The City of Mont-Saint-Hilaire refused to grant management of the Rouville-Campbell mansion to a group chaired by well-known Quebec businessman Jacques Tanguay due to a potential conflict of interest.
This is what hotelier Alain April, partner of Jacques Tanguay, revealed in an interview with our Bureau of Investigation.
“Our proposal was accepted, but they found that we could have been in a certain conflict of interest, so they asked that we withdraw our proposal, that’s what happened,” he said. -he said.
The manager explained that his group had as a partner a person who served on the City’s committee of elders regarding the mansion, before retiring along the way. These links had nevertheless been declared, he insisted.
Photo JEAN-FRANÇOIS CLOUTIER
Despite the City’s decision, the manager indicated that he contacted the mayor to indicate that he was still interested in the project to operate the Rouville-Campbell mansion as a hotel.
“We had an acknowledgment of receipt, but no news on the progress of the file,” he explained.
Alain April indicated that in his opinion, the longer the City takes to connect with the mansion, the more its value risks falling. “It’s sad to see the mansion is unoccupied. A thing that does not live wears out more quickly,” he said.
Château Bonne Entente
The group of Jacques Tanguay and Alain April already owns the Château Bonne Entente in Quebec, a luxury hotel located in a residential area of Sainte-Foy.
“These are products that are similar,” judged the hotelier. He also pointed out that the group had had the management contract for the Imbeau family mansion in recent years, before they donated it to the City.
The other candidacy is that of the group of a former Montreal lawyer, Louis Lspérance, who launched into the hotel business in 2020 and who specializes in heritage mansions.
In an interview, the latter indicated that he had the support of former star hockey player and senator Serge Savard in this project.
“I don’t know why it didn’t work,” he said.
At press time, the City had not commented on the two groups interested in managing the mansion.
