A pioneering project in the heart of Montreal

Located at 1245 Sherbrooke Street West, at the corner of De la Montagne Street, Le Samuel breathes new life into the Golden Square Mile.

This landmark 22-storey tower, built in 1962 to house the head office of the Standard Life Assurance Company, enjoys a prime location just steps from Mount Royal Park, McGill and Concordia universities, and the Bell Centre.

After standing empty for seven years, the building's distinctive pink granite facade was meticulously preserved, making it the very first downtown Montreal office tower to be converted to residential use.

Technical and financial profile of the conversion

The building was acquired in June 2023 by the Armoyan Group, a Halifax family whose spokesperson is George Armoyan Jr., from Manulife, for a sale price of $53 million.

According to the developer, the cost of the conversion is comparable to that of a new build. The project schedule was met: interior demolition began in September 2023, the full permit was obtained in February 2024, and the first move-ins took place in September 2025.

The project is now delivered and occupied, and open houses are still being held in October 2026.

The residential offering and amenities

Le Samuel offers 211 generously sized rental homes, ranging from 596 to 1,384 square feet, in configurations from studios to three-bedroom units.

Since municipal regulations did not allow balconies to be added, the interior space was maximized with 9-foot ceilings and windows redesigned to open within the granite facade. Rental management is handled by Armco through lesamuel.ca, with a fully all-inclusive formula (six appliances, electricity, high-speed internet and window coverings).

Pricing starts at $1,755 per month for a studio, $2,375 for one bedroom, $3,000 for two bedrooms, $5,000 for three bedrooms, and $8,500 for the penthouses. An incentive offering one free month and a fixed rent applies to any 24-month lease.

The building features distinctive common areas, including a landscaped terrace, a coworking space, a fitness centre, a yoga studio with a Himalayan salt wall, and a private spa with a Finnish sauna, a hot tub and a cold plunge pool.

Socio-economic impact and outlook

Rehabilitating this vacant building into a living environment of 211 households directly supports smart densification and a livelier social fabric downtown. In the second quarter of 2026, downtown office availability stood at 16.8%, according to JLL, and Avison Young has already identified some twenty Montreal buildings that could undergo similar conversions.

Le Samuel's success demonstrates that transforming outdated corporate real estate into housing is a viable solution. This model of integration proves that existing built heritage can be adapted to build a more resilient metropolis, promising a downtown that is ever more vibrant and inhabited for generations to com