Les Cours Châteauguay

At the corner of Châteauguay and Charlevoix, a red brick building sets its tall windows on a sandstone base. It never tried to charm anyone. In 1913, a Montreal newspaper called it "by no means pretty, but eminently serviceable looking." More than a century later, that plainness is exactly what makes it feel right.

Picture it in its first years. Bell built it in 1912 to house the Victoria telephone exchange. Behind the windows, a row of operators sits side by side at the switchboards, connecting Pointe-Saint-Charles call by call, plug by plug. The concrete floors were poured to carry that weight. The switchboards are long gone. The volumes stayed.

Those volumes have been lived in since 1997, in 9 lofts from 576 to 2,642 sq ft. Ceilings range from 9 to 17 feet depending on the floor, and windows reach up to 10 feet tall. In several units, a mezzanine fits naturally into that height, like a balcony hanging over the living room. Under the roof, the beams stay exposed, and some units open onto the city through a private rooftop terrace. In the semi-basement, original brick and stone floors give the rooms the feel of a workshop.

A workshop is fitting. This building has always housed people who make things: a brush manufacturer for thirty years, then offices and visual arts studios. One top-floor loft once served as an artist's studio, darkroom included. The declaration of co-ownership still allows it: a photography studio, or simply a long worktable under those high ceilings.

Only nine lofts. A building scaled to a street, not a tower.

Outside, Pointe-Saint-Charles. Charlevoix metro a 1-minute walk, the Lachine Canal bike path a few blocks off, Atwater Market across the water for Saturday groceries.

Les Cours Châteauguay are for people who need height to think, and who like to feel that a place had a first life.

Every loft has a story. The story of Les Cours Châteauguay begins with the operators of the Victoria exchange. Our job is to help you find the one that becomes yours. Olivier Mailloux and Amélie Flanagan, real estate brokers, follow the Pointe-Saint-Charles loft market closely and work with buyers and sellers across Montreal.