beans, melons, and kale thrive.

The exposed environment (full sun, intense wind) poses dehydration challenges, as noted by Frank Delage, a member of the gardeners' committee. "You have to learn. Gardening on a roof is not like gardening in the ground," he explains, emphasizing the need to amend the soil and water more frequently.

Solutions are under consideration, such as installing automatic irrigation systems and noise barriers to mitigate building ventilation noise, thereby improving the tranquility of the space.

 However, gardeners already appreciate the absence of rodents and the rarity of weeds, which are significant advantages.

For the developers, the major challenge was opening a private building for public use, involving structural adjustments and additional costs. Sophie Laverdure, Project Director at TGTA, also highlights the importance of reassuring building occupants regarding security.

Impacts and Future Prospects

This garden is not just a space for cultivation; it is a living laboratory of "living together" and eco-responsibility.

 It contributes to the City of Montreal's ambitious goals to increase its cultivated area from 120 to 160 hectares by 2026, as stipulated in its 2021-2026 Urban Agriculture Strategy. Initiatives like "Au sommet du courant" are essential to achieve, and even surpass, these targets.

AU/LAB's proposal to include such projects in developers' contributions for parks or in the calculation of stormwater retention basins is a promising idea to further encourage this type of development. "Essentially, we've created a park here!" concludes Jean-Philippe Vermette.

The "Au sommet du courant" garden at Esplanade Cartier is an inspiring model. It proves that with vision, collaboration, and ingenuity, it is possible to create productive and inclusive green spaces in the heart of our cities, thus contributing to a more resilient, sustainable Montreal where the happiness index continues to be high.