Les Paris Lofts

At the corner of Rachel and Saint-Dominique, a piece of an old water pump still hangs on the wall of the entrance hall. It is almost all that recalls the factory. Almost, because the rest can be read in the concrete.

Picture the street when the sewing machines were still running. Boulevard Saint-Laurent, one block away, was long the heart of Montreal's garment trade, and this is where the manufacturer Paris Star cut its clothing, mostly jeans. Once the company moved on, the building was entirely rebuilt in 2004 and 2005, except for one thing that was carefully kept: its concrete frame, its columns, its beams and its slabs.

That frame is what people live in today, across 86 lofts on six floors, from 589 sq. ft. to 2,475 sq. ft. The raw concrete ceilings rise to about 11 feet, windows often run the full height of the wall, up to 9 feet, and the ductwork stays exposed. On the top level, a few penthouses unfold over two floors, with ceilings that can reach 18 feet and a private rooftop terrace. Elsewhere, depending on the unit, a balcony or a Juliet balcony looks out over Mount Royal or downtown.

At the very top, the shared rooftop terrace is the building's living room. From there you see the mountain, the downtown towers and, on summer nights, the fireworks and the lit-up Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Below, indoor parking, storage, elevators and a generator that keeps them running during a power outage. On the ground floor, four commercial units round out the building.

Outside, Parc des Amériques sits right in front of the door, with its BIXI station. Boulevard Saint-Laurent and its murals are one block away, rue Rachel leads to Jeanne-Mance Park and the foot of Mount Royal, and Mont-Royal metro, on the Orange Line, is about a 12-minute walk.

Les Paris Lofts speak to people who want real industrial volume without leaving the heart of the Plateau, and who like a building where neighbours run into each other on the roof.

Every loft has a story. The story of Les Paris Lofts begins in a jeans factory, steps from the Main. Our job is to help you find the one that becomes yours. Olivier Mailloux and Amélie Flanagan, real estate brokers, follow the Plateau Mont-Royal loft market closely and work with buyers and sellers across Montreal.