West Island flood risk jeopardizes plan to build centre for children with disabilities

Plans were falling into place to build a new, state-of-the-art centre for children with intellectual disabilities and autism on Montreal's West Island when the non-profit organization behind the project got some unexpected news.

The property slated for development is at a much greater risk of flooding than it was led to believe in 2015, when the project first began taking shape.

Now, after four years of carefully designing the customized, 7,000-square-foot Kizmet Centre — complete with a gymnasium, specialized space for motor development, classrooms, a kitchen and an outdoor playground — the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped (WIAIH) is headed back to the drawing board.

The group's executive director, Lyne Charlebois, said WIAIH has raised more than $1.3 million of the $1.7 million it needs for the project.

"It's been challenging to raise this money, but we garnered the support of the community — which has been great," she said.

"If we go ahead and build this project on the property, and subsequently, more issues occur, who is going to be there to help us?"

Four years in the making

Charlebois said when the organization started raising that money for the centre on Gouin Boulevard West, just east of Ste-Anne Street, the risk simply wasn't there.

The centre, intended for clients of all ages and their families, is to replace the organization's existing preschool, the Pat Roberts Development Centre. There hadn't been any major flooding disasters at the Pat Roberts Centre in living memory, Charlebois said — but now there have been two in the last three years.

In 2017, Charlebois said the surrounding streets and homes were submerged, but the centre was untouched.

Afterward, WIAIH leaders were assured that the property was safe, as the flooding was considered a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Then the river burst its banks again two years later. This time, the borough of Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève was better prepared to divert floodwaters with makeshift dikes and again, WIAIH's building avoided any damage.

But this summer, the land was surveyed and the centre now appears on the new flood maps prepared by the Montreal Metropolitan Community. That means the building is now in a no-build zone.

Because the permit paperwork had already been filed with the borough, the organization can get around that no-build designation, Charlebois said, but "knowing what we know, are we really willing to take that risk?"

Now the group is weighing its options.

To build or not to build

"It is nerve-wracking. It is very stressful," Charlebois said.

"At the same time, I think we don't want to let this setback determine the outcome of this project. So we are going to look at options."

Large-scale investments such as waterproofing the building just aren't possible without donations to match, Charlebois said — and buying a new property outside the flood zone would be costly.

"We're a non-profit organization, and obviously this puts a lot of strain on the budget we had established," she said.

No matter what is decided, any delay is unwelcome. There is a strong need for such a centre in the area as it is affected by poverty and a lack of services for people with disabilities, the organization says.

Borough mayor looks for solutions

The project was deposited with the Île-Bizard—Sainte-Geneviève borough at the start of the year, and it was on track for approval, said borough Mayor Normand Marinacci.

"And then the flood came," he said and, while the project is still possible, the organization must proceed with caution.

He said he will speak with borough administrators and his council to see if there's any way the borough can help.

"Of course, it's a very sad situation because we really expected to have this project in our borough," Marinacci said. "Now we have to face the situation and see if there's a solution we can find."