A multidisciplinary Gowling WLG team led by Olivier Therrien advised Imperial Oil on a landmark brownfield redevelopment transaction involving the sale of a 7.5-million-square-foot former industrial site in Montréal. Announced by Québec Premier Christine Fréchette on June 30, 2026, the transaction marks a significant step in the long-term rehabilitation and revitalization of one of Montréal’s most important industrial areas.

The site, equivalent in size to approximately 100 soccer fields, was used for refinery and petroleum operations from 1915 to 1998 and has remained vacant since then. Its redevelopment is expected to play a central role in the transformation of Montreal-East, an area historically shaped by heavy industrial uses and now positioned for renewed economic, social and environmental development.

“These projects are never simple,” said Therrien, a partner in Gowling WLG’s Montréal office. “They require legal, environmental, municipal, planning, commercial and financial considerations to move together with a shared purpose. But when they do, they can help transform land that has been dormant for decades into a foundation for future growth.

“We are proud to have supported Imperial Oil on this transaction, which holds the potential to reshape Montréal-East for generations and serves as a powerful example of what brownfield redevelopment can make possible.”

The purchaser is a subsidiary of the Société de mise en valeur de terrains dans l’Est de Montréal (SMTEM), an entity that was created to support the transformation of strategic industrial lands in Montreal-East. Backed by Government of Québec funding trough Investissement Québec, SMTEM’s mandate is to acquire, rehabilitate and develop high-potential sites with a view to sustainable redevelopment and future investment.

Therrien advised on brownfield redevelopment, transaction negotiation, environmental law, real estate matters, and municipal and urban planning. Gowling WLG’s team also included Tamar Chamelian (notary) on real estate matters; Angélique Merakos (associate) on M&A and commercial agreements, Nicolas Dubé (partner) on environmental law and regulatory matters and Yannick Beaudoin (partner) on corporate finance. The team was also supported by dedicated associates including Daniel Jordan, Émilie Vaillancourt, Ludovic Obregon-Marchand and William Tzoutzourakis.