The KPMG Tower, formerly ''Maison des Coopérants'' or ''Place de la Cathédrale'', is a 34-storey

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

, Canada, that was completed in 1987. It is at 600 de Maisonneuve Ouest and has an official height of . The building is owned and operated by BentallGreenOak. The KPMG Tower was built on a plot of land owned by the Christ Church Cathedral, which lies directly in front of the building when viewed from

Saint Catherine Street Sainte-Catherine Street ( ) () is the primary commercial artery of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It crosses the central business district from west to east, beginning at the corner of Claremont Avenue and de Maisonneuve Boulevard in Wes ...

. It was designed by

WZMH Architects WZMH Architects is an architectural firm established in 1961 and based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as Webb Zerafa Menkès Housden (after Peter Webb, Boris Zerafa, René Menkès, and Warwick Housden) the company's name was changed t ...

and was styled to relate to the cathedral. The tower incorporates an underground shopping centre, '' Promenades Cathédrale'', as part of the

underground city An underground city is a series of linked subterranea (geography), subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausoleum, mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or dra ...

that is connected to the

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

Overview

The building was originally called ''Maison des Coopérants'' for the then-anchor tenant, as can be seen on the inscription in the lobby; however, it was later named ''Place de la Cathédrale''. At the end of 2005 the tower was renamed to its current name for

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

, the new anchor tenant that occupies floors 6 to 15 and part of the 17th. Part of its local claim to fame was that the Promenades Cathédrale shopping mall underneath the tower, built at the same time, was built beneath the existing Christ Church Cathedral. It was a sight to behold, as the cathedral was perched on top of cement piles with the soil removed from under it, resulting in a cathedral that seemed to be floating in mid air. From time to time, the building administration runs an exhibit in the shopping mall displaying the construction of the complex. A consequence of this arrangement is that the cathedral no longer has its proverbial basement. The functions traditionally done in the church basement are now performed in a space reserved for the church on the third floor of the tower's east side. At the time of its opening, the shopping mall had three floors with a

food court A food court (in Asia-Pacific also called food hall or hawker centre) is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food Vendor, vendors and provides a common area for self-serve di ...

occupying most of the lower floor. Later renovations converted that shopping floor into a second floor of parking garage. A memorial to

Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...

stands in a small park between the office tower and church, where a bust of Wallenberg and a caged metal box (styled as a barbed-wire gate) stand beside each other. The building features prominently during the

Temptation of Christ The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the ...

scene in the 1989

Denys Arcand Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a Canadian filmmaker. During his four decades career, he became one of the most internationally-recognized director from Quebec, earning widespread acclaim and numerous accolades for his "inten ...

film ''

Jesus of Montreal ''Jesus of Montreal'' () is a 1989 Canadian comedy drama film written and directed by Denys Arcand, and starring Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening and Johanne-Marie Tremblay. The film tells the story of a group of actors in Montreal who pe ...

'', reflecting the tower's status as the most prominent and modern skyscraper built in Montreal during the late 1980s as well as its unique relationship with the church.

Tenants

The building contains the private medical clinic

TELUS Health Telus Health, a division of Telus Corporation, is a Vancouver, Canada–based provider of health technology services with more than 10,000 employees primarily located in Canada, United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company operat ...

, the headquarters of Gildan Activewear and holds offices for the professional services firm

Empire Life The Empire Life Insurance Company, operating as Empire Life (), is a Canadian life insurance and financial services company headquartered in Kingston, Ontario. It was incorporated in 1923 and is a subsidiary of E-L Financial Corporation Limite ...

, and the offices of the

Anglican Diocese of Montreal The Diocese of Montreal is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada of the Anglican Church of Canada, in turn a province of the Anglican Communion. The diocese comprises the encompassing the City and Island of Montreal, the Laurentide ...

References

*
600 de Maisonneuve - Technical Specifications

Overview

Tenants

References

See also