1930 to 1978 north hatley post office
The story of the 3 Ours cottage
1979 to 2015, hatley township town hall
2016 to 2020, the plogg media office
We bought the building in 2016 to house our offices for Plogg Media, a technology company specializing in e-commerce and SaaS software development.
Initially, the office housed 12 full-time employees. At the time, it was only on the first floor, and the basement was uninhabitable. Two years later, we decided to excavate the crawl space by hand to create the basement. We then added 7 employees to the basement and a small kitchen, a full bathroom with shower and a cafeteria.
We bought kayaks and paddles, as well as scooters, so employees could enjoy the lake and the village. The office is expanding to 24 full-time employees. We therefore had to plan for a second floor. However, we rented an office above the North Hatley dental clinic to accommodate employees on a temporary basis. We’ve kept this office ever since, which gives us the most beautiful view of the lake.
We were also able to purchase lake access and a pontoon boat to share with employees, family and friends. The original mission of our office was “the office at the cottage”. We’ve got the t-shirts to prove it!
2021 conversion of building into chalet
The pandemic and its collateral effects
The pandemic changed everything. For almost two years, the office was deserted and almost empty most of the time. When we asked employees to return to the office, we quickly realized that we were going to lose part of our workforce if we didn’t change our approach. We had the option of selling it, but we finally knew we could turn it into a true short-term rental cottage. The zoning allowed it. So we obtained our CITQ permit and began redevelopment work on the first floor. We completely redid everything to create a lodging environment. Initially, we installed pull-out beds to enable the chalet to be transformed into an office and vice versa by storing the beds.
The cottage kitchen
The kitchen on the first floor comes from the home of Sam Pollock, manager of the Montreal Canadiens in 1964. We bought it, moved it, repainted it and reassembled it in the chalet.
Note that the kitchen cabinets are found on the 1st floor, but also in the 2nd-floor kitchen. Fridge, freezer, stove, faucet and trash compactor come from Sam Pollock’s house on Hovey Road. This house was bought by my friend Benoit.
Expansion
In 2021, we began construction of the 2nd floor and roof terrace. It was completed in January 2022. The 2nd-floor extension was designed in collaboration with Nicolas Fortier, M. Arch. (for the architecture) and Sarah Castonguay, designer (for the interior design). Sarah also designed l’Ours.
Since then, our employees have come to kayak and paddle a few times during the summer, and we always have business meetings or happy hours in the chalet when it’s available.
In 2022, we also purchased and converted the Auberge du Coeur d’or into 4 cottages. These are located further up School Street, 65-87 School. The result is the “Chalets deVille” project.
The works of a
Magog artist
The names of the cottages follow the works of Magog artist Marie-Michèle Desmarais, known as Le Nid Atelier. The bears and otters in the cottage are the work of Marie-Michèle Desmarais.
The urban outfitting
project
As an avid fisherman, I’ve discovered that Lake Massawippi and Lake Memphremagog are teeming with magnificent trout. Access to the lakes is increasingly restricted and complicated by algae and mussel problems. Not to mention that the purchase of a fishing boat and equipment represents a major investment for just a few fishing trips. So why not combine fishing in town with luxury accommodation and culinary activities?
It’s easy to see that going to an outfitter is just as costly in terms of money and time, since outfitters close to major centers are rare if not non-existent. Not to mention the fact that outfitters are no longer adapted to today’s lifestyles.
The original idea behind the transformation of the chalet was to create a “deVille” outfitter, allowing people to come and fish for trout on Lake Massawippi and Lake Memphremagog in comfort and safety (close to hospitals). Combine family activities such as hiking, tennis and golf with fishing, making it a complementary rather than the main activity for the whole family and, above all, for people of all ages. Whether you’re a novice or a fishing enthusiast, there’s something for everyone. We’re still working on obtaining a non-exclusive outfitting permit.
– Philippe, owner and host