Head office | CN plans to move to Victoria Square

The Canadian National rail carrier plans to move its head office not far from Victoria Square in downtown Montreal, we have learned The Press.

Established at 935, rue De La Gauchetière Ouest since 1961, the Canadian National Railway Company (CN), which employs 2,800 people in Montreal, has its eyes turned towards the floors of 600, De La Gauchetière Ouest, according to multiple sources from the real estate industry.

600 is the former head office of the National Bank that the financial institution abandoned with the opening of the brand new National Bank tower on Robert-Bourassa Avenue. Designed by the architectural firm David, Bouvla, Cleve in 1983, 600 forms with the neighboring building, previously 700, De La Gauchetière, a distinctive ensemble in downtown Montreal with its aluminum cladding. 700 is now called 1001, avenue Robert-Bourassa.

The 600 building has belonged to the Kevric company and the manager of the PSP federal civil servants’ pension fund since 2019. They bought it from the National Bank. Kevric is the manager of Place Bonaventure. Reached by telephone, its president Richard Hylands refused to comment on our information.

Asked to react, CN also refrained from any comment.

You should know that CN has no longer owned the premises of its head office since 2007, when Homburg, which later became Canmarc, acquired it in a sale-leaseback type transaction. The CN building subsequently ended up in Cominar’s portfolio in 2012 when the latter purchased Canmarc.

Founded by Jules Dallaire of Quebec, Cominar was a publicly traded real estate investment trust before being privatized in 2022. An email sent to Cominar was not immediately responded to.

What purpose for the CN building?

Cominar has been working on a densification project for its Central Station property for years. One of the ideas was to build a residential tower above the Salle des Pas Perdus, neighboring a shopping mall which extends over nearly 8,400 square meters.

According to the opinion of an expert who does not want to be identified so as not to harm his business, the 58,200 square meter office building, once deserted by CN, would become a logical candidate for conversion for use residential.

As for CN’s new home, we do not know the surface area under lease, but the trend is towards a reduction in the surface area occupied by the occupants. Already, following the pandemic, CN had sublet six floors with an area of ​​13,185 square meters in 2022. Some offices have since found takers.