Place Dorchester

project

Renovation of common areas in a high-rise apartment building, in downtown Montreal

Right in the Concordia University campus, Place Dorchester could attract many potential tenants on its 214 apartments on 21 floors. To do so, it needed first to upgrade its services and design.

Cogir, who manages Place Dorchester, turned to the complementary team of FOR. design planning and SIMARD architecture to completely enhance 100% of the apartments, the building facade, and the common spaces such as the indoor pool, the laundry room, and the gym.

Through an analysis of the ground floor common areas, the team transformed a storage into administrative offices and coworking lounge for tenants, allowing the creation of a brand new outdoor terrasse.

The existing pool, at the highest floor, benefits from a breathtaking view. To enhance the inhabitant experience, an adjacent space occupied by outdated locker room and sauna got reorganized into new bathrooms directly connected to the pool, for easy maintenance and to correct security issues. This also liberated space to create a studio/penthouse with new windows on the 21st floor view. Following these recommendations, Cogir now benefits of an additional apartment that can be easily rented at an interesting rate considering the view on the city. And most of all, overall customer services were significantly upgraded by these interventions.

After conceiving a strong new identity for Place Dorchester, FOR. & SIMARD applied it to the whole building. From the façade throughout the corridors and door signage, even in the administration offices, the occupants and visitors now experience coherent spaces. They mostly feel that the landlord cares, that the building is invested in. At the end of the day, the Cogir mission is accomplished by having satisfied tenants that are happily staying at Place Dorchester in the long-run.
 

Photos: André Noël & FOR. design planning