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Tour de Lévis work

The Tour de Lévis Tower was built in 1937 in conjunction with the development of the municipal park on Île Sainte-Hélène. Housing an abandoned water reservoir, the tower is now one of the main landmarks on the islands' landscape. The top of the tower has an observation deck which affords visitors an outstanding view of downtown Montréal, and this panorama extends to the South Shore's metropolitan area.

Restoration work

As part of its 2020-2030 Conservation, Design and Development Management Plan, the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau defined a conservation plan for all its heritage assets, including the Tour de Lévis. The work aligns with the plan for an overall vision of the project, and once completed, it will enhance visitors' enjoyment and experience, make the site safer and preserve the high quality of this built heritage.

Features and components of the sector

The Tour de Lévis has a municipal status as a "heritage building of interest" and is also designated as being "an outstanding heritage value sector" in the City of Montréal's urban plan. Major efforts have been made to preserve this iconic heritage to ensure the building's historical continuity and enhance its historical and social significance.

The Tour de Lévis is composed of breccia stones that come from a quarry on Île Sainte-Hélène. During exploratory work on the building, numerous problems were detected in the masonry on the building's inner and outer facings; this was due to the tower being exposed to bad weather conditions, the leaning of the wall, the positioning of the tower atop a cliff and, mainly, the changing quality of the stone. On the latter point, an analytical report underscored the fact a "breccia" stone type should not be used because of their characteristics (micro-cracking, heterogenous porosity, etc.) and their poor, long-term mechanical performances for this type of work. As a result, about 90% of the stones will eventually have to be replaced by a more durable stone recommended by specialists, namely a silica sandstone which will oxidize over time and become the same colour as the original stones.

The restoration strategies set down for the Tour de Lévis will be used for upcoming work on all the buildings that have this stone, which is emblematic of the Parc. This includes the Aquatic Complex, Hélène-de-Champlain pavilion and some of the public urinals.

Timetable

Phase 1
August 2020 to April 2021

Structural work

Exploratory work needs to be done on the Tour de Lévis to:

Check the condition of the existing stone, repair the cracks and replace the damaged stones.
Reparation work on the steel structure.

Budget	$800 000
Status	Finished
Impact	The Tour de Lévis will not be open to the public while the work is going on.

Phase 2
August 2021 to September 2022

Restoration of the building envelope

Phase 2 continues the masonry work done during Phase 1, which enabled the restoration of about 20% of the tower's outer facing. Phase 2 work, consists of, but is not limited to, the following:

Restoring the outer masonry, the remaining 80%.
Restoring the inner masonry: rejointing, solidifying the major cracks, replacing the window lintels.
Minor repairs to the windows, sealing and painting.

Budget	$3 million
Status	Finished
Impact	The Tour de Lévis will not be open to the public while the work is going on.

Phase 3
April 2024 to January 2026

Phase 3 of the restoration work on the Tour de Lévis will ensure the longevity of the building and bring many of its electro-mechanical components up to standard. Once this phase has been completed, the building will again be fully operational. The work being done on this project includes, but is not limited to, the following aspects:

The addition of a fresh air ventilation system.
Upgrades to the tower's lighting system, including indoor lighting and implementing the reservoir lighting;
Renovating the building's indoor and outdoor staircase;
Various renovation work in the indoor sector;
Various landscaping renovations, notably new plantings and the addition of urban furniture;
Various fire=protection work including the installation of a new sprinkler system and replacing the fire pump.