Some people living in Park-Extension worry houses and apartments in the Montreal neighbourhood are on their way to becoming unaffordable thanks to a new university campus that will be built nearby.

'I'm not sure gentrification can be stopped, in some ways it's like gravity.'—Sasha Dyck, community organizer

The University of Montreal plans to build the student campus in the neighbouring city of Outremont, with the first phase of construction slated to begin this spring at a cost of $120 million.

Sasha Dyck, who works for a citizens' group in Park-Extension, said the influx of students could lead to higher housing costs.

"We worry that the roughly 10,000 students who come ... will be intrigued by the cheap rents in the area and drive out the families who can't afford to live anywhere else," he said.

"I'm not sure gentrification can be stopped; in some ways it's like gravity."

So Dyck, who's lived in the neighbourhood for several years, invited community organizers from East Harlem, N.Y., to help them fight gentrification.

Housing advocate Juan Haro is a member of Movement for Justice in El Barrio, a non-profit group from New York, made up of mainly immigrants, which fights community displacement in East Harlem.

"What landlords do all over the world is find a way to jack up the rent," said Haro in Montreal on Tuesday.

"They find ways to push us out and bring in people with more money who can afford higher rent," he added.

Haro will meet with local community organizers and merchants in Park-Extension in an effort to raise awareness about the impact the new campus could have, and find ways to mobilize people to fight rent and housing price increases in the neighbourhood.

"It's a very large project but they have yet to come and speak to anyone in the community about it," added Dyck.

Fears unfounded

Montreal Coun. Mary Deros welcomes the idea of a large student population next door and insists rental laws will protect lower income families in her district.

"These people with limited means presently ... live in apartments and there are laws that protect them," she said.

"They cannot be ousted, they cannot be evicted."

Deros, who represents the ethnically diverse and largely working-class constituents of Park-Extension also said she expects the new university campus will lead to job creation.

"We will help our local people prepare their CVs and if they qualify for the jobs, they will be hired," she said.

University officials are remaining tight-lipped about the project, saying it's too soon to say what, if any, jobs will be created.