Why the name “Wilfrid”?
Like the three phases of the previous WR project, the name Wilfrid pays homage to Wilfrid Thomas Reid, a British aircraft designer and aviation pioneer in Montreal.
The Wilfrid: more than a name
The project, named after this Montreal aviation pioneer, pays tribute to his major contribution to the aviation industry. The project design, architecture and even interior decorating of the building aim to highlight the location’s history.
A brief history lesson
Wilfrid Reid began his career in 1916 working for a British company called the British and Colonial Airplane Company before becoming the chief aircraft designer for Canadian Vickers.
Upon his arrival in Canada in 1924, he was commissioned to develop the company’s Canadian subsidiary and designed the aircraft known as the Vickers Vedette. The development and production of this aircraft marked the true beginning of the Canadian aeronautical industry.
A few years after the World War I, the aviator founded the Reid Aircraft Company and teamed up with veteran Canadian pilots to purchase a large airfield in Cartierville. As the decades passed, the land was transformed into an airport and then into a testing ground for Canadair. The Saint-Laurent aerospace industry developed during the second half of the 20th century before the Cartierville Airport was abandoned.
Bois-Franc Neighborhood
It was not until 1988 that an ambitious residential development project was presented to the city of Saint-Laurent: the Bois-Franc neighborhood.
