LeBreton Flats 2.0 (RendezVous LeBreton) | Cancelled

[eemy]

DevCore plans: the mixed use district looks fantastic. It's the strongest element of their proposal, but it feels like an after-thought. The main component feels a lot weaker to me, though. I don't like how tourist-focused it is since it relies on tourists being there to succeed. As nice as it looks on paper, I have a bad feeling the entire area could end up feeling empty and abandoned instead. It kind of has a Niagara Falls feel to me, which isn't really something I feel Ottawa should strive for.

Rendezvous Plans: very much focused on building neighbourhoods. Generally speaking, there is far less flashy stuff in here; but the bones seem far more solid. Arena + Sensplex + Central Library - these are strong anchor tenants, but the strongest aspect seems to be the mix of commercial and residential components throughout the site. There are aspects here for "all Canadians" and they'll have a reason to come here, because there will also be Ottawans living and shopping there too. The aquaduct looks fantastic. I do feel like the overhead plan view they use present something very different from their renders, which have a much more organic feel to them. And the arena looks amazing. I love that design. It is clearly well planned out too - central to both stations and a space well-equipped to handle post-game crowds. There will also be the commercial presence in the area with the ability to immediately handle pre- and post-game crowds.