Notre-Dame-de-Grace
Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, or NDG to locals, has not so quietly become one of the city’s most desirable neighbourhoods. Despite the emergence of different districts – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and St-Henri have both been earmarked as places to watch – NDG, located southwest of tony Westmount, is a hotbed in itself: house prices have increased 15 per cent since 2017, making it one of Canada’s hottest real-estate markets. A best-kept secret it ain’t.
Yet the neighbourhood doesn’t have the old-money grandeur of Westmount. Rather, it’s filled with humble post-war residences; here, efficient brick low-rises are the standard typology. And while those homes have their limitations – narrow lots and the neighbourhood’s largely consistent material language among them – a number of architects have used those restraints as the backdrop for imaginative renovations.
Yet the neighbourhood doesn’t have the old-money grandeur of Westmount. Rather, it’s filled with humble post-war residences; here, efficient brick low-rises are the standard typology. And while those homes have their limitations – narrow lots and the neighbourhood’s largely consistent material language among them – a number of architects have used those restraints as the backdrop for imaginative renovations.