The former retirement home Herron is sold. The transaction brings 11 million to the former owners of the Dorval establishment, where 47 people died during the first wave of COVID-19.
Posted at 7:00 am
The Chowieri family, who owned the home during the slaughter, had previously sold two other troubled residences they had operated in Sorel-Tracy last September. In less than a year, she raised a total of $32.5 million through the sale of three properties.
The Chowieri did not respond to calls from The press.
PHOTO BY TWITTER
The family of Samir Chowieri, founder of the Katasa Group, received 32.5 million by reselling three problem apartments for less than a year.
Patrice Bourbonnais leads the buyers’ group. However, as CEO of Groupe Petra, he is not acting on behalf of this Borsellino-Saputo family company, which owns several skyscrapers in downtown Montreal. Rather, it’s Les Logements urbains, a small investment fund set up with colleagues and friends who got their hands on the former CHSLD.
The fund works with Laurence Moretti and Jean-Charles Goyeche, owners of the Rebel Hotels chain. The company owns apartment buildings with common areas in the region.
Second life after the slaughter
The group of investors is not deterred by the building’s gloomy reputation.
“We are very affected by the situation that has taken place. People are all affected by this tragedy, says Patrice Bourbonnais. However, I think the site deserves a second life. We will be doing major renovations both outside and inside; we will do it again. »
He believes this will allow Les Logements urbains and Rebel Hotels to meet some of the significant demand for apartments and rooms in Dorval.
The renovated building will house 100 apartments, including around sixty traditional units. The other 40 units will be converted into bedrooms connected to common service areas such as kitchens and relaxation rooms. The formula is in line with the Rebel Hotels concept used in Laurentians and Mauricie.
The partners must immediately disclose their plans to the City of Dorval. According to the rules, they must equip the building with balconies, among other things. “There’s going to be a big, big repositioning project,” says Patrice Bourbonnais. No attributes of the old building are retained. »
PHOTO FROM PETRA GROUP WEBSITE
Patrice Bourbonnais, President of Urban Housing, is also CEO of Petra Group
He expects “12 to 14 months” of work and is also aiming for a change of address for the building.
He does not yet know how high the required rents will be. “We will be competitive in the Dorval market,” assures the businessman.
Patrice Bourbonnais founded the Les Logements urbains fund in 2016 with colleagues who also work for the Borsellino-Saputo family: Joe Marsilii, Martin Duguay and Yanick Pazzi.
Rebel Hotels did not call back The press.
closed residence
The CHSLD Herron closed its doors after the health disaster that occurred within its walls in the spring of 2020.
In May, Coroner Géhane Kamel noted in her report that serious deficiencies existed at the facility long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world.
The report also concludes that the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal “tolerated the unbearable” by considering the entire residence a “red” zone at the beginning of the crisis and sending its patients to infection condemned .