Montreal entrepreneur builds haven for businesswomen | City News

Chelsey St-Pierre

THE SUBURBAN

On Saint Laurent Boulevard, a once-neglected building has become a signature landmark in downtown Montreal’s entrepreneurial scene.

Behind its renewed facade is a vibrant hub for women in business, the result of Mya Nerenberg’s determination to build something different—not just for herself, but for the whole community.

Nerenberg did not grow up with ambitions of real estate. Her path began almost by accident, learning the business by living with a spouse immersed in commercial property for decades. “I picked up a lot just by being around it, seeing the day-to-day, the deals, the problem-solving,” Nerenberg said to The Suburban. “It took years to realize how few women were at the table. That’s when I started to wonder: what if I could create a space for women, by women, in this industry?”

What emerged is more than a commercial venture. The Saint Laurent building is her prototype—a model she designed to test her ideas about community, business, and sustainable growth. “A prototype lets you learn on a manageable scale. If something doesn’t work, you adapt and move on. That’s how I’ve always liked to build—start small, learn, then scale up.”

Inside, the space reflects Nerenberg’s philosophy of flexibility and collaboration. The main floor houses a lively café, welcoming both locals and visitors. Upstairs, short-term rentals—often booked by Airbnb guests—keep the building connected to the city’s pulse. At the heart of the property is a spacious event venue, designed to be converted several times a week for nearly any occasion. With a full kitchen and dish section for caterers, a bar, and a coffee service area, the setup can easily accommodate everything from cocktail parties and conferences with projector screens to children’s groups or even weddings. This versatility has turned the venue into one of Saint Laurent’s most adaptable gathering places, able to support anything the community dreams up—from business workshops to immersive art shows during Mural Fest.

“We could have just made it a bigger restaurant, but calling it an event space opened up possibilities,” she explained. The venue has become a playground for ideas: live podcasts, birthday parties, professional seminars, and more. Each event brings in new faces and fresh energy, reinforcing the building’s reputation as a standout gathering place on Saint Laurent.

Her background sets her apart from most in real estate. A competitive hockey player awarded full Ivy League scholarships, Nerenberg later dedicated nearly a decade to sports nutrition, coaching athletes on health and performance. “I’ve always been in male-dominated spaces—hockey, boardrooms, now real estate. It can be uncomfortable, but it’s also where you see the opportunities to make change.”

That mindset led her to launch Women Investing in Women, a grassroots network that began as small, private gatherings in the West Island and other pockets of Montreal and has grown into a community of hundreds. “Our first meetings were always capped at eight. I wanted everyone to feel seen and heard. With a small group, people open up about their work, their struggles, their lives. It’s real support—not just business talk.”

Today, the group regularly fills her event space, where women gather to connect, share practical advice, and support one another through the challenges of entrepreneurship and work-life balance. “Most of us are wearing a lot of hats—business owner, mother, partner. Having a place to talk about how to actually manage it all makes the journey feel less isolating.”

Her years in sports and nutrition continue to inform her business approach. “I want to bring health and wellbeing into real estate—not just as a buzzword, but in measurable ways,” she said. Her café operator tracks carbon footprint, and she is piloting new ways to measure the impact of her spaces on wellbeing and sustainability. “It’s not about chasing certifications. It’s about finding real solutions that work for us and for the community.”

Transforming the building was far from simple. “There were parts where you really couldn’t just put lipstick on a pig and call it a day,” she joked. Two years of construction and project management demanded resilience and a strong support system. “At one point, I was running operations and finishing renovations at the same time. I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone, but we got through it.”

With the prototype thriving, expansion is already underway. “This was always meant to be a test,” she said. “Now that we’ve seen the impact—bringing women together, creating real change in the community—I want to bring this model to other neighbourhoods. Montreal has so much untapped potential, and women are ready to step up if space is made for them.”

New sites are currently being scouted, with plans to replicate her flexible, community-focused concept across Montreal. The goal is to adapt each location to the needs of its neighbourhood while preserving the core mission: to create spaces where women can show up as themselves, experiment, and count on support.

For Nerenberg, the building on Saint Laurent is more than a business—it’s living proof that with the right mindset and perseverance, starting small can lead to something much bigger.

Now a fixture on Saint Laurent Boulevard, her project is setting a new standard for what women in business can achieve in Montreal—and she’s just getting started.