City of Montreal unveiled today the renderings of the Esplanade Clark, one the last large swat of undeveloped land in the Quartier des Spectacles. It's presently a surface parking lot. Works will be finished by 2019.
Complement to the Place des Festivals
Located to the west of Clark Street, between St. Catherine Street and De Maisonneuve Boulevard, Esplanade Clark will be a 5,000 m2 public space. In the summer, it will serve as an urban terrace with user-friendly outdoor urban furniture and food stands. From November to March, it will be home to a refrigerated outdoor skating rink. The atmosphere of this public space— located at St. Lawrence / St. Catherine crossroad area—will differ from, yet complement, that of the Place des Festivals with a lively but intimate design. Urban furniture, with a focus on relaxation, will be created as part of a design competition.
West of the Esplanade, a multi-purpose pavilion will house a restaurant, an "urban chalet" with changing rooms and a leisure space, and multi-purpose rooms. To give the space a warm, user-friendly atmosphere, the architectural concept includes the use of wood for the structure and the interior of part of the building. In addition, there will be a grass-covered surface where mobile stages can be set up for various events. The project, which will cost $67.1 million, also involves rebuilding Clark Street, resurfacing to improve universal accessibility in the Place des Arts sector, and construction an access building to the Place des Festivals' underground mechanical room.
What it looks now:
Source