The Denizen (265 Centrum Blvd) | 104/119/134m | 30/35/40f | Proposed

[J.OT13]

I'm assuming this is planned at the old YMCA in Orleans.

In the grips of a ‘bouldering’ boom: Two new facilities set to open in region


At its Gatineau location, Altitude Gym offers climbing challenges for every skill level. Photo provided.

Rob Thomas, OBJ
November 30, 2022

There’s a new sport in town and its popularity is climbing quickly.

“Bouldering” is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While rock climbing, also known as rope climbing, is done with a rope and protective gear, bouldering only requires climbing shoes and the use of a crash pad.

Adrian Das is technical director at Altitude Gym and part of the 11-person Altitude ownership group, which includes founder Patrick Lamothe and general director Nancy Asselin.

“There’s something about bouldering visually that really attracts people,” Das says. “It’s spectacular, it’s fast. It’s also a community sport. It’s something that people can do together without a lot of equipment and each person can be working on their own challenge next to each other.”

Altitude is set to open a 15,000-square-foot climbing gym and fitness centre on Centrum Boulevard in Orléans Feb. 1. Das says the new facility will be exclusively for bouldering.

“We definitely saw an opportunity and a need for a modern bouldering facility in the Orléans part of town,” he says.

Altitude’s Gatineau facility, which opened in 2010, boasts some of the highest indoor roped climbs in the region at 45 feet, while its 35,000-square-foot Kanata location, which opened in 2017, may be the largest bouldering facility in Canada.

“I’ve been in this industry, in the sport, for over 20 years and in the last 10 years the explosion of bouldering has just been incredible,” Das says. “You keep wondering, is it going to slow down? Is it going to change, is it going to keep trending, is it going to crash? But it’s not. It just keeps growing.”

Most new climbing gyms to open in North America in 2021 were exclusively bouldering gyms (63 per cent), a ratio that is likely higher in Canada. Interest in climbing has been on the rise for two decades, but the debut of sport climbing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and popular documentaries like Free Solo and The Dawn Wall have given it a boost in recent years.

Altitude Gym isn’t the only business in the region betting on the growth in bouldering. There is also a new 10,000-square-foot Bloc 9.81 climbing facility set to open soon in Gatineau.

“Opening a climbing gym was a plan eventually. I didn’t know it was coming that soon, but it did and now I embrace it,” says Aggy St-Jacques, who has been climbing since the age of 10 and has competed internationally.

St-Jacques is one of four Bloc 9.81 co-owners, including her father, Daniel St-Jacques. “The community of climbers has grown so much in the Gatineau area and we wanted to offer something more for the climbers,” she says.

https://obj.ca/in-the-grips-of-a-bou...pen-in-region/

[postingaboutottawa]

New phased proposal up on devapps by B+H for Bayview Group

https://devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applica...3-0003/details

[J.OT13]

That is quite nice. Wow!

This is a fantastic area for density. Only 500 meters from the O-Train, restaurants, a cinema, services, a performing arts theatre, City offices, a whatever will take over the YMCA (climbing gym is one thing so far).

Wait, this replaces the YMCA?

[RogueNacho]

Absolutely hilarious to me that Orleans gets a proposal like this while most of the rest of Ottawa gets lackluster builds. Nonetheless, this looks fantastic, and as a resident of Orleans I look forward to watching the Centrum (and hopefully one day Place D'Orleans) get turned into a mini-downtown hub for Orleans. So far we have the Duford/St Joseph tower, the Centrum retirement home tower, and now this to look forward to.

[OTSkyline]

Wow, these are some of the nicest, most unique proposals I've seen for Ottawa - ever.

Wonder if it will get approved, reduced in height, dumbed-down and cheapened...

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Wow, these are some of the nicest, most unique proposals I've seen for Ottawa - ever.

Wonder if it will get approved, reduced in height, dumbed-down and cheapened...

Heights approved in the new Orleans O-Train corridor CDP I think allows these kinds of height.

[originalmuffins]

Holy crap do I love these! 40F, 35F, and 30F and the design is actually something nice. I just hope this isn't a Riocan or Taggart lol. It is surprising Orleans gets this but downtown or more central locations don't.

This is actually really nice.

[hwy418]

Amazing what you get when you don't need to deal with the NCC and their BS policies!

[orleans_man]

If these proposals come to pass, the drive down Duford hill will be quite different in the future than it is today

There are good number of proposals for the area - let's hope we see some shovels in the ground for some of them soon...

[rocketphish]

Bayview Hospitality Group is proposing a development at 265 Centrum Boulevard consisting of three (3) high-rise towers containing 1,127 residential units, including a mix of types ranging from 1-bedroom units to 3-bedroom units and townhouses. Tower A is proposed to be a 35-storey mixed use building containing retail, office, and residential uses. Tower B and C are proposed to be 30 and 40 storey residential buildings, respectively. The proposed development has a total gross floor area of 64,114 m2 for the residential uses, 833 m2 for the retail use, and 2,933 m2 for the office use. Three (3) levels of underground parking are proposed, containing a total of 516 parking spaces and 1,194 bicycle parking spaces. An additional 60 exterior bicycle parking spaces are proposed across the subject property for short-term visitors.

Vehicular access to the subject property will be from Brisebois Crescent only, while pedestrian and cyclist access will benefit from both Centrum Boulevard and Brisebois Crescent. A 500 m2 municipal park is proposed to be located between Tower A and Tower B, with frontage along Centrum Boulevard, providing an opportunity for the public realm along Centrum Boulevard to be extended into the proposed development.

As the proposed development proposes over 1,000 units, construction of the new buildings will occur through a phased approach. Phase 1 includes Tower B and the municipal park dedication, while Towers A and C will be constructed through future phases. Phasing the development will help to create a critical mass of people that will support the future retail and office space within Tower A, as well as the future light rail transit.

Architect: B+H Architects


Development application:
https://devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applica...3-0033/details

Location:




Siteplan:




Renderings:
















Phasing:

[OTSkyline]

Sad that they would be starting with the smallest tower as part of phase 1 (30fl).

Also, what is this "future LRT" station they have penciled in? Is that real or not? Seems like it would be way too close to Place d'Orleans station to be worth the cost. LRT should work like a metro, in moving a lot of people to major points across the city. It shouldn't operate like a suburban bus with stops every 100m.

[orleans_man]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Sad that they would be starting with the smallest tower as part of phase 1 (30fl).

Also, what is this "future LRT" station they have penciled in? Is that real or not? Seems like it would be way too close to Place d'Orleans station to be worth the cost. LRT should work like a metro, in moving a lot of people to major points across the city. It shouldn't operate like a suburban bus with stops every 100m.

I believe when they first did the Phase 2 Environmental Assessment- Eastern portion, they had included "Centrum" and "Tenth Line Stations" as part of it. By the time contract award came out, they had been dropped, but maybe future expansion/inclusion of these stations is a possibility?

That being said, as you mention, it seems rather redundant given Place D'Orleans station is 700 M down the track. I think money could be better spent elsewhere...

[Fading Isle]

I’m jumping on the bandwagon. These look great.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by orleans_man

I believe when they first did the Phase 2 Environmental Assessment- Eastern portion, they had included "Centrum" and "Tenth Line Stations" as part of it. By the time contract award came out, they had been dropped, but maybe future expansion/inclusion of these stations is a possibility?

That being said, as you mention, it seems rather redundant given Place D'Orleans station is 700 M down the track. I think money could be better spent elsewhere...

Like Jasmin.

This is solidly within walking distance of Place. And Tenth Line has little potential for TOD.

Looking at the site plan, I am disappointed with the internal road.

Looking at the phasing, I assume they will demolish the two gym extension from 2010-ish of the old YMCA for that first tower, and later demolish the original structure form the late 90s for the future phases.

[Uhuniau]

THey could use a bit more ground-level porosity.

[Veggie]

This is the type of stuff we need downtown too. Hope these go up as is. They look great and finally gets some real height in Orleans.

[Harley613]

Actual building heights to architectural tip are 104/119/134m.

I like EVERYTHING about this proposal. I'm gobsmacked!!!

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Actual building heights to architectural tip are 104/119/134m.

I like EVERYTHING about this proposal. I'm gobsmacked!!!

Sigh. Those are maximum heights that may achieve (unusually round numbers wouldn't you agree?). They could include projections above the mechanical penthouse rooves. The Architectural Site Plan (p.6) lists the tops of the mechanical penthouse rooves and the Brisebois grade. eg. Tower C: 196.05m - 65.750 = 130.307.

[Flemay]

Bait-and-switch guys.......there's no way Orleans is getting those beautiful towers.
In the end, the final product will be something half the size, looking like "Story" on Rideau or 1960 Scott street.

[vtecyo]

Originally Posted by orleans_man

I believe when they first did the Phase 2 Environmental Assessment- Eastern portion, they had included "Centrum" and "Tenth Line Stations" as part of it. By the time contract award came out, they had been dropped, but maybe future expansion/inclusion of these stations is a possibility?

That being said, as you mention, it seems rather redundant given Place D'Orleans station is 700 M down the track. I think money could be better spent elsewhere...

From Hurdman to Lees on the Confederation line is only about 700m... Bayview to Booth is ~820m and Carling to Gladstone is ~840m...

If there's a lot of potential riders - maybe it's not a terrible idea... assuming it has enough density - and the developer kicks in a few million to help build it.