Valérie Plante officially re-inaugurated a completely renovated Montreal city hall on Friday, after five years of work.
The 1878 building (reconstructed in 1926 after a fire) was modified, repaired and restored from top to bottom by a small army of specialized workers and craftsmen.
“I’m moved, excited,” said Ms. Plante a few minutes before cutting a ceremonial ribbon. The work was carried out “in accordance with all the rules of the art, with enormous attention, meticulousness, but also with a lot of love”.
Menaud Lapointe, the architect in charge of the project, indicated that more than 750,000 hours of work were necessary to complete the project.
“It’s been quite a mandate,” he said. “I’m very happy that we can rediscover the town hall. The first stones were laid 150 years ago. It’s remarkable that we can still occupy it today. »
The costs of this renovation project have exploded since construction began in 2019, going from 116 million to 211 million. The project was initially scheduled to be completed in spring 2022.