The Osmo Foundation, the non-profit organization that owns Notman House, a heritage building on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal, is unable to pay its mortgage. The organization may have to cede to creditors who intend to resell this space, which has become a popular meeting place for players in the Montreal tech scene over the years.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Investissement Québec are seeking $323,000 in unpaid mortgage fees from the Osmo Foundation. In documents filed Oct. 19 in the Superior Court of Quebec, the two investment companies write that they have loaned the Osmo Foundation just over $6.4 million since 2014 to purchase and renovate the home finance. Notman. They are asking the court to “authorize the sale of the building under court supervision.”
The first communications were sent to the Osmo Foundation by the BDC and Investissement Québec last June.
The Osmo Foundation was founded in 2009 by eight Montreal business leaders well-known in the field of new technologies, including Louis-François Hogue, Philippe Telio, Alan Macintosh and John Stokes. It was set up specifically to manage Notman House, renovate it and create a café and premises that could have accommodated young companies in the technology sector.
Ax-C in the spotlight
John Stokes was named chief executive of the Osmo Foundation in January. In an interview with Le Devoir, he said he regretted the fact that government institutions abandoned the Notman House in favor of a new project called Espace Ax-C, which was officially presented at the end of last spring.
Espace Ax-C represents a total investment of 48 million US dollars. The Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy, under Investissement Québec, plans to contribute 38.5 million euros to this project to support young technology startups. to create and support ups, which will be similar to what Notman House is already doing. The Canadian government is contributing $7 million. The city of Montreal adds 2.5 million.
To welcome new businesses as part of this project, Quebec plans to allocate $18 million to renovate spaces in downtown Montreal belonging to the École de Technologie Supérieure (ETS).
“ “Our lenders no longer wish to extend their partnership with Notman House given this investment in Ax-C,” Mr Stokes said. We hope that the entrepreneurial community will benefit from continuing to make Maison Notman a meeting place. Perhaps this is an opportunity for people who have benefited from it to purchase the property at a price that makes the project financially viable. »
A partially listed building
Notman House is classified as a listed building. This protection, granted by the state since 1979, applies to the exterior and interior areas of the building. In principle, a new owner could not dispose of it as desired, but the effects of abandonment are sometimes unpredictable.
A witness to the dynamism of photography in America, William Notman’s house on Sherbrooke Street is still instantly recognizable. It is one of the rare witnesses to the luxurious neoclassical-style civic residences that lined this opulent avenue. It was built between 1844 and 1845. In recent years, several restorations have ensured its preservation.
In the 19th century, this elegant home was the nest of one of America’s most famous photographers. As a pioneer of photographic reproduction processes, William Notman carried out all sorts of experiments, for example with flashes produced by magnesium, the direct ancestor of flash photography. He is interested in both sports photography and scientific photography. It was he who, together with his printer friend George-Édouard Desbarats, first developed the leggotype and grainy photography, the direct ancestors of the screens, which to this day make it possible to reproduce photographs in print.
Over time, several wealthy residents of this house confirm its very middle-class character. In addition to William Notman, William Collis Meredith, a lawyer who fought as a soldier against the patriots during the Battle of Saint-Eustache, was also based here. The house was also the residence of Thomas Blackwell, the powerful boss of the Grand Trunk Railway. Alexander Molson, who was associated with his family’s brewing, banking and shipping activities, was also a resident.
William Notman lived in this residence from 1876 to 1891. Several rooms in this building, now in excellent condition, bear witness to the cultural contribution of this leading photographer.