Posted Dec 4, 2015, 4:02 AM
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Planet Ottawa and beyond
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Greater Ottawa
Posts: 14,540
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Here's an old article that belongs in this thread:
Quote:
Terminal Avenue in running for second new government office
Peter Kovessy
Published on September 23, 2011
Latest solicitation similar to 2010 bidding – with one exception
A new federal office building, larger than the structure under construction at the Ottawa Train Yards, could be built in the same neighbourhood as early as 2015, if the government moves ahead with plans sketched out in solicitation documents published earlier this month.
Local landlords and developers had less than two weeks to respond to the federal government's latest request for information for office space in the National Capital Region.
Public Works said it needs almost 285,000 square feet of office space – enough, it says, to house between 1,600 and 1,700 civil servants – to replace existing accommodations by 2015. The property must be close to a Transitway station, specifically those between the St. Laurent and Walkley stops. The Confederation O-Train station also qualifies.
The government said the geographic parameters were drafted in response to the needs of a specific department, which it refused to identify.
Any new building must meet LEED-Gold requirements for energy efficiency and environmental design standards.
While the solicitation documents showed the government is open to occupying existing space, local real estate observers say no building currently meets those requirements.
If the government acts on the current request for information and goes out to full tender, the leading development sites are likely to be:
• The VIA Rail property on Terminal Avenue, south of the station and tracks, which would be developed by Canderel;
• The Train Yards property, also in the Terminal Avenue area;
• St. Laurent Shopping Centre, which has redevelopment plans that include office components;
• Billings Bridge Shopping Centre, which has land available for development;
• The government-owned development site at the corner of St. Laurent Boulevard and Tremblay Road.
"(Public Works) is not making it easy on themselves," said one industry observer.
"It's a pretty small area. There are only a handful of potential development sites."
A Public Works spokesperson confirmed that all Crown-owned land - including the 29.6-acre Tremblay Road property purchased from the provincial government for $25 million in 2009 - would be considered.
The solicitation is strikingly similar to a bidding process that ended roughly a year ago, which saw a contract awarded to Ottawa Train Yards Inc. to build an eight-storey, 269,000-square-foot building on Terminal Avenue.
Public Works will lease the office building, which is currently under construction, for two decades, in a deal that could be worth up to $89 million in net rent.
There is one subtle difference in Public Works's requirements this time around, though. While last year's solicitation only required the new building to be within 600 metres of a Transitway station, the most recent documents specify it must be within 600 metres walking distance using sidewalks or pedestrian walkways.
Some in the commercial real estate industry say the Train Yards won the last federal contract on a technicality. Its new development is within 600 metres of the Train Transitway stop, but the VIA rail tracks block pedestrian access.
In an interview last year, Ottawa Train Yards Inc. president Marty Koshman rejected that assessment. He said his property met the criteria based on its proximity to Hurdman Station.
However, some industry observers are still skeptical the new Terminal Avenue building is 600 metres from Hurdman's passenger platforms.
(Canderel's Terminal Avenue plans for the VIA Rail site include an underground pedestrian tunnel to the Transitway.)
Landowners and developers had until Sept. 19 to respond to the request for information. A Public Works spokesperson would not discuss whether a full request for proposals would follow.
http://www.obj.ca/Real-Estate/Constructi...nning-for-second-new-government-office/1
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