Maison Jeanne Sauvé

Jeanne Sauvé was the Governor General of Canada from May 14, 1984 to January 28, 1990. Her heritage home was built in 1905 for the prominent Montreal industrialist Harold Stearns. It is located at 1514 Dr Penfield Street which is a short distance to the golden square mile in Montreal, which is home to the Ritz Carleton hotel, Tiffanys, and the luxury clothes and handbag store; Holt Renfrew. The property is a 30-minute drive away from the Pierre Elliot Trudeau International airport and an hour and thirty minutes drive time to the Chateau Montebello in the Laurentians. This iconic, red-brick, five-floor mansion dedicated to the foundation is a stunning piece of history prevailing in modern Montreal.

It was the architect Robert Findlay who was the behind the project. Findlay designed several mansions in the Golden Square mile as well as private residences in the affluent enclave of Westmount, Quebec. As well as Tudor and Gothic inspired ceiling mouldings it avows over 16,000 of livable sq. ft over 3 stories, with mezzanine and basement. There are 14 bedrooms each with ensuite facilities – 7 on the ground floor and 7 on the second floor. It also has up to 20 parking spots. After her career as a Governor General, Sauvé started a foundation to support and empower international students. She would select students from all over the world who didn’t necessarily financial means to make that endeavour.

While the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation was the product of a special mentor-mentee relationship, the challenge for Herbie who won the listing for the property, was to map out a selling strategy for the unique building that was considered an oddball asset by some. It had boardrooms, offices, 18 student bedrooms and bathrooms, laundry rooms and it was Herbie’s vision to unpack the residential and commercial zoning puzzle into a unique buying opportunity. The winning bid for the property was the Montreal fertility clinic (MFC), The MFC was founded in 2002 and provides patients requiring fertility care with evidence-based reproductive care within a friendly, state-of-the-art facility. Led by Dr. Neal Mahutte and Dr. Sophia Ouhilal. Both Dr. Mahutte and Dr. Ouhilal are certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility. The project team brought the building up to code when it had a medical designation that requires a bespoke retrofit of medical grade ventilation.

Herbie ended up finding the right buyers through a process that started with logic. But before the property was sold, they undertook a turn-key operation that oversaw everything from financial modeling of potential revenue projections to the value-of-money analysis, should the period from listing to closing extend.

For more information about this sale contact Herbie.

City Office
240-4115 Sherbrooke O.,
Westmount, QC H3Z 1K9

Country Office
2670 Chem. du Lac Supérieur,
Lac-Supérieur, QC J0T 1P0

C. 1.819.429.9019
O. 1.819.681.7557