Canada’s second federal prison could become housing [Video]

Ottawa wants to turn a 28-hectare lot that once housed a federal prison in Laval, Que. into housing.

The Le Vieux-Pen site where the St-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary operated from 1873 to 1989 has sat largely empty for 35 years and has fallen into a state of decay.

It was the second federal prison built in the country and the only francophone federal prison in Canada.

On Tuesday, Ottawa gave the prison a new lease on life by opening it up to development by adding it to the public lands bank, a list of 83 unused federally-owned properties that can be used to address Canada’s housing crisis.

“Where appropriate, all of these federal lands will remain public through low cost leases to reduced construction costs and support the building of more affordable homes,” said federal Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.

Due to the site’s history, its imposing stone walls and proximity to the …