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. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal ( 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 borough of Vil ...

, 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 (french: rue Sainte-Catherine) () 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 M ...

. 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 Promenades Cathédrale is a retail complex on Saint Catherine Street in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The complex is located beneath Montreal's Anglican Christ Church Cathedral. Constructed in 1987, the mall is integrated into the undergr ...

'', as part of the

underground city An underground city is a series of linked subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or drainage channels; or several of thes ...

that is connected to the

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), 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 urba ...

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 International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

, 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

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 vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dinner. I ...

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. 31 J ...

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 time, ...

scene in the 1989

Denys Arcand Georges-Henri Denys Arcand (; born June 25, 1941) is a French Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. His film ''The Barbarian Invasions'' won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004. His films have also been nominated three f ...

film ''

Jesus of Montreal ''Jesus of Montreal'' (french: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 French 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 grou ...

'', 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 Communications Inc, is a Canadian provider of digital health technology and services with close to 3,000 employees. Based in Montreal, Quebec with offices in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia the ...

, the headquarters of

Gildan Activewear Gildan Activewear Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer of branded clothing, including undecorated blank activewear such as t-shirts, sport shirts and fleeces, which are subsequently decorated by screen printing companies with designs and logos. The ...

and holds offices for the professional services firm

Empire Life The Empire Life Insurance Company, operating as Empire Life (french: Empire Vie), 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 ...

, 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

Emporis.com600 de Maisonneuve - Technical Specifications

Overview

Tenants

References

See also