The Club Sportif MAA is teaming up with a real estate developer to build condos on top of the storied downtown fitness club and sports association to ensure it remains viable.
The MAA has chosen Devimco to build over 300 condos at the site on Peel Street, from studios to 7,500 square feet penthouses.
The $150-million project calls for a 33-storey building with an indoor pool and parking and a revamped MAA which will be rebuilt at a cost of $20M.
The historic façade of the 137-year-old institution will be restored and the archives, including sports artifacts and historical documents, will also be kept and become part of the MAA's interior design.
Construction should start in August of next year and finished in 2021.
While the work is going on, the fitness facilities will move to an unconfirmed temporary location.
The 2,800 members can choose to continue their memberships or cancel them if they don't want to go to the temporary facility.
The MAA averted bankruptcy in 1998 with the help of a group of shareholders that was created to save it.
The MAA won four Stanley Cups, was Grey Cup champion in 1931 and was the home club of Canada's first Olympic gold medallist, Étienne Desmarteau in 1904.
The club has since been the training ground of choice for many elite athletes including Olympic swimming medalist and two-time vice-president of the International Olympic Committee Richard Pound and Olympic synchronized swimming medalist Carolyn Waldo.
