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Destination centre-ville : its history
In 1992, a dozen of merchants and business people decided to pool their efforts to produce and present promotional events on Sainte-Catherine Street.
This initial group sparked considerable interest and led to the creation of a more formal association with a larger membership (about 60 merchants) and broader scope of activities. In 1994, the Société de concertation pour le développement du centre-ville de Montréal (SCDCM) was created.
From 1994 to 1999, the SCDCM worked actively to revitalize downtown Montreal. The Santa Claus Parade and the July Sidewalk Sale are two of the projects. At the time, the SCDCM had about 800 members.
The Downtown Montreal Commercial Development Association
In February 1999, the board filed a request to incorporate a commercial development association. The request was presented to the City of Montreal. The Downtown Montreal Commercial Development Association was formally constituted at its general organization meeting of May 28, 1999 and was finally in step with other major North American cities.
Afterwards, to include the remaining part of the business district of downtown Montreal, a process was completed in 2003 resulting in an extension of the Destination centre-ville territory, which has remained the same since then.
The largest in Canada
The society's territory, which now covers all of downtown Montreal area, includes the 8 000 business places located between Atwater and Saint-Urbain, and Saint-Antoine and Sherbrooke streets. It is the largest organization of its kind in Canada.
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