Construction has begun on Grenville’s newest residential address.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was held for Atlantis sur l’eau, located overlooking the Grenville Canal and Ottawa River near the intersection of the Long Sault Bridge and Route 344.
The former building on the site has been demolished. It was last home to a liquidation store, and before that, a grocery store. Decades ago, the site was home to Arnold Automobile.
The new Atlantis sur l’eau development will contain 120 rental housing units in two buildings containing 60 dwellings each. They will include one, two, and three-bedroom units.
Grenville Mayor Pierre Thauvette said the new development will diversify housing in Grenville and fill a need.
The developer behind the project is Patrick Atlan of Montréal, and this is his first residential project. Atlan’s career has hitherto been in the medical device industry, but a series of life events led him to purchasing and developing the property in Grenville.
For years, Atlan frequently passed through Grenville on weekend motorcycle rides and enjoyed stopping at nearby chip stands. He saw that the land was for sale, and a year of negotiations followed, ultimately leading to the purchase.
“We are charmed by your village,” Atlan said at Monday’s event.
Initially, Atlan only intended to purchase the property as an investment, but his son Jonathan had other ideas. He wanted to develop the site.
“That’s what he wanted to do all his life, he wanted to be a developer,” Atlan said.
Jonathan tragically died as the result of a motorcycle collision in September 2025 at age 23. Atlan was emotional sharing the memory of his son and his enthusiasm for the project at Monday’s groundbreaking. He was accompanied at the event by his daughter Sarah and son Noah.
Atlan said that following Jonathan’s death, the Grenville development became a personal cause for him. In his memory, Jonathan’s signature is on all of the promotional material for the project. Even the telephone number on one of the billboards in Grenville is Jonathan’s former number.
According to Atlan, leases have already been signed for 50 per cent of the units at Atlantis sur l’eau. The new development is to be completed by March and April of 2027.
“We’re going to change Grenville!” Atlan said.
According to the village of Grenville, the Atlantis sur l’eau project was approved by council in May 2025, before a moratorium on new developments of five units or more was enacted in the village. The moratorium was instituted to permit an evaluation of the water and sewage system to facilitate future development.
Photos: James Morgan
