La Croisée, a new community centre and intergenerational gathering place was officially inaugurated last Friday, May 26. It is located at 1255 rue Émile-Bouchard.

"This a great day for us. The name is inspirational because it means being at the 'crossroads between generations'," said Chloé Marcil, the city's Division Head for the Culture and Community Life division.

Mayor Guy Pilon recalled the role Director General Olivier Van Neste played by suggesting the city purchase the building that housed a former trilingual school and convert it into a community centre. It was bought for $2.8 million in 2019.

"I wasn't convinced when the idea was first proposed but I quickly realized it was a great suggestion when Van Neste explained his vision for this area. We wanted to create a multifunctional and multigenerational place where people can meet and we succeeded," said Pilon.

"We are in the heart of new Vaudreuil-Dorion and in a few years the new city hall and library will be within walking distance from this building,” he added.

Pilon was pleased when municipal council unanimously adopted the project and invited residents of all ages and backgrounds to use the facility.

“La Croisée is a new gathering place for our citizens. We will soon have 44,000 residents and our council is working to further develop our community spirit,” he added.

A positive decision

The city's Director General Olivier Van Neste recalled how the building was acquired.

“We had discussions with the Commission des services scolaire des Trois-Lacs (CSSTL) for a second elementary school in our territory but the building was too small. They suggested we should purchase it," said Van Neste. 

"I went with the mayor to see it. We didn't know what we could do with it but had a vague idea. After thinking about it briefly we decided to buy it,” he said.

Van Neste and the team involved in the predevelopment phase shared their vision for the district with council and convinced them to move the  project forward.

“What's great is that 25 per cent of the residents in the district can walk here. This centre is also a great success when we see the positive interactions among the various organizations that are now there. We're really happy about that,” said Van Neste.

Four organizations are located in the new centre - La Maison des jeunes de Vaudreuil-Dorion, la CDC de Vaudreuil-Soulanges, le Cercle des Fermières and le Centre des aînés de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.  

A dream come true

Vincent Bastien, Director of Recreation and Culture Services for the city said the official inauguration of La Croisée was the fulfillment of a dream.

“We went ahead with the project because of the suggestions we received at the last municipal community forum. One of our goals is to anticipate the needs of our citizens as best as we can," said Bastien.

"We are lucky to have an organization that believes in the project. It is important to seize all the opportunities that become available and to create opportunities for dialogue with the population," he added.

"It's rare for a city to buy a building and maintain it to house organizations. Usually it's the opposite. An organization that finds itself without a premises approaches the city to ask for a solution. The opposite is very rare and it deserves to be recognized," Bastien said.

Governance committee

A committee has also been set up comprised of representatives from the centre's organizations to promote cooperation with each other.

“This formula has already proven itself," said said Sébastien Legros, Director of the Corporation de développement communautaire de Vaudreuil-Soulanges.

"This approach is successful. We meet to discuss issues and initiatives that come from our discussions. We also help each other find solutions when necessary," said Legros.