General Update/Rumour thread

[bikegypsy]

Ottawa already has an entire zoo of bears, moose and beavers planted across the city... Enough. I welcome this thing with open arms and think it's awesome.

[rocketphish]

Government moves closer on $400-million document preservation facility

Vito Pilieci, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: October 31, 2017 | Last Updated: October 31, 2017 3:10 PM EDT

https://postmediaottawacitizen2.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/g2_103-jpg.jpg&w=800

The federal government has moved a step closer in the construction of a second archival preservation centre in Gatineau which would be home to some of Canada’s most important documents.

Libraries and Archives Canada has been preparing to accept bids on a project valued at as much as $400 million since July.

On Tuesday, the department released a “request for qualifications,” which will ask all interested bidders to prove that they are qualified to undertake the construction of the facility.

A full request for proposals on the project, which will kickstart the bidding, isn’t expected until the spring.

“Library and Archives Canada is home to a treasure trove of essential documents, records, artifacts and artworks that help tell the story of who we are,” said Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage in a release. “The new Gatineau 2 project will provide up-to-date facilities, equipment and conditions for Library and Archives Canada to preserve its collections and make them accessible to Canadians for generations to come.”

Libraries and Archives Canada wants to build the new facility next to its existing facility at 625 Du Carrefour Blvd. in Gatineau.

The new facility would be around 128,000 square feet in size, is to have specific environmental controls to ensure the preservation of various documents and should be designed to conform to a 500-year lifespan, according to government documents. However, the government doesn’t want to own the facility. Documents detailing the initiative, state the government is looking “to procure a private partner to deliver the design, build, finance, (operate) and (maintain)” the facility.

Once Library and Archives Canada moves into the building, as early as 2021, it plans to pay the builder over a 30-year period.

The government hopes to have determined a successful bidder for the project in late 2019 and, if all goes to plan, the new storage facility could be operational as soon as 2021.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/government-moves-closer-on-400-million-document-preservation-facility

[concrete06]

Is there a thread for this new development at 1946 Scott street?

https://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/appDetails.jsf?lang=en&appId=__ATQ3BS

[J.OT13]

Is there a thread for this new development at 1946 Scott street?

https://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/appDetails.jsf?lang=en&appId=__ATQ3BS

Over here;

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=230143

[Jayday23]

The City of Ottawa has received a Zoning By-law Amendment application to permit commercial uses on the ground floor of 473 Albert street.

Planning rationale (with pictures): http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Zoning%20Bylaw%20Amendment%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-01%20-%20Planning%20Rationale%20-%20D02-02-17-0099.PDF

Here's hoping for a restaurant!

[acottawa]

Not sure what thread this should go on (so I will not be offended if a mod moves it) but a Toronto Start article on the shortage of "family size" condos.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/11/07/condos-fail-to-grow-with-demand-report.html

Personally I think the biggest problem is the way we design high rise buildings. In Europe a flat often crosses the full width of a building (either because there is a central access or the "hallway" is outdoors) which means you can pretty easily get 3 bedrooms in relatively small, rectangular space. Here to get three bedrooms you either need a corner or a huge amount of floor space, which costs too much.

[kevinbottawa]

Not sure what thread this should go on (so I will not be offended if a mod moves it) but a Toronto Start article on the shortage of "family size" condos.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2017/11/07/condos-fail-to-grow-with-demand-report.html

Personally I think the biggest problem is the way we design high rise buildings. In Europe a flat often crosses the full width of a building (either because there is a central access or the "hallway" is outdoors) which means you can pretty easily get 3 bedrooms in relatively small, rectangular space. Here to get three bedrooms you either need a corner or a huge amount of floor space, which costs too much.

As someone with three kids, the problem I have now living in an apartment (and would have with a condo), is that the person under me always complains that my family and the family above us are making too much noise, especially when our kids run. I don't think condos and apartments are the ideal place for small children with lots of energy.

[acottawa]

As someone with three kids, the problem I have now living in an apartment (and would have with a condo), is that the person under me always complains that my family and the family above us are making too much noise, especially when our kids run. I don't think condos and apartments are the ideal place for small children with lots of energy.

Part of that is related to soundproofing and choices of materials. It would certainly be possible to design a building where kids running around do not bother neighbours.

[Jayday23]

The embassy of Estonia is looking to relocate from their current address at 260 Dalhousie Street in the Market to a house located at 168 Daly Street in Sandy Hill.

Applicant Proposal: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Zoning%20Bylaw%20Amendment%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-03%20-%20Application%20Summary%20-%20D02-02-17-0095.PDF

[rocketphish]

Buying better buildings: How governments should hire architects

In this op-ed, Ottawa architect Toon Dreessen explains how the public sector can spark more innovative designs – while saving money – by rethinking procurement processes.

By: Toon Dreessen
Published: Nov 14, 2017 7:57am EST

Procurement is the process used by large organizations such as governments to buy goods and services. There is an expectation – and a requirement – that purchasing goods and services in the public sector will be in a competitive, open and transparent environment so that best value is delivered for taxpayers.

Key to this is that phrase, “Best value.”

Procurement departments exist in municipal, provincial and federal governments to deal with everything from pencils and toilet paper to professional services such as architecture and engineering.

That’s, of course, one of the challenges: buying pencils isn’t like buying architectural services. We can describe a pencil down to the nth degree: It’s a hexagonal strip of wood with a graphite core that can be sharpened and has a metal tab at the back holding a pink eraser.

We know pencils, and we can ask suppliers to give a price for one box, or 100 boxes of the same, identical pencil. But we can’t do that with buildings.

No two buildings are exactly alike. The sites, context and requirements are different. The design has to be different. And even where they are similar, they are fundamentally different. If they weren’t, then all our libraries, schools and community centres would look exactly the same, all across the city, province and country.

High-quality buildings

Unlike “stuff,” architecture doesn't come out of box, neatly packaged and ready to go. It’s an iterative process that takes skill, effort and time to get right.

And that is the challenge: procurement seems to be being managed by risk transfer specialists who routinely redefine standard words, modify terms and conditions of standard contracts to contradict laws and regulations as well as to narrowly define scope and deliverables in an attempt to control an outcome.

Part of the problem is that once the procurement is done, and the contract is awarded, the end user or client is stuck with the decisions of the procurement office.

One of the goals of most procurement departments – as mandated by politicians, planners and users – is quality. Everyone wants a high-quality building. So what defines that quality?

In addition to beauty, durability and budget, the building has to work: it has to perform the function for which it was designed. The building has to have lasting value, because it’s going to be here for generations. The building also needs to fit with its context, and respect how a community might change over time, and anticipate the context of tomorrow.

Many RFPs, and departments, state that quality is the goal and that they use Quality Based Selection with only a small part of the fee score of an RFP being price. Small might be 10 to 30 per cent of the total.

But here is how that’s flawed: As soon as any price component is considered in evaluating services, it becomes a fee-based procurement.

Lifecycle costs

Suppose there are three respondents to an RFP where 70 per cent of the score is technical and 30 per cent is price.

One person is very qualified, and gets 68 out of 70. Another gets 66. Suppose I go into the RFP knowing my technical qualifications aren’t as strong and get 62.

But because I know this, I lowball the price. So I get the most points for price with a total score of 92.

That means the most technically competent needs to lower their price in order to get 25 points and beat me with a score of 93 or higher. If they are the most qualified, why should they lower their fees to reduce their value?

You could say that this is the architect’s problem; if they want to keep cutting fees to win work, that’s up to them. But by driving fees to the basement, we lower the level of effort that goes into design ideas that innovate.

Without designs that innovate, we don’t get the great buildings we need. And because solving problems on paper – before something gets built – is always cheaper than fixing it after the fact, cutting back on design services is the last place it makes sense to reduce efforts, especially when we remember that they constitute less than one per cent of the lifecycle cost of operating, designing and constructing a building.

Put another way: reducing the services in design can have an enormous impact on the lifecycle cost. Cutting back on design services will cost more in the long run.

But it gets worse.

Quality Based Selection

Many RFPs fail to understand that this is a relationship. They use terminology that makes no sense, and borders on the illegal, or uninsurable, and sets up conflict from the start of what can be a multi-year relationship.

For example, the use of the word “ensure” is often used to ask that the architect carry out certain tasks. But it has a specific legal and insurance definition. So it’s impossible to ensure that a building permit is issued. What if there is an outstanding legal challenge to the ownership of the property?

Some procurement departments say that this isn’t what is meant by the use of the word ensure, but then why say it? That would be like asking a lawyer to ensure the outcome of a trial. Is it reasonable, or fair, that an RFP ask that the architect provide services that our unreasonable or border on the illegal?

Let’s take a look at LEED, in procurement. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a well-known framework for understanding and recognizing sustainability. It's been widely adopted and has great brand recognition. It is points-based, so one gets a point for each measure taken.

For example, if you add a bike rack, you get a point. But what if the building doesn't need a bike rack? What if no one will use it because it’s a secure site or military campus? That bike rack, and the shelter around it, costs money not only up front, but over the long term to maintain.

When an RFP asks that the architect ensure LEED Gold, the architect is going to do all they can to make sure the points are reached, even if the building doesn't need that bike rack.

In a conventional RFP, there is no opportunity to talk about why LEED Gold is the standard and what alternatives there might be.

Under a Quality Based Selection (QBS) model, architects could propose options and alternatives that might be in the client’s best interests.

The RFP could state that the objective is a highly sustainable building that shows a lasting value for the investment. In a QBS model, I could propose that the building could meet LEED Gold. Alternatively, I could propose reaching current net zero target of an 80-per-cent reduction in greenhouse gases.

I might be able to propose that a modest two per cent budget increase might result in a 100 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases, demonstrating leadership in climate action. Showing how achieving a complete net zero results in better value, with zero utility operating costs over the lifecycle of the building could be better overall quality in the built environment.

This is the sort of value and quality that our governments are looking for. And governments are ideally positioned to make that investment because they are going to own, operate and maintain these buildings for generations.

But current procurement models prevent that interaction. They do this because the RFP model is set up to score points for procurement departments and get the lowest price.

A better way

We know that there is a better way to do this. In 1972, the Brooks Act was implemented in the United States. For 45 years, it has been illegal to use price in scoring RFPs in all federal government procurement, across 49 of 50 U.S. states and hundreds of municipalities. The track record for quality in procurement is well known, and well documented.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, in its Decision Making and Investment Planning Guide, notes that there is an 11-fold increase in lifecycle value by using Quality Based Selection. The case studies, examples and reports showing that this results in better procurement are exhaustive.

Canada is lagging behind, stifling innovation in public sector procurement and devaluing the contributions of leading innovators in climate action with outdated, inefficient and sometimes illegal procurement practices.

If we want better outcomes, we need better input. Improving procurement to deliver better value results in better buildings that meet the challenges of innovation, lasting quality and better value for all Canadians.

Toon Dreessen is president of Ottawa-based Dreessen Cardinal Architects and past-president of the Ontario Association of Architects.

http://www.obj.ca/article/buying-better-buildings-how-governments-should-hire-architects

[MaxHeadroom]

We know that there is a better way to do this. In 1972, the Brooks Act was implemented in the United States. For 45 years, it has been illegal to use price in scoring RFPs in all federal government procurement, across 49 of 50 U.S. states and hundreds of municipalities. The track record for quality in procurement is well known, and well documented.


Treasury Board has made a recent change to some big RFPs, where the scoring is now 90% technical and 10% price. The new problem is that this has turned procurement upside down, with the traditional perennial winners on price being now unable to compete with superior technical solutions.

https://buyandsell.gc.ca/policy-and-guidelines/supply-manual/section/5

And to complicate matters, contract bidders that bring a lot to the table are in short supply, because bidders never had to compete on technical aspects before. Add to that a huge backlog of work, it means there aren't enough good firms that can actually deliver the goods. In time, this will improve, but it's a 180 degree turn on the lowest-price-wins mentality and could take years that we don't have.

[rocketphish]

Wrap of Ottawa building under construction cost federal government $555K
Though there are costs attached to being the capital, expenditures like this raise questions in other parts of the country, said the director of The Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

By: Ryan Tumilty, Metro
Published on Tue Nov 14 2017

http://www.metronews.ca/content/dam/thestar/2017/11/14/wrap-of-ottawa-building-under-construction-cost-federal-government-555k/story-316048-393995-image-rendered.jpg.size.xxlarge.letterbox.jpg

A plastic wrap around a downtown office building cost the federal government $555,000.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation discovered through access to information, that the Public Services and Procurement Canada spent $555,272.10 on the wrap of the Postal B building on Sparks Street at the corner of Elgin Street.

Aaron Wudrick, the federation’s director, said they passed the giant building wrap on a regular basis and simply wondered what it might have cost.

“It was a classic case of we were walking by, down the street and thinking I wonder what that cost.”

He said they were pretty stunned by the number.

“It’s half a million dollars just to cover up a building basically.”

The majority of the cost was for installation of the wrap around the structure, which cost $330,409.91. That price also includes removal.

Design work for the wrap cost $82,520 and creating it cost $110,730.30.

Mayor Jim Watson has previously called for the government to do a similar wrap around Parliament’s Centre Block when that building goes under construction next year, for what could be more than a decade of work.

Watson said he would like to see the government do a wrap around the scaffolding with an image of Centre Block, so tourists could continue to get that iconic Ottawa photo.

Wudrick said given how much this one wrap cost, he can’t see justifying the expense for Centre Block.

“People who come to see Parliament come to see the building, they don’t come to see a picture of the building,” he said.

He said there are expenses that go into being a capital that are unavoidable, but things like this make people in other parts of the country question the expense.

“They wouldn’t imagine that it cost $500,000 to throw essentially a coloured sheet over a building.”

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) spokesperson Pierre-Alain Bujold said the decision to use a branded tarp was based on concern from the National Capital Commission, City of Ottawa and Sparks Street Business and it might have a second life.

"PSPC is exploring options to reuse the tarp once construction is completed. We are looking for ways to partner with community-based organizations."

He said the tarp was needed and even a plain white one would have cost over $200,000.

He said no decisions have been made on Centre Block.

"PSPC is working with their partners to develop and consider options to engage visitors and Canadians during the rehabilitation work and to maintain a positive visitor experience for the millions who come to Parliament Hill annually."

http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/2017/11/14/wrap-of-ottawa-building-under-construction-cost-federal-government-555k.html

[SkeggsEggs]

The CTF could atleast put in a little bit of effort and compare the costs to other tarps across the world.

[harls]

"PSPC is exploring options to reuse the tarp once construction is completed. We are looking for ways to partner with community-based organizations."

Yeah. The Canada 150 theme will be in huge demand.

[Arcologist]

I bet that wrap will fit nicely on so many other Ottawa buildings...

[OTSkyline]

I think the government gets screwed over and overpays for everything (or gets overcharged bc, well, theyre the government... theyll pay right?). It's the same thing when a white tourist goes to India or Asia for example, locals
know the tourist has money, so prices are significantly higher for them.

In this example, $110K for the cost of the tarp? Not an expert, so that might be possible.

But $330K for the installation? This can't have taken more than let's say 10 guys a couple of days? I don't see how it can be that much.

Finally, $82K for the design of the tarp? This looks like something a designer could've whipped up in a half day on photoshop or whatnot, how can this cost so much? I feel like they could've shopped around and awarded it to one design firm for a flat $10K fee or something.

Anyways, rant over... :hell:

[Uhuniau]

Yeah, that design cost sounds problematic.

[zzptichka]

Yeah, that design cost sounds problematic.

Not if you consider email chain and myriads of meetings between all parties it went though. They probably started working on it 5 years or so in advance.

[mykl]

Not if you consider email chain and myriads of meetings between all parties it went though. They probably started working on it 5 years or so in advance.

the canada 150 logo was unveiled in 2015 so i certainly hope they weren't designing the wrap 3 years before it, with it in mind.

[TransitZilla]

Finally, $82K for the design of the tarp? This looks like something a designer could've whipped up in a half day on photoshop or whatnot, how can this cost so much? I feel like they could've shopped around and awarded it to one design firm for a flat $10K fee or something.

Anyways, rant over... :hell:

The design probably included more than the graphics ; it likely also included the design of the scaffolding and how the tarps would attach to it.

[Jayday23]

A 6 storey mixed-use building is being proposed at 386 Richmond. The proposed uses include at-grade commercial, second floor office, and four floors of residential, containing a total of 16 dwelling units. No parking is proposed.

Renders: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-16_Renderings_D07-12-17-0134.PDF

Planning Rationale:http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-10-16%20-%20Planning%20Rationale%20-%20D07-12-17-0134.PDF

[Jayday23]

The City of Ottawa has received a Site Plan Control application and a Zoning Bylaw Amendment application to facilitate the construction of a new five-storey self-storage facility with retail at grade and associated surface parking at 851 Industrial. The applicant is Dymon Storage.

Renders: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-17%20-%20Elevations%20-%20D07-12-17-0133.PDF

Planning Rationale: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-17%20-%20Planning%20Rationale%20-%20D07-12-17-0133.PDF

[Proof Sheet]

A 6 storey mixed-use building is being proposed at 386 Richmond. The proposed uses include at-grade commercial, second floor office, and four floors of residential, containing a total of 16 dwelling units. No parking is proposed.

Renders: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-16_Renderings_D07-12-17-0134.PDF

Planning Rationale:http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-10-16%20-%20Planning%20Rationale%20-%20D07-12-17-0134.PDF

The property, which had been a tailors shop until recently, was sold in June 2017 for $2.4 million on a 33 x 112 lot. Crazy money.

[rocketphish]

A 6 storey mixed-use building is being proposed at 386 Richmond. The proposed uses include at-grade commercial, second floor office, and four floors of residential, containing a total of 16 dwelling units. No parking is proposed.

Renders: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-16_Renderings_D07-12-17-0134.PDF

Planning Rationale:http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-10-16%20-%20Planning%20Rationale%20-%20D07-12-17-0134.PDF

New thread started over here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=230811

[rocketphish]

The City of Ottawa has received a Site Plan Control application and a Zoning Bylaw Amendment application to facilitate the construction of a new five-storey self-storage facility with retail at grade and associated surface parking at 851 Industrial. The applicant is Dymon Storage.

Renders: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-17%20-%20Elevations%20-%20D07-12-17-0133.PDF

Planning Rationale: http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Image%20Referencing_Site%20Plan%20Application_Image%20Reference_2017-11-17%20-%20Planning%20Rationale%20-%20D07-12-17-0133.PDF

New thread started over here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=230812

[harls]

Anyone know what's going on with Place du Portage I? The roof looks like it's being reclad to a darker colour.. or maybe it's always been darker and I just haven't noticed..

[acottawa]

Whole bunch of community/free newspapers closing.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/postmedia-torstar-sale-closing-metro-ottawa-1.4420952

[Requin]

Wow, really surprised to see Metro on the list. That is very disappointing.

[acottawa]

Anyone know if there is a non-flash version of geo-Ottawa?

[J.OT13]

Whole bunch of community/free newspapers closing.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/postmedia-torstar-sale-closing-metro-ottawa-1.4420952

That is some sketchy ass deal right there. According to the Citizen, the companies had no idea about each others plans for the papers once they were transferred, yet they both announced the shut down of nearly all of them the very same day and fired everyone instantly.

Funny to how only two Metros that were transferred, Ottawa and Winnipeg, both of them shut down. The rest of them? Still printing.

[rocketphish]

Carleton University eyeing purchase of historic church
Dominion-Chalmers United Church struggling with declining congregation

CBC News
Posted: Dec 06, 2017 8:47 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 06, 2017 12:34 PM ET

https://i.cbc.ca/1.4435319.1512574954!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/dominion-chalmers-united-church.jpg

Carleton University is entering into talks to purchase Ottawa's Dominion-Chalmers United Church, with plans to turn the historic downtown building into a performance space for students and faculty.

The university's board of governors has agreed to enter into negotiations to purchase the church on the corner of Cooper and O'Connor streets. The church has become a popular venue for concerts, events and festivals including Chamberfest and the Ottawa Jazz Festival, but has been in a dire financial situation for some time.

"The acquisition of this unique community asset would provide valuable performance space for Carleton students and faculty that isn't available on the main campus," said Alastair Summerlee, Carleton University's interim president and vice-chancellor, in a news release.

The church's congregation has declined sharply over the years, from about 2,000 in the 1960s to between 80 and 100 in 2016.

In addition to using the site as a performance space for students and faculty, the university said in a statement it will also be a hub for artists and community groups. The Dominion-Chalmers United Church congregation will continue to use a small space in the building, the university said.

The building will also likely continue to host festivals including the Ottawa International Writers Festival and Chamberfest, according to the statement.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/carleton-university-purchase-church-1.4435024

[kevinbottawa]

It'll be nice for uOttawa to own this. Ottawa doesn't have as many historic university buildings as other cities.

[Uhuniau]

It'll be nice for uOttawa to own this. Ottawa doesn't have as many historic university buildings as other cities.

* Carleton.

[Jayday23]

Carleton University eyeing purchase of historic church
Dominion-Chalmers United Church struggling with declining congregation

CBC News
Posted: Dec 06, 2017 8:47 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 06, 2017 12:34 PM ET

https://i.cbc.ca/1.4435319.1512574954!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/dominion-chalmers-united-church.jpg

Carleton University is entering into talks to purchase Ottawa's Dominion-Chalmers United Church, with plans to turn the historic downtown building into a performance space for students and faculty.

The university's board of governors has agreed to enter into negotiations to purchase the church on the corner of Cooper and O'Connor streets. The church has become a popular venue for concerts, events and festivals including Chamberfest and the Ottawa Jazz Festival, but has been in a dire financial situation for some time.

"The acquisition of this unique community asset would provide valuable performance space for Carleton students and faculty that isn't available on the main campus," said Alastair Summerlee, Carleton University's interim president and vice-chancellor, in a news release.

The church's congregation has declined sharply over the years, from about 2,000 in the 1960s to between 80 and 100 in 2016.

In addition to using the site as a performance space for students and faculty, the university said in a statement it will also be a hub for artists and community groups. The Dominion-Chalmers United Church congregation will continue to use a small space in the building, the university said.

The building will also likely continue to host festivals including the Ottawa International Writers Festival and Chamberfest, according to the statement.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/carleton-university-purchase-church-1.4435024

I hope they do something with that massive eye sore above-ground parking lot on the far side of the building. Would be ripe for redevelopment..... off campus housing anyone?

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

I hope they do something with that massive eye sore above-ground parking lot on the far side of the building. Would be ripe for redevelopment..... off campus housing anyone?

That parking is used for the events at the church, though.

[phil235]

That parking is used for the events at the church, though.

Not a high-value use of downtown land.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Not a high-value use of downtown land.

Most mid-sized venues have some kind of parking. That will need to be addressed.

[gjhall]

Most mid-sized venues have some kind of parking. That will need to be addressed.

There is ample on-street and surface/underground parking nearby, including but not limited to:
-Somerset/O'Connor
-Somerset/Metcalfe
-Somerset-Maclaren behind Somerset House
-Nepean/O'Connor
-Gloucester/O'Connor
-Cooper/Bank
-Lisgar west of Bank
-Lisgar/Metcalfe

[Jayday23]

I'm hearing that Minto has put in an application to redevelop 99 5th street (in the glebe). Anyone have more info on this?

[rocketphish]

I'm hearing that Minto has put in an application to redevelop 99 5th street (in the glebe). Anyone have more info on this?

Watch this space:
https://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/appDetails.jsf?lang=en&appId=__AU4LZ6

[kevinbottawa]

Here are a few Place Bell, aka 160 Elgin, renderings. I didn't see a thread for this but if there is one let me know.

https://i.imgur.com/ADt3DDo.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/ODDiqCD.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/9qZAs4Y.jpg

[rocketphish]

Province provides $8.95M to finish francophone centre project at old Grant School

Jacquie Miller, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 15, 2017 | Last Updated: December 15, 2017 5:57 PM EST

https://postmediaottawacitizen2.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/0908-grant-school-09.jpg&w=600

The province has come to the rescue of a problem-plagued project to turn an old school in Ottawa’s west end into a francophone community service centre, promising $8.95 million in funding.

That’s enough to finish construction at the former Grant School. The heritage building on Richmond Road has become a target for both vandals and irate neighbours upset that the school still sits empty seven years after it was turned over to the non-profit group Centre Multiservices Francophone de l’Ouest d’Ottawa (CMFO).

The French-language public school board is now also a partner in the “community hub” project. Plans call for a French high school for adults, a new gym and a daycare. Other services are being determined, but could include health care run by the Montfort Hospital, classrooms for the French-language college La Cité, space for the anti-poverty group Cooperative Ami Jeunesse, employment and training programs, legal and immigration services, cultural and social activities and summer camps for kids, said CMFO spokesperson Ronald Bisson.

“I’m very, very happy, very thrilled. It’s an important day for Ottawa west. A new institution is born. It will be on a solid financial basis, and I know that over the years it will be a home for thousands of people who will use these services.” Construction on the project had been halted after the CMFO ran out of money.

The infusion of cash announced Friday brings the total amount spent by the province and the city on the project to $15.146 million.

There’s still one hitch, though: the city must agree to allow the transfer of Grant School to the French school board for $1.

That’s because the city originally bought the surplus Grant School for $1.94 million to be developed by CMFO. Under the new scheme, the school board will own the building instead and the community groups will be tenants.

The president of the French-language school board, Linda Savard, said city approval is a “rubber stamp.” The city has no reason to oppose the project, she said.

“Now that we have secured the money, now that (the school board) is involved and everything seems to be going forward, the project is a go. I don’t foresee any problem with the municipality.”

Architectural plans have been done and building permits are in place, Savard said. She said construction inside the school and demolition of the old annex attached to it could begin in the next few weeks. The school board is negotiating with the city to buy the rear portion of the site at market value in order to construct a gym there, Savard said. She said she hopes the francophone centre will be up and running by the fall of 2018.

Coun. Mark Taylor said the project will go to the city’s finance and economic development committee, and then to council for approval.

Making the school board the landlord instead of the non-profit group is an “administrative tweak,” he said. “The project) still fulfils all of council’s original intent. Council wanted this space to become a francophone community hub operated for the benefit of the larger community, and that’s still what will happen.”

Bisson said he recognizes that some neighbours of Grant School are upset with the delays or opposed the project. But he’s confident they will be more supportive once the centre is built. “It’s not a 20-storey high-rise, it’s not a noisy thing. I think neighbours will be very pleased.

“At the end of the day, we still have to be neighbours, and that’s my approach, How can we still be neighbours with different opinions?”

Neighbour Graham Patterson said he was open-minded about the project at first, but as the years passed he concluded it’s a fiasco that should be abandoned.

A provincial election is coming in the spring, and the funding announcement is “crass opportunism by politicians,” said Patterson. “This is another waste of money, an attempt by (Premier) Kathleen Wynne to reach out and corral a couple of extra votes.”

Roland Reebs, who lives in a house on a street near the school and owns another on the same street, said Grant School should be handed back to the city and sold.

CMFO has displayed “goodwill but extreme ineptitude,” he said. The group failed to submit business plans on time, changed plans about what services would be provided (plans for a long-term care home and co-op housing were dropped), failed to raise $2 million from private donations as initially promised, and oversaw a project plagued with delays and rising costs, he said.

“They just stumbled along,” but it doesn’t seem to matter, said Reebs. “Lo and behold, it all works out” — courtesy of more money from taxpayers, he said.

The provincial money should be spent on more pressing issues, such as crumbling infrastructure, the poverty that drives an increasing number of people to food banks or development of alternative energy, he said.

“I think this is a project for more affluent times.”

jmiller@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JacquieAMiller

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/province-provides-8-95m-to-finish-francophone-centre-project-at-old-grant-school

[Uhuniau]

Here are a few Place Bell, aka 160 Elgin, renderings. I didn't see a thread for this but if there is one let me know.


How long ago was the last re-jigging?

[J.OT13]

Do we have a thread for this one, 440 Bronson?

https://i2.wp.com/www.westsideaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/elevation.png?w=776
http://www.westsideaction.com/intensification-by-the-rules/

[rocketphish]

Do we have a thread for this one, 440 Bronson?

https://i2.wp.com/www.westsideaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/elevation.png?w=776
http://www.westsideaction.com/intensification-by-the-rules/

No, I don't think we do. I can't find any formal application yet, and no info other than what Eric Darwin has just posted:

http://www.westsideaction.com/intensification-by-the-rules/

[Jayday23]

Here are a few Place Bell, aka 160 Elgin, renderings. I didn't see a thread for this but if there is one let me know.

https://i.imgur.com/ADt3DDo.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/ODDiqCD.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/9qZAs4Y.jpg


Anyone know what restaurants are going into the retail bays at the corner of Elgin and Nepean and Elgin and Glocester?

[gjhall]

Walked by today and you can get the effect now - it's striking from across Elgin

[rocketphish]

Fotenn’s Ottawa planning gurus map path to success
For a quarter-century, company founders Ted Fobert and Robert Tennant have played a key role in shaping the development projects that now define Ottawa

By: Caroline Phillips, OBJ
Published: Jan 9, 2018 3:27pm EST

They say timing is everything. Assuming that old adage were true, the best thing to have done during the economic storm of the early 1990s was to just sit tight and wait it out.

Or not. Ted Fobert chose then to leave his comfy management-level position with the City of Ottawa. Likewise, friend and fellow urban planner Robert Tennant was doing well working for the private sector when he also made his planned exit.

Together, they started an urban planning consultancy firm called FoTenn, renting office space out of a small building that has since been replaced by a Shoppers Drug Mart at the corner of Bank and Sunnyside.

“Our first couple of years in the business were pretty tough,” acknowledges Fobert, 65, while speaking alongside Tennant, 68, in the boardroom of Fotenn Planning + Design. “We had pretty limited opportunities. The governments weren’t spending money. The private sector was quiet. The city didn’t really bounce back until ’94 or ’95.”

He wasn’t yet regretting his career move but “I think my wife was,” he jokes (kind of).

From those humble beginnings in early 1992, FoTenn has grown to become the top firm of its kind in the region and one of the largest in the province. Its award-winning expertise includes site planning, land usage, policy development, urban design and landscape architecture.

Today, the company has a staff of more than 30 people and is involved in almost every new development that shapes our city, from the transformation of Richmond Road and Lansdowne Park to the expansion of Barrhaven South and the planned redevelopment of LeBreton Flats.

For developers, FoTenn is the go-to firm for steering complex urban projects through the city’s approval process and Ontario Municipal Board hearings.

“When we started, we had no idea what size we might be,” says Tennant while recalling how the company managed to organically grow and diversify as more and more clients hired it and new business ideas and opportunities proved successful. “I’m quite proud of what we were able to do.”

On the public sector side, FoTenn’s work includes its extensive community planning for the Inuit and First Nations living in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and northern Quebec.

FoTenn has also expanded geographically, with offices in Kingston and Toronto. In 2000, it bought and moved into its 223 McLeod St. building, which is full of beautiful artwork belonging to Tennant and Fobert (Tennant is an avid art collector).

The company founders were recently fêted at a large reception attended by the likes of Mayor Jim Watson, Coun. Jan Harder, chair of the city’s planning committee, and Russ Mills, former chair of the National Capital Commission.

Fobert and Tennant are in the process of retiring from FoTenn and passing the business along to its directors, Brian Casagrande, Michael Stott, Miguel Tremblay and Margo Watson.

They’re not riding off into the sunset, though. The two are also partners in another venture, a tour boat business in the Thousand Islands called Rockport Cruises.

FoTenn’s greatest accomplishment remains its biggest challenge: helping cities move forward by getting projects approved in the face of community resistance.

Large supermarkets and taller buildings can create mobs of angry neighbours, leading to wild accusations, name-calling and even – on one occasion – the slashing of car tires.

“Planners are change agents,” Fobert says. “That’s our primary role. We accept a vision that has been stated by a municipality, that becomes in the public interest. It’s not the 20 to 30 people complaining at public meetings who are in the public interest.”

The intensification of Westboro’s Richmond Road “is a really good example of the evolution of a street that resulted in a battle against almost every particular development along there,” he adds.

“People don’t remember how depressed Richmond Road was. There were no highrises, no life on the street. I can remember meetings where people would say, ‘Where am I going to park if you put all this development on Richmond Road?’ Well, guess what – that’s a healthy sign if you’re looking for parking.

“Looking back on the projects, you realize they were, in fact, good projects, and that they’ve strengthened the community, not deteriorated the community,” says Fobert. “In retrospect, it’s good development, it makes sense, it’s supporting our infrastructure, it’s supporting the Transitway, it’s doing all the things that it was intended to do.

“You have to have a conviction that what you’re doing is in the public interest. The public doesn’t see the developments that we’ve turned away, that we didn’t feel were in the public interest.”

Years ago, for example, FoTenn was hired to handle a rezoning application for a proposed bingo hall and Chinese grocery store in Westboro.

“We thought we’d hit pay dirt,” recalls Tennant. “But we looked at each other after having researched it and decided this wasn’t good for the community. We went to the client and said, ‘We don’t think you should do this.’ The client looked at us and said, ‘Thank you very much.’

“The next day the client called to say, ‘I appreciate your honesty. I have three other properties I’d like you to work on.’ Indeed, it was an early lesson on helping people do better things.”

That Westboro property, by the way, is now home to Mountain Equipment Co-op, arguably the best-ever addition to the ’hood.


Five things to know about Robert Tennant and Ted Fobert


Tennant traces his love of urban planning and design back to a childhood spent visiting European cities. His dad had a senior position with Air Canada that allowed the family to travel extensively. His post-secondary education includes a master’s degree in city planning from the University of Toronto.
Fobert credits his interest in urban planning to a high school geography teacher in the Toronto suburb of Thornhill. The teacher loved talking about cities. “I didn’t really understand anything about urban planning or know that there was such a profession, but when I got to university and saw there was a program, that’s what I was drawn to.”
Both men belong to the highly regarded Royal Ottawa Golf Club, and Tennant is even a former club president and club champion. He comes from a long line of distinguished golfers and is an invited member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world.
If you’ve ever belonged to the Y, you may recognize Fobert from his years of teaching a popular fitness class there. He was also on the board of directors for the YMCA-YWCA National Capital Region.
Tennant’s community involvement has included the Writers’ Trust of Canada, Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa and being on the boards of the National Capital Commission and the National Arts Centre’s new building committee.


http://www.obj.ca/article/fotenns-ottawa-planning-gurus-map-path-success

[rocketphish]

Does anybody know what project this is, located on the south side of West Hunt Club, next to Baton Rouge and Mandarin? It's been under construction for what seems like years.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.3399431,-75.7100978,3a,45.6y,145.4h,91.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1cyN63Kjqt4go3bUtIx9Sg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

It looks like a hotel or retirement residence, but I don't recall it ever being discussed on this forum.

[MountainView]

Does anybody know what project this is, located on the south side of West Hunt Club, next to Baton Rouge and Mandarin? It's been under construction for what seems like years.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.3399431,-75.7100978,3a,45.6y,145.4h,91.04t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1cyN63Kjqt4go3bUtIx9Sg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

It looks like a hotel or retirement residence, but I don't recall it ever being discussed on this forum.

I believe it is going to be a Sandman Hotel and a Chop Steakhouse.

[Uhuniau]

Seems to have been a lot of tree removal sometime in the past couple of months either on or near Beechwood Cemetery lands, near the park where there is that little "shortcut" from the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre towards St-Laurent.

[rocketphish]

I believe it is going to be a Sandman Hotel and a Chop Steakhouse.

You are absolutely right. I just found confirmation here:

https://uniformdevelopments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Hunt-Club-Map.jpg
https://uniformdevelopments.com/commercial/new-developments/

I also didn't know that Uniform Developments had commercial holdings as well as being a home builder.

[waterloowarrior]

I also didn't know that Uniform Developments had commercial holdings as well as being a home builder.

Here is some of the history
https://uniformdevelopments.com/celebrating-canada-150-with-a-lesson-in-uniform-history/

[MountainView]

You are absolutely right. I just found confirmation here:

https://uniformdevelopments.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Hunt-Club-Map.jpg
https://uniformdevelopments.com/commercial/new-developments/

I also didn't know that Uniform Developments had commercial holdings as well as being a home builder.

That image reminded me too much of what Trinity's development website looks like so I just went over there and noticed that image is there too.

Trinity Website (http://www.trinity-group.com/property/hunt-club-merivale/)
http://www.trinity-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Hunt-Club-Centre_Site-Plan.jpg

Maybe Trinity developed it and Uniform leases the space or bought it.

[Catenary]

That image reminded me too much of what Trinity's development website looks like so I just went over there and noticed that image is there too.

Trinity Website (http://www.trinity-group.com/property/hunt-club-merivale/)

Maybe Trinity developed it and Uniform leases the space or bought it.

It's funny that hotel should come up, I went by there a while back and wondered what was taking so long. I believe most of the building is wood as well, hotels of that size I've seen are often prefab concrete and go up in 12-16 months.

That retail space is odd. I worked for a snow removal contractor that had contracts there, and it's divided up into separate chunks. We cleared the Lowes parking lot, as well as the Panera and other shops out front, but under separate contracts. The contract for the Panera and other shops was with RioCan. Meanwhile, the east end of the property was a different contractor, which is unusual.

Here's the RioCan page:
http://riocan.com/leasing-portfolio/property/hunt-club-lowes

[rocketphish]

Maybe Trinity developed it and Uniform leases the space or bought it.

I'm thinking maybe they bought it, since they (Uniform) also list 145, 149, 151 Bentley Avenue as Warehouse + Industrial holdings, which is the adjoining property to the south. Maybe they picked up the whole thing as a single parcel?

https://uniformdevelopments.com/commercial/warehouse-residential/

[rocketphish]

Do we have a thread for this one, 440 Bronson?

https://i2.wp.com/www.westsideaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/elevation.png?w=776
http://www.westsideaction.com/intensification-by-the-rules/

This one just got posted, so I created a new thread for it over here:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=231729

[Admiral Nelson]

Anyone know what restaurants are going into the retail bays at the corner of Elgin and Nepean and Elgin and Glocester?

There are posters up now for Browns Socialhouse at the Elgin/Gloucester corner. They intend to open this summer.

I'm not familiar with them but they seem to be a large chain from out west.

Here's their FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Browns-Socialhouse-Centretown-234081550467622/

[TransitZilla]

New high-rise residential proposal at Trainyards.

Phase 1 is for 2 towers, 15 and 22 floors, 414 units total

Total for all phases is 1,884 units.

I'll let someone else create the thread!

https://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/appDetails.jsf?lang=en&appId=__AYYR8P

[waterloowarrior]

http://www.juteaujohnsoncomba.com/newsletters/2018/January_2018_Newsletter_November_Sales_2017.pdf

949-971 Gladstone & 145 Loretta Avenues was purchased by 971 Gladstone Avenue Inc. (Trinity Development Group) from 2561592 Ontario Inc. Gladstone Limited Partnership for $11,500,000 or $107 per square foot of site area. It is improved with three attached retail/industrial buildings totaling 63,076 square feet that are one, two and four storeys in height. The property is located along the Trillium Rail Corridor within 600 metres of an existing transit station and to the immediate west of a future transit station

[rocketphish]

Civic Pharmacy sign could soon shine again, community association says
Agreement reached with owner to preserve rare piece of 'Googie' architecture

By Trevor Pritchard, CBC News
Posted: Feb 20, 2018 4:00 AM ET Last Updated: Feb 20, 2018 4:00 AM ET

https://i.cbc.ca/1.4542472.1519083055!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/original_620/civic-pharmacy-building-carling-ottawa-feb-19-2018.JPG

It once spun and shone at the intersection of Carling and Holland avenues.

Now, after falling into disrepair — and facing potential destruction— the blocky, pastel-coloured Civic Pharmacy sign could soon have a new life, thanks to the efforts of the local community association.

"It's probably one of the most prominent features of the neighbourhood," said Gregg Kricorissian, who sits on the Civic Hospital Neighbourhood Association's heritage committee.

"I've lived here for almost 36 years, and I see it every day."

The sign has stood at Carling and Holland ever since the former pharmacy opened there in 1960.

However, more than a year ago, the building was put up for sale — and the community association, Kricorissian said, began to worry about the fate of the sign, which had already begun to shed pieces of metal.

Eventually, Kricorissian said, they were able to track down the new owner and make their pitch for saving it.

"I think we sort of attached a value to it. And as a result, they decided to keep the sign as a permanent part of the building and incorporate it with the renovation," he said.

"And in the end, we ended up saving the sign."

The sign is an example of what's known as "Googie" architecture — a flashy mid-20th century style that relies heavily on steel and neon.

It's often described as having a "futuristic" or "space-age" aesthetic, and would be familiar to anyone who's seen The Jetsons or visited Las Vegas.

"We don't have many of these cool, kind of retro, nostalgic, authentic signs left," said Andrew King, an Ottawa heritage advocate, who's written about the sign's significance and called for its preservation.

King once lived a few blocks away from the Civic Pharmacy building. He designed T-shirts adorned with the sign to bring attention to it — and help it avoid the fate of other historic signs like the Mellos marquee in the ByWard Market.

"So often, these owners of buildings — they're not doing it out of spite or hatred for it. They just don't realize the importance that these kind of cool, old signs have to the people of Ottawa," King said.

"[This] is a huge win. And I'm just thrilled that I'm not the only one that's looking out for these signs."

Last month, Kricorissian said, the new owners told the community association they'd foot the bill to preserve the sign, which currently sits half-buried under an orange tarp as the building undergoes renovations.

Kricorissian said the new sign could potentially light up once again, using cheaper LED lights instead of neon. (It likely will never rotate, he added, as even in the 1960s the spinning mechanism proved difficult to maintain.)

The restoration work would also likely be carried out by the same Ottawa company, Ray Neon Signs, that designed it six decades ago.

Kricorissian said there's no indication yet when that work would get underway, but he's confident the owners want the Civic Pharmacy sign to be part of the building's new look.

"It means something. It's the name of the neighbourhood. It's the name of the hospital," Kricorissian said.

"It would've been pretty sad [if it disappeared]. Not the end of the world, but I think the neighbourhood would've lost a real touchstone."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/civic-pharmacy-sign-googie-architecture-1.4542119

[Jayday23]

What's actually happening to the pharmacy building?

[rocketphish]

Bill Teron, 1932-2018: 'Father of Kanata' left his mark around the world

Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: March 12, 2018 | Last Updated: March 12, 2018 6:54 PM EDT

http://wpmedia.ottawacitizen.com/2018/03/teron-61-jpg.jpg?quality=55&strip=&w=800
Bill Teron, right, points to a model of Kanata as architect Ian Johns looks on. Johns was the main staff architect who worked with Teron in Kanata and for many years later.

William “Bill” Teron was, among other things, a developer, a building innovator, a patron of the arts, a philanthropist and a senior public servant.

But to many, he was nothing less than a visionary with a grasp of both the sweeping picture and the small details.

Teron was the last surviving member of the “big three” developers of postwar Ottawa who helped to shape the rapidly-expanding city, along with the Greenbergs of Minto and Robert Campeau. Teron had been hospitalized twice in recent weeks and died early Monday. He was 85.

Known as the Father of Kanata, Teron’s claim to fame in Ottawa was creating the “garden city” that became Beaverbrook. Announced in 1964, it was a small town on land gently carved out of the farm fields, woodlots and rocky outcrops Teron had assembled for development outside the greenbelt. Teron would later disparage the “berry box builders” and “garage architecture.”

“This was Tom Thomson,” he explained in one interview. “This was the rugged romantic. The houses are meant to be cottages in the woods. They’re not meant to be peacocks.”

Teron not only built homes, he offered land to technology companies for the price of servicing. Atomic Energy, Northern Electric and Mitel signed up. It was the nucleus of Silicon Valley North, and latecomers would have to pay more.

His influence went far beyond Ottawa. In 1987, he turned over derelict industrial lands in Toronto to the federal government at cost on the promise that the land would be turned into an urban park. The result was Harbourfront.

He was invited by former prime minister Lester Pearson to chair a building committee for a new school for international understanding and co-operation near Victoria, B.C. His company, Teron International, developed building block-type technology, and Teron travelled around the world. He even spent seven years living in an apartment overlooking the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he was helping to renovate the museum.

“I would be working in the czar’s cathedral, his personal church that no one has seen,” he said in a 2005 interview. “It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done.”

Teron was an honorary fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, but he never formally studied architecture. Born on a homestead in Gardenton, Man., he and his family moved to Winnipeg when he was 10. He left school after Grade 10 and would later say that everything he built came from deprivation, not privilege.

He arrived in Ottawa at the age of 18, eager to get a slice of the post-war housing boom. His father was a farmer-turned-carpenter who impressed on Teron the idea that the plans were what created the magic. In high school, Teron developed an interest in drafting. “Because that’s where magic is made,” he said in 2005.

Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson, whom Teron often jokingly called the Mother of Kanata, has lived in the same Teron home since 1968. As part of the purchase agreement, homeowners had to agree to be part of the community association, she says.

“We came here because we understood the concept. You didn’t buy a house. You bought into a community. The attitude is still there.”

Teron began his career as an architectural designer for builder Charles Johannsen, designing custom homes in the Civic campus area and Rothwell Heights. He got his big break at the age of 22, building a house for Jim Scott, then the director general of the Defence Research Board.

Soon after, in 1955, he married Jean Woodwark, the daughter of a United Church minister. The couple had four children: Chris, Kim, Will and Bruce.

Teron’s contracts proliferated. In 1956, Teron’s Lynwood Village in Bells Corners development sparked a kind of gold rush — he sold 218 lots within a few hours. That led to buying up and developing more land in Bells Corners and Qualicum. He next turned his sights on leapfrogging outside the greenbelt, with the idea that he would have to build an entire community, not just the houses.

The Kanata land — 3,000 acres — was held by a conglomerate and valued at $3.3 million. Teron had only a $12,500 down payment, he recalled an interview with this newspaper.

The Queensway didn’t even exist at the time, says Wilkinson. “His idea was to create a satellite city. There wasn’t even a village there. The whole idea was the city in the country. Open spaces, preserving the rock outcrops when possible. There were pathways to where the schools were going to go. Kids still use them.”

March township, as it was then, didn’t have a recreation department, she says. Teron offered tennis courts, a swimming pool, a nine-hole golf course and a riding stable. But Kanata was designed to be exactly the opposite of an upper-class enclave — it was supposed to be a diverse city of apartments, townhouses and single-family homes.

“He always pointed out that his initial plan was more than just large, single-family homes,” says Bruce S. Elliott, a professor of history at Carleton University and author of The City Beyond. Still, Teron believed that his new community needed a strong base of professional-class residents. By 1965, there were already 27 engineers living in Beaverbrook, Elliott notes.

The infamous “covenants” between Teron and home buyers are much-mocked. Among these was an agreement that paint colours must remain in muted shades. “I wanted the community and the homes to be sympathetic to each other and to be organic,” Teron once explained. “So much architecture is shock treatment. I wanted this to be poetic. That’s why I didn’t want straight streets or street curbs. I wanted the streets to echo nature.”

By 1969, Teron had developed Beaverbrook, but 90 per cent of the undeveloped Kanata land still remained, and he needed cash to move ahead with the project. His next move would be the first in a chain of events that end with Teron’s leaving Kanata. He agreed to a merger with Maurice Strong of Power Corp, with the agreement that Teron could veto design ideas. If Strong disagreed, he could buy out Teron’s shares based on the value of the company that day.

Paul Desmarais succeeded Strong at the helm or Power Corp. and proposed merging with developer Campeau Corp. Teron declined to work with his archrival Robert Campeau.

“Campeau and I were like tigers who needed separate cages,” he would later say.

Desmarais opted to veto Teron’s veto, and Teron’s shares were sold to Desmarais for $4.7 million.

Teron was head of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp from 1974 to 1979, taking on the additional role of deputy minister of urban affairs starting in 1976.

“We had a lot of developers who thought inside the box. Bill was always looking for the new thing and new directions,” says Elliott. “I think that’s why (prime minister) Pierre Trudeau appointed him as head of CMHC.”

Teron was especially proud of CMHC’s Assisted Home Ownership Program, which was designed to appeal to first-time buyers, stimulate the housing market, and help low-income people get the opportunity to buy a home. At the time, mortgage rates hit as high as 18 per cent, says David Crenna, who was then the director of CMHC’s policy development division. Teron understood both the public-sector and private-sector perspectives in this conundrum, he says,

“He played a fundamental role in making housing affordable.”

Among his honours, Teron was an Officer of the Order of Canada, and he was given the Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 by the Canadian Urban Institute for his broad contributions. “There are few people who have a résumé as well-rounded as Bill Teron,” said Glenn Miller, a senior research associate with the institute.

Duncan Edmonds, then a lecturer at Carleton University, met Teron in 1961 when Edmonds was raising money to bring African students to Canada. Teron wrote him a cheque.

“He never said no. He always looked at any idea and tried to examine it as positively as possible.”

Much later, as apartheid was falling in South Africa, Edmonds invited Teron to South Africa to see whether Teron’s modular building system could help with a housing shortage in South Africa. The two returned many times. “He designed, wonderful, low-cost housing,” says Edmonds. “He really was a humanitarian.”

Teron’s son, Chris and daughter, Kim, worked with their father in the company from the time they were teens. Chris said his father would have been horrified at the concept of retiring and worked almost to this last day.

“When the average person thinks of my father, they think of Kanata. That was one of his biggest and best legacies. But that was 50 years ago. There have been a number of things since then,” says Chris.

Even in recent years, Teron was never far from the headlines.

A supporter of the arts, Teron was one of the founding trustees of the National Arts Centre. In 2003, he proposed building a world-class concert hall for free if the city would donate land on Elgin Street.

That same year, he announced that he was leaving the prestigious Canal 111 apartment complex that he built on Echo Drive to return to Kanata to build a 5,600-square-foot home on three-quarters of an acre of woodland in the Kanata Rockeries enclave, part of a parcel he had kept aside for himself. The house had a rooftop garden, and its south side was almost all glass, angled to reflect the sun’s rays in summer and collect them in winter. The north side was buried in a hillside for insulation and to obscure it from public view.

“The reason is as simple as the fact that I’m looking forward to more contemplative time, to more gardening time,” he told this newspaper.

Still, Teron could not refrain from jumping into debate. In a 2007 speech, Teron pitched an idea about developing land in the greenbelt, which had originally been envisioned to control urban sprawl.

Teron proposed that the National Capital Commission sell off about 6,000 acres of the greenbelt to create a 37-kilometre long “belt inside the belt” for medium-density housing with access to rapid transit. It would likely net the NCC around $3 billion, which could be used to buy land for a secondary greenbelt, said Teron, who envisioned small “villages” of 5,000 to 10,000 people, each with industrial or commercial venture.

In 2011, Teron gave an impassioned speech, arguing that infill projects were bringing too much density into neighbourhoods without much thought.

“There’s an unfortunate policy in the City of Ottawa right now, in which it appears that our city government actually encourages and approves random spot zoning anywhere, any place,” he told hundreds of Kanata residents who had gathered over a proposal for a condo tower. The audience gave him a standing ovation.

That same year, he ripped into the National Capital Commission for its refusal to help save a mature forest in Kanata from development. The NCC risked becoming irrelevant by focusing on “nice small” projects, Teron warned. “The NCC mandate was shaping the character of the national capital.”

Later in life, Teron reflected on his disappointments. In 2005, looking back on his 50-year career, he said he regretted that his plans for a Kanata town centre never materialized, and that the rest of Kanata was developed in a conventional fashion. “The greatest regret in my life will be that I didn’t stay, because the rest of the place would have been a cross between Beaverbrook and Kanata Rockeries,” he said.

Teron was passionate about what he did, and the results have stood the test of time, says Wilkinson.

“Bill was a guy who really, really cared about what he did. We love our community because of it.”

Teron’s family will hold a private memorial and internment at the Pinecrest Cemetery.

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/bill-teron-1932-2018-the-story-father-of-kanata-was-a-rags-to-riches-saga-with-ripples-felt-around-the-world

[J.OT13]

A supporter of the arts, Teron was one of the founding trustees of the National Arts Centre. In 2003, he proposed building a world-class concert hall for free if the city would donate land on Elgin Street.

I forgot about that. So what happened, Teron made a proposal; let me develop the land and I'll give you a free $20 million dollar concert hall. The City said "hey, great idea! Let's have a competition to see who wants to buy the land for peanuts and allow us to build a concert hall out of our own pocket!!" After a year, bureaucrats rejected the free concert hall from the local developer and chose the winning proposal based on a points system that fits in their "box" without consulting the public. The winning Toronto based company bought the land for $6.6 million and the agreement was that space would be reserved for a concert hall, funded by the government and donations ($6.5 mil. province, $6.3 mil. Feds, $12 mil. donations). After years of trying to raise the necessary money, the campaign fell short so Morguard instead gave a good rate to Ottawa Tourism.

In summary, the City rejected a deal that would have seen them ahead by $15+ mil. (not counting the property taxes lost by leaving an empty lot for 10 years) in exchange for a good lease for Ottawa Tourism.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/teron-proposes-major-ottawa-concert-hall-1.409417
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/developer-wants-public-debate-on-150-elgin-fate-1.467856
http://www.obj.ca/index.php/article/city-making-space-ottawa-tourism-150-elgin

This wasn't supposed to be a rant against Morguard. At the end of the day, I think they built a quality building that has enhanced the skyline. They've also done a stellar job restoring Grant House. This was about further exposing the City's ridiculous process that greatly lags in logic and public engagement, something we've seen with the concert hall fiasco, Stage 1 and 2 of the O-Train expansion and now the central library.

[Jayday23]

Scaffolding has been placed up at the heritage building at 488-490 Bank street (next to the old smarthouse site). Any idea what's going on? Tenant fit-ups perhaps? (*Clasps hands firmly and prays to ALL the gods*)

[waterloowarrior]

319 Richmond Road was purchased by Churchill and Main Urban Properties Inc. (Main and Main Developments Inc.) from 2421483 Ontario Inc. (Avenues Garage Limited Partnership) for $4,850,000 or $340 per square foot. It is improved with a single-storey
commercial building. The purchaser also owns the two lots immediately west of this property.
http://www.juteaujohnsoncomba.com/newsletters/2018/February_2018_Newsletter_December_2017_Sales.pdf


north side of Richmond between Churchill and Winona

[waterloowarrior]

this is an interesting purchase. Sales office for their Rockcliffe development?

Commercial Land Sales
895 Montreal Road was purchased by Mattamy (Rockcliffe) Ltd. from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for $2,350,000 or $49.12 per square foot.
It is improved with a small singlestorey commercial building. The site was formally utilized as a car dealership.

[waterloowarrior]

http://www.juteaujohnsoncomba.com/newsletters/2017/May_2017_Newsletter_March_2017_Sales.pdf
303-307 Rideau Street was transferred from Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada to Canada Lands Company CLC
Limited for $4,000,000 or $16 per square foot. It is improved with a vacant eleven-storey federal government office
building known as the Constitution Building. It was confirmed with PSPC that the transfer is not a market price.

hmmm

http://www.juteaujohnsoncomba.com/newsletters/2018/February_2018_Newsletter_December_2017_Sales.pdf

303-307 Rideau Street was purchased by 2592653 Ontario Inc. from Canada Lands Company CLC Limited for $16,250,000 or $69 per square foot. It is improved with an eleven-storey office building that was constructed in ±1963. It has ±45 underground and ±25 surface parking spaces. The purchaser intends to reposition the building as residential.

[rocketphish]

this is an interesting purchase. Sales office for their Rockcliffe development?

Commercial Land Sales
895 Montreal Road was purchased by Mattamy (Rockcliffe) Ltd. from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for $2,350,000 or $49.12 per square foot.
It is improved with a small singlestorey commercial building. The site was formally utilized as a car dealership.

Yes, that's exactly what's being built on the site right now.

[MichaelC]

I'm sorry, I'm not from Ottawa so I wouldn't know but why aren't there any tall building's in Ottawa?

I was just wondering because compared to similar sized cities like Calgary where skyscrapers like Brookfield place (247m, 56 Stories) was just finished and the Bow (236m, 57 Stories) which was finished 2012 or Edmonton which has Stantec Tower (251m, 66 Stories) under construction and construction starting on Alldritt tower (280m, 80 Stories) in October.

[roger1818]

I'm sorry, I'm not from Ottawa so I wouldn't know but why aren't there any tall building's in Ottawa?

I was just wondering because compared to similar sized cities like Calgary where skyscrapers like Brookfield place (247m, 56 Stories) was just finished and the Bow (236m, 57 Stories) which was finished 2012 or Edmonton which has Stantec Tower (251m, 66 Stories) under construction and construction starting on Alldritt tower (280m, 80 Stories) in October.

It is because the National Capital Omission (NCC) restricts the height of buildings downtown to preserve classic views of the parliament buildings (such as the one from Gatineau Nepean Point below). Having a tall, modern tower sticking up behind would change the vista. I believe we will see much taller buildings in LeBreton Flats, as not only is it at a lower elevation, but it is further from Parliament Hill, and the trigonometry allows for taller buildings.

http://libertybull.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Parliament_Hill_Ottawa-1170x600.jpg

[J.OT13]

I'm sorry, I'm not from Ottawa so I wouldn't know but why aren't there any tall building's in Ottawa?

I was just wondering because compared to similar sized cities like Calgary where skyscrapers like Brookfield place (247m, 56 Stories) was just finished and the Bow (236m, 57 Stories) which was finished 2012 or Edmonton which has Stantec Tower (251m, 66 Stories) under construction and construction starting on Alldritt tower (280m, 80 Stories) in October.

Here's an image that represents the NCC view-planes described by roger1818;

https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2015/09/17316/17316-57755.png

Now major developments coming in LeBreton Flats (out of frame, to the left (west) of the image above) and down the Trillium Line to Dow's Lake do are not effected by these height restrictions, so buildings ranging from 35 to 65 floors are proposed (and slowly being approved). See image of Le Breton Flats in 15-20 years below (with Trillium Line the green corridor on the lower, right. Dow's Lake area is 1.5 kms sout, so out of frame to the right of the image).

http://985thejewel.com/wp-content/uploads/amazon-bid.jpg
http://985thejewel.com/lebreton-flats-promoted-ideal-location-amazons-hq2/

[roger1818]

http://libertybull.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Parliament_Hill_Ottawa-1170x600.jpg

By changing the elevation of the viewpoint, we get a rough approximation of what it would look like if taller buildings had been built. Granted it is an extreme example and not a perfect representation, but it certainly gives you an idea of what could have happened.

https://i.imgur.com/VwjkmBu.jpg (https://goo.gl/maps/gr3u3VHhEtw)

[acottawa]

Yikes

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/i-cant-afford-it-owners-outraged-after-monthly-payments-double-at-ottawa-condo

[kwoldtimer]

I suspect that such stories will become routine in coming decades.

[Requin]

Yikes

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/i-cant-afford-it-owners-outraged-after-monthly-payments-double-at-ottawa-condo

Yikes is right. Good luck selling without taking a massive hit to your selling price.

[j.graham]

Does anyone know what building was on fire on Champagne Ave?

edit: looks like it's the new envie student building

[1overcosc]

I suspect that such stories will become routine in coming decades.

New laws passed by the province a few years ago make it a lot less likely for stories like this to happen to condos being built today (it makes it a lot harder for repair backlogs to go unnoticed like this) but for anything pre-2015, yes, they will become common.

I think in these situations the province should step in. Options could be to either:
1) provide low-interest loans to pay for these backlog repairs over a longer period of time so the payment hike is less dramatic.
2) operate a sort of insurance system, where a provincial fund will help pay for the cost of repairs in situations like this, and this provincial fund collects its money from a small tax levied on all buildings in the province. To avoid this being abused by buildings that don't want to invest in their proper operation, require copays/deductibles for the claims

[McC]

Does anyone know what building was on fire on Champagne Ave?

edit: looks like it's the new envie student building

some news here:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/firefighters-battle-blaze-at-little-italy-high-rise?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1525105671

[acottawa]

Three thoughts:

I think there needs to be a way to write some of these buildings off. How long before the value of these units is zero? The condo fees plus taxes is almost certainly more than rent in the area (even before this charge).

I think too many condo corporations treat reserve funds like savings accounts, periodically draining them to undertake a project without saving for the big expenses.

Condo corporations need more financing options. If a homeowner needed a major repair they would probably try to finance it rather try to pay for it all at once.

[Buggys]

New laws passed by the province a few years ago make it a lot less likely for stories like this to happen to condos being built today (it makes it a lot harder for repair backlogs to go unnoticed like this) but for anything pre-2015, yes, they will become common.

I think in these situations the province should step in. Options could be to either:
1) provide low-interest loans to pay for these backlog repairs over a longer period of time so the payment hike is less dramatic.
2) operate a sort of insurance system, where a provincial fund will help pay for the cost of repairs in situations like this, and this provincial fund collects its money from a small tax levied on all buildings in the province. To avoid this being abused by buildings that don't want to invest in their proper operation, require copays/deductibles for the claims

I don't think taxpayers should have to step in to fund a private sector problem. There are people who choose to rent or buy a freehold property specifically to avoid financial repercussions from other people's financial mismanagement.

The condo board should be held more responsible themselves, and be more accountable themselves to the owners in the condo building.

[kwoldtimer]

New laws passed by the province a few years ago make it a lot less likely for stories like this to happen to condos being built today (it makes it a lot harder for repair backlogs to go unnoticed like this) but for anything pre-2015, yes, they will become common.

I think in these situations the province should step in. Options could be to either:
1) provide low-interest loans to pay for these backlog repairs over a longer period of time so the payment hike is less dramatic.
2) operate a sort of insurance system, where a provincial fund will help pay for the cost of repairs in situations like this, and this provincial fund collects its money from a small tax levied on all buildings in the province. To avoid this being abused by buildings that don't want to invest in their proper operation, require copays/deductibles for the claims

Should the province similarly subsidize owners of SFHs for their maintenance/repair costs? I don't see how these condo owners are in any different a position from other homeowners facing major maintenance/repair costs.

[Marshsparrow]

Buyer beware - condo buyers need to check facts on the reserve study / repair schedule!

Owners beware - you need to show up at your annual AGM, review the material and ask the hard questions when it comes to the finances of your home!

Taxpayers should not be on the hook for either of these!

[1overcosc]

Should the province similarly subsidize owners of SFHs for their maintenance/repair costs? I don't see how these condo owners are in any different a position from other homeowners facing major maintenance/repair costs.

I don't think taxpayers should have to step in to fund a private sector problem. There are people who choose to rent or buy a freehold property specifically to avoid financial repercussions from other people's financial mismanagement.

The condo board should be held more responsible themselves, and be more accountable themselves to the owners in the condo building.

Neither of these ideas are actually provincial subsidies. The first idea is for loans, not grants. Low interest would be at a level such that it's cost-neutral for the province to provide them (as opposed to private loans, which would charge a high enough interest rate to make a profit). The second idea is self-funded from condos themselves.

[J.OT13]

I don't understand how it works. Condo fees go up. Go WAY UP over the years to the point that they alone are nearly as high as rent prices in similar buildings while rents stay relatively stable (going up with inflation) throughout the years. So how do condo fees have to go up so high while rents in building that require the same maintenance are stable?

[YOWflier]

Rents don't necessarily stay stable by choice of the building owner. Increases are controlled by the provincial government, which itself heavily favours tenants. I'm not aware of any control over condo fee increases.

[acottawa]

Few things:

Most owners of larger rental buildings have a portfolio of buildings so they are able to even out costs better.

I think condo boards feel they need to implement all of the recommendations of the engineer in the shorter term. Building owners have more flexibility to manage risk.

They also (not sure if this is a legal requirement or just the usual practice) treat units equally in terms of upgrades. A landlord doesn't have such an obligation.

Condo boards are basically required to maintain a building in its current state forever. Landlords (and regular homeowners) don't have this requirement.

[Buggys]

Neither of these ideas are actually provincial subsidies. The first idea is for loans, not grants. Low interest would be at a level such that it's cost-neutral for the province to provide them (as opposed to private loans, which would charge a high enough interest rate to make a profit). The second idea is self-funded from condos themselves.

I have to still disagree with you re loans just for condo owners, for the same reasons as above.

[rocketphish]

Renos push GG out of Rideau Hall — she's now in secret location

Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 3, 2018 | Last Updated: May 3, 2018 6:30 AM EDT

https://postmediaottawacitizen2.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/os_traffic_control2010-09-3.jpg&w=800

Gov. Gen. Julie Payette has been unable to move into historic Rideau Hall because of ongoing renovations to the country’s most prominent heritage building.

The governor general’s office confirmed this week that Payette, who was sworn in Oct. 2, has not been able to take up residence in Rideau Hall’s private quarters, a roughly 5,000 square foot space on the second floor of the so-called Monck wing.

Citing security concerns, they’ve declined to say where she has been “accommodated” for the last seven months “to ensure the safety of the Governor General.”

Fresh off the ongoing disaster that is 24 Sussex Drive, the delay means the two most prominent official residences in the capital area — there are six in total — are not housing their intended dignitaries.

The National Capital Commission, which manages the residences, says work at Rideau Hall began in September, just as David and Sharon Johnston were preparing to depart the building, which dates to 1838 in the oldest section, after seven years in office.

(Sprucing up between GGs is said to be a normal part of these transitions, particularly given the different sizes and characters of vice-regal families.)

The $1.7-million upgrade consists of “life-cycle improvements” generally focused on mechanical systems. The work involves removing an old heating system and installing new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. The work involved a “significant portion” of the private quarters, the state offices, and other parts of the Monck wing, a massive addition named for Canada’s first governor general.

Also included is the renovation of a washroom to make it “universally accessible,” the installation of cabinets and window coverings, improved lighting and an update on “furnishings and furniture layouts.”

It is unclear how much input Payette, a former astronaut, had in decorating decisions or what changes were required to accommodate a teenager, her son Laurier, who was 14 at the time of Payette’s installation.

So, where has Canada’s vice-regal been living?

“For the transition and the extended construction period, the National Capital Commission assisted with temporary accommodations for the Governor General,” says a written response from the NCC. It, too, is declining to name the location.

Well, the most likely place would be in another official residence. However, 24 Sussex is out, as is Stornaway, unlikely is Harrington Lake or The Farm in Kingsmere (home to the Speaker of the House), leaving only 7 Rideau Gate.

And, indeed, this newspaper has learned that events normally scheduled at 7 Rideau Gate have been relocated to other locations.

The building is the official government guest house for visiting dignitaries. Acquired by the government in 1966, it is hardly shabby. Built in the 1860s by an early industrialist, the stone structure, in excess of 8,000 square feet, is about half-a-block deep and has housed many heads of state.

It is, however, on an adjacent city street, not within Rideau Hall’s fenced 80 acres, where the 22-room Rideau Cottage is located, the temporary home for Justin Trudeau and his family since his election as PM in 2015.

Housing Canada’s first families is an expensive, complicated endeavour. There were media reports the government was spending an extra $2 million to improve security at Rideau Cottage, while 24 Sussex is said to cost thousands each month just to maintain the empty building.

Its future is uncertain. Not only are the repair bills astronomical — anywhere from $10 million to $38 million, depending on the plan — but spending gobs of public money on a mansion overlooking the Ottawa River is politically dicey.

24 Sussex, the Rideau Hall neighbour completed in 1868, was expropriated by the federal government in 1943. It was first used as the official residence of the prime minister in 1951 by Louis St. Laurent. By the time Stephen Harper lived there, it was termed a fire trap in desperate need of an overhaul.

As for the largely ceremonial function of Rideau Hall, it’s business as usual, apparently.

“The Governor General is temporarily residing in an alternate location in the National Capital Region during the construction,” says an email from the media office. “There has been minimal impact on our programme operations as the focus of the work is outside the ceremonial areas of the building.”

(There was, for instance, a dinner at Rideau Hall for the Aga Khan on Wednesday.)

Well, it’s all very curious. Rideau Hall is possibly Canada’s single most important heritage building, predating Parliament Hill. The Canadian people own it, pay for its upkeep, pay the salaries of everyone inside.

We care very much, actually, who does and doesn’t live there. Why weren’t we told?

To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-726-5896 or email kegan@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-renos-push-gg-out-of-rideau-hall-shes-now-in-secret-location

[ars]

The London Arms building at 151 Metcalfe is being demolished as we speak.

There's a live feed of the demolition right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5gF_Laxhn0&feature=youtu.be

[Jayday23]

The London Arms building at 151 Metcalfe is being demolished as we speak.

There's a live feed of the demolition right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5gF_Laxhn0&feature=youtu.be


Super Cool! Thanks for the share. If i remember correctly, this was going to turn into a park?

[J.OT13]

I would say park-ing is more likely. Build a park, and people will expect it to stay forever.

[J.OT13]

Interesting news from Gatineau. Article's in French, but here;s the gist of it; the City owns land bordered by Maisonneuve, Allumetières, Champlain and Saint-Étienne, one block removed from Quartier du Musée. The land only has one historic building, an old fire hall, at the corner of Champlain and Saint-Étienne.

It seems like they are currently in talks to a developer to sell or transfer the land. I'm hoping it's Brigil in order to swap lands for Place de Peuples, though I doubt it because Desjardins doesn't seem to be the kind of guy who can be reasoned with.

MATHIEU BÉLANGER
Le Droit
4 avril 2018

DU PRIME LAND AU COEUR DU CENTRE-VILLE

Les terrains pouvant encore être développés dans l’Île-de-Hull se font rares depuis déjà belle lurette. La Ville de Gatineau peut toutefois se vanter d’avoir en sa possession un lot qui est probablement l’un des plus convoités du centre-ville, et son service de la gestion immobilière y accorde une attention toute particulière.

Le quadrilatère formé par le boulevard Maisonneuve, le boulevard des Allumettières, la rue Champlain et la rue Saint-Étienne, occupe une place de choix dans le portefeuille immobilier de la Ville. Ce lot de six terrains situés dans un endroit hautement stratégique correspond en tout point à ce que les promoteurs immobiliers considèrent comme du prime land.

L’« Îlot de la caserne », nommé ainsi parce qu’il comprend la vieille caserne #3 construite en 1911 qui bénéficie d’une citation patrimoniale, fait l’objet d’une analyse de la part des services municipaux depuis 2016, selon le plan immobilier présenté en mars dernier au comité exécutif. Il comprend six terrains et neuf bâtiments, surtout des immeubles résidentiels. La valeur de ce lot situé à l’angle des deux principales artères du centre-ville n’est pas indiquée.

La volonté de la Ville de Gatineau d’en faire quelque chose semble toutefois très claire. Une note inscrite au plan immobilier 2018-2020 concernant ce lot précise que l’administration municipale est actuellement « en attente du promoteur ».

Il n’y a pas d’indication sur une éventuelle vente de gré à gré, ou de préparation d’un appel d’offres, comme c’est le cas pour d’autres terrains sous la propriété de la Ville. Le nom du « promoteur » en question n’est pas précisé. Le Droit a tenté d’en savoir un peu plus auprès du conseiller municipal du quartier, Cédric Tessier, mais ce dernier a été expéditif. « Je ne veux pas commenter quoi que ce soit que j’ai eu en présentation [au comité exécutif] », a-t-il rapidement laissé tomber.


https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/gatineau/gatineau-evalue-son-parc-immobilier-2dc19a4634f4fb6c907f4f9c9a12d6a5

More on the City of Gatineau's land holdings in the broader article.

[kevinbottawa]

Planning committee OKs 25-storey development at Westboro station

BY: OBJ Staff
PUBLISHED: May 23, 2018 1:37pm EDT

http://obj.ca/sites/default/files/styles/article_main/public/2018-05/Screen%20Shot%202018-05-23%20at%206.14.15%20PM.png?itok=tVVKV8x2

Ottawa’s planning committee endorsed a 25-storey, mixed-use development near Westboro transit station, despite the ward councilor taking a hard line against the rezoning application.

The proposed development would see a public park, and two mixed-use buildings of 25 and four storeys built on a 1.3-acre property at the southwest corner of Scott Street and McRae Avenue. The site, currently home to a pair of two-storey single-detached buildings and an auto body shop, is 50 metres from the Westboro transit station.

While the spot is currently surrounded by buildings as high as eight storeys, just across Scott Street, recently amended zoning bylaws have allowed for a 25-storey development, which is currently being constructed by a team that includes local developer and property manager Colonnade Bridgeport.

Currently, the site is zoned for heights of up to 18 metres. Applicant FoTenn Consulting, representing the Estate of Carson Unsworth, successfully argued for a zoning amendment to permit 25 storeys, or 78 metres in height.

http://obj.ca/sites/default/files/inline-images/Screen%20Shot%202018-05-23%20at%206.15.06%20PM.png

The planned project, which still requires approval from full city council, would see nearly 300 residential units, 15,000 square feet of retail space and nearly 200 parking spaces in underground garages.

The large amount of available parking so close to a transit hub was a sticking point for Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper, who was the only committee member to vote against the proposed amendment.

“This building should not be approved this close to Westboro transit station with the amount of parking that it has. It is perverse. It is contrary to all of our plans. I would ask you to join me today in voting against this building,” he said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.

The project has been in the works since 2009, when a zoning amendment was first submitted, but the application was subsequently placed on hold prior to being reactivated in 2016.

http://obj.ca/index.php/article/planning-committee-oks-25-storey-development-westboro-station

[J.OT13]

New Capital Build Task Force looking to foster millennial-friendly Ottawa

OBJ
Craig Lord
May 23, 2018

Business and community leaders in Ottawa have assembled as a new task force hoping to put some momentum behind the city’s transformational developments and attract more millennial workers to the capital.

The Ottawa Chamber of Commerce officially unveiled the Capital Build Task Force at an event last week. The group is currently focused on five main city-building priorities, with the redevelopment of LeBreton Flats chief among them.

Co-chair Doug McLarty, who is also a partner at MNP Ottawa, says the idea to unite the voices of Ottawa’s business leaders on the city’s future developments first came up after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman visited the city last year to announce this past season’s outdoor hockey game at Lansdowne Park.

After the announcement, Bettman met with McLarty and a dozen other people to talk about the shifting landscape in hockey towns across the league. Only a few arenas were outside of the downtown core, he was saying, with Ottawa among these outliers.

That’s an issue for getting the younger generation out to games, as millennials are increasingly living downtown and less interested in driving than their parents were. Businesses and city planners alike will therefore have to shift their offerings to cater to the now-maturing generation.

“Millennials are basically going to be in the driver’s seat in the coming years,” McLarty says. “Having him talk about that, it was very clear that what he was saying was, ‘It’s important for Ottawa to move its facility to the core of the city.’”

The overarching theme for the task force, McLarty says, is building a millennial-friendly city. He mentions his own children who have left for Toronto and New York, and expresses a desire to make Ottawa into a town they’d be proud to visit or make a home in. Realizing the potential of LeBreton Flats or crafting a world-class library like the one in Halifax will make Ottawa stand out to this generation, McLarty suggests.

There are a few ways the task force could help get these projects built. McLarty says he’d like to see more events like the visit from Edmonton economic development officials last December. Rick Daviss and Bob Black, two of the men behind that city’s $600-million Rogers Place arena, spoke at Ottawa’s Economic Outlook about the controversies and potential payoff of using public funds to subsidize such a development.

McLarty also says the task force will break off into subcommittees that will “tell the story” of projects important to Ottawa’s economy. For example, he says he’d like to see a healthcare leader work with the task force to illustrate the economic impact of research at the Ottawa Hospital as construction of the new Civic Campus gets underway.

While the task force is still recruiting, on board so far are leaders from Ottawa’s business, academic, philanthropic, construction and tourism industries, alongside representatives from First Nations and French-speaking communities. Ottawa Business Journal publisher Michael Curran and Mark Sutcliffe, CEO of parent company Great River Media, are both members.

Also on board is Samuel Gregg-Wallace, chief of staff to Shopify’s chief operating officer Harley Finkelstein. The local e-commerce giant has generously offered to host the task force’s first big meeting in the coming weeks, which is helpful, because the group doesn’t have an official source of funding yet.

The group is bootstrapping itself in the early goings, with McLarty himself putting down the cost of hosting the task force’s preliminary meeting at Bayview Yards. With a firm belief in the city’s future, he says he doesn’t mind putting his money where his mouth is.

“I’m so pumped about this city. I think we’re at a stage where it’s ours for the making,” he says.

Capital Build Task Force’s top five city-building priorities:

LeBreton Flats redevelopment
Train line between Ottawa and Gatineau
Civic Hospital redevelopment
Revitalized ByWard Market
Federal employment node in Orléans


http://obj.ca/index.php/article/capital-build-task-force-looking-foster-millennial-friendly-ottawa

[movebyleap]

Here we go again with "a world-class library like the one in Halifax". Why is everyone so obsessed with the Halifax library? This really worries me...will Ottawa end up with a generic glass box for a library?

Also...is a hockey stadium really the only thing millenials want in this city?

How about:
- a proper concert hall
- museum of modern art
- portrait gallery
- botanical garden
- a fabulous indoor market
- something cool like a giant ferris wheel (even Montreal has jumped on
that bandwagon)

And amazing, whimsical ARCHITECTURE!! (no, that does not include the "world class" Halifax library).

At the moment Lebreton Flats is looking like a bunch of hockey stadiums and condos. Woohoo!

[kevinbottawa]

http://obj.ca/index.php/article/capital-build-task-force-looking-foster-millennial-friendly-ottawa

Looking at the names of the people on this task force in Capital magazine (the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce magazine) and the accompanying photo, it looks like a bunch of middle aged people gathering to talk about how to build a millennial friendly city. How about you get a bunch of millennials on there? And some representation. Almost everybody in the photo is white. Even in their feature story on millennials almost everybody in the feature is white, except for a First Nations guy who looks French. These organizations seem to have an old view of what Ottawa is.

I spend quite a bit of time with young creatives and entrepreneurs in this city, especially the ones who are people of colour, and am slowly building relationship with the "establishment". The two are so disconnected.

[acottawa]

How about:
- a proper concert hall
- museum of modern art
- portrait gallery
- botanical garden
- a fabulous indoor market
- something cool like a giant ferris wheel (even Montreal has jumped on
that bandwagon)



Except for the indoor market, it looks like the wish list of a millennial's grandparents. And Ottawa has an indoor market, but the city insists on using it as a flea market food court.

[Lakeofthewood]

Looking at the names of the people on this task force in Capital magazine (the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce magazine) and the accompanying photo, it looks like a bunch of middle aged people gathering to talk about how to build a millennial friendly city. How about you get a bunch of millennials on there? And some representation. Almost everybody in the photo is white. Even in their feature story on millennials almost everybody in the feature is white, except for a First Nations guy who looks French. These organizations seem to have an old view of what Ottawa is.

I spend quite a bit of time with young creatives and entrepreneurs in this city, especially the ones who are people of colour, and am slowly building relationship with the "establishment". The two are so disconnected.

Preach!

As a millennial, there is nothing I like more than being told things I should and shouldn't like from someone of my parent's generation. /s

[rocketphish]

Here we go again with "a world-class library like the one in Halifax". Why is everyone so obsessed with the Halifax library? This really worries me...will Ottawa end up with a generic glass box for a library?

Also...is a hockey stadium really the only thing millenials want in this city?

How about:
- a proper concert hall
- museum of modern art
- portrait gallery
- botanical garden
- a fabulous indoor market
- something cool like a giant ferris wheel (even Montreal has jumped on
that bandwagon)

And amazing, whimsical ARCHITECTURE!! (no, that does not include the "world class" Halifax library).

At the moment Lebreton Flats is looking like a bunch of hockey stadiums and condos. Woohoo!

Now that WOULD be cool in the winter, wouldn't it? :D