Westmount greenhouse to remain closed indefinitely

Westmount residents who are missing their greenhouse and who were holding out hope for a spring visit are going to have to wait a little while longer.

The greenhouse has been shutteredsince the end of September 2015 after a glass pane fell from the ceiling. Thecity is now waiting on a structural assessment so they can begin the necessary renovations.

"We have to understand the state of the decay," said Patrick Raggo, the director of public works for Westmount.

A historical structure

The Westmount greenhouse was built in 1927 by Lord & Burnham, a manufacturing company that specializes in greenhouses. It ismade mostly of glasswith a supporting substructure of 300-year-old cypress wood.

"It has a real historic feel to it and a lot of residents and non-residents have affection for the structure," Raggo said.

The large facility is best known for its main room, the conservatory with cascading glass ceilings, and its adjacent greenhouse which features a wishingwell. There are also eight other grow houses that were once used to grow the city's stock of plants and flowers.

Inspection by drone

A drone was brought in by the city to inspect the extent of the damage to the structure since the greenhouse is located between Victoria Hall and the Westmount Library.

"We got a lot of good pictures and data,"Raggo said."They took hundreds and hundreds of photos that now have to be organized so a proper assessment can be done."

The city expects toreceive the assessment in the next eight weeks.

Raggo says that a challenge in reopening the greenhouse is that the work is complicated.

In 2015, the city tried to find a firm that would be interested in doing maintenance but came up dry after soliciting several firms in Quebec, Ontario and even the north-eastern United States.

"There's a historical nature to it, so it can be complex," Raggo said, adding that most contractors would rather use more modern materials like aluminum, steel and plastic.

Westmount doesn't have a timeline for the greenhouse to reopen yet, according to Raggo. The city is hoping for late spring or early summer if it can find specialized firms to take on short-term repair projects.