The government will move the Salon de jeux de Québec to Beauport in the former premises of the retailer Future Shop. The bill is expected to hover around $ 10 million. This is an “illogical” decision, according to the owners of the Fleur de Lys shopping center.
“We are angry and very disappointed. We do not understand this decision ”, indicate to the Journal the co-founders of the Quebec real estate group Trudel Alliance, William and Jonathan Trudel. They are asking the government to review its position.
The five-year lease, with renewal options, was recently signed with the developer of Mega Center Beauport, GWL Realty Advisors, which is a division of Great West Life.
Loto-Québec will also set up its payment center for winners and administrative offices there. This will be the second move since 2014 for the Salon de jeux de Québec.
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Since 2007, the establishment has already cost nearly $ 50 million in moving and expansion costs, according to our estimates.
In the spring of 2018, the Future Quebec Coalition had proposed, before the elections, to move the Salon de jeux de Quebec elsewhere in the capital and to open a casino in a “tourist area”.
A feasibility report had been ordered from the firm KPMG.
François Legault’s troops then asserted that the opening of this establishment in a disadvantaged district was a “mistake”. They were committed to finding a new site.
According to the Trudel brothers, by installing the Salon de jeux in Beauport, the CAQ is no longer respecting its electoral commitments. Businessmen respond that it is not a tourist sector and that there are also vulnerable neighborhoods near the new site.
Remember that Trudel Alliance is working on a $ 500 million project to redevelop the Fleur de Lys shopping center.
KPMG study
Over the past few months, KPMG has analyzed five criteria, namely social acceptability, the impact on the Charlevoix region, the economic development of Quebec City, financial considerations and the impact on the peripheral offer.
Last fall, Finance Minister Eric Girard asked study officials to collect more data and consult more Vanier organizations before he made a decision.
Loto-Québec mentions that the report recommends “the relocation of the Salon de jeux de Québec within a new corridor reducing the access of vulnerable populations to the site in order to promote better social acceptability and the maintenance of the supply of current game ”.
The state-owned company adds to justify this decision that “the new site is not considered as an environment where there are vulnerable populations according to the material component of the deprivation index of the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec. “. It is also close to the road network and offers numerous parking spaces.
“The new Salon de jeux de Québec will remain a dynamic entertainment venue, in accordance with our quality and safety standards,” promises Lynne Roiter, President of Loto-Québec.
In 2019, Loto-Québec renewed its lease at Fleur de Lys until the fall of 2021. The Crown corporation will move into its new premises in November 2021. Until then, the Vanier site will remain open.
While the government invites businesses to encourage local companies, the rent from the gaming house will now end up in the pockets of a company headquartered in Manitoba.
In addition, Loto-Québec does not plan to return the 335 video lottery terminals in the Vanier sector which had been withdrawn in 2014 due to the move.
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