Canada Malting Co. Limited

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Location

Montréal, Quebec

Why it matters

The long-abandoned Canada Malting Ltd. Site, located in the historically working-class neighbourhood of Saint-Henri, is one of the Lachine Canal National Historic Site of Canada’s most prominent landmarks, and one of the rapidly gentrifying canal’s last undeveloped industrial properties. Built in 1905, the Canada Malting Co. Ltd plant was the largest malting facility in Canada by the mid-20^th century and the second largest in North America, processing barley into malt largely for the brewing industry. The vast site encompasses multiple structures built over seven decades with the dominant features being the 5-storey brick malthouse and offices, eleven 37-metre-high cylindrical terracotta clay silos from the 1920s (the last of their kind in Canada), and 18 concrete silos dating to 1930. In 1961, the malthouse was decommissioned, and in 1980, Canada Malting Ltd. completely abandoned the site, which rapidly succumbed to vandalism.

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Why it’s endangered

In 2012, the City of Montreal officially recognized the heritage value of the property. Over the past decade, a series of residential developments have been proposed, with community groups like Solidarité St-Henri and “À nous la Malting” (Malting is Ours) calling for predominantly social housing and rehabilitating the historic structures on the vast site. Currently caught up in a long-running court case over ownership, the former industrial plant represents a tremendous opportunity to simultaneously revive one of Montreal’s industrial icons and address the city’s housing crisis. After 40 years of abandonment, however, time is running out for these high-profile and deteriorating historic structures.

This article is also available in French.

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