Fasken represented the Montréal School Board (CSDM), the largest school board in the province of Quebec, in the negotiation of an usufruct contract with respect to premises having an aggregate area of more than 180,000 square feet and provided advice with respect to the construction agreement. The usufruct structure was put in place for various tax considerations and Fasken rendered multiple opinions in this regard.
The premises will house the head office of the CSDM. CSDM will pay an average of $5 million per year to occupy a building at the corner of Viau and Sherbrooke Streets, east of the Olympic Stadium in Montréal for approximately 20 years. One of the challenges was for the CSDM to obtain the approval from the Government of Québec and the Board of Commissioners, which they received.
The CSDM is moving out of its headquarters because of significant maintenance issues with the building and will be relocating into the new building at 5100 Sherbrooke East. Since there are hundreds (766) of employees involved, there has been a significant press coverage of this relocation.
A Fasken team composed of Richard Clare and Marie-Andrée Thibault advised Montréal School Board in connection with this transaction.
