The City of Quebec is moving forward in its consideration of the redevelopment of the northeast sector of ExpoCité. After months of consultation, the Marchand administration affirms that the choices envisaged for the future of the site are “tightening” and that its vision is becoming clearer.
The result of a citizen consultation process and the involvement of experts, the City rejects the option of creating a new residential living environment. Quebec instead falls back on the two other options submitted to the community, namely the consolidation of the event site or the creation of a mixed site including housing and an event vocation.
But in both cases, the fate of the Colosseum is “not at all decided”, shared in an interview with Soleil the municipal councilor president of ExpoCité, Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc.
“The consultations did not provide a clear idea of what could happen to the Colosseum. It was not cut with a knife, it was very shared,” she reports on the comments received from the population.
The Marchand administration has never hidden its preference for the disappearance of the old amphitheater with 15,000 seats, unused since 2015.
However, Ms. Coulombe-Leduc recognizes that the public still maintains a “certain attachment” to the Coliseum.
This desire to keep it standing was also reflected in the results of a survey carried out by the firm SOM on behalf of Le Soleil, last March. No less than 65% of respondents to the survey said they did not want to see it disappear from the Quebec landscape.
“We have eliminated scenarios, but there are still some to eliminate,” expresses the municipal representative from Mayor Bruno Marchand’s team.
Between now and the holidays, the two options still in the pipeline will be submitted to the Quebec City Planning and Conservation Commission (CUCQ). It is she who will ultimately decide on the future of the Colosseum. Citizens will be informed of the conclusions of the analysis once it is completed.
“We would like, by the end of the mandate, to be fixed on a clear scenario. Let us move on and be in production mode, rather than endlessly thinking,” shares Mélissa Coulombe-Leduc.
