Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Phase 1 | Completed

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by JFFournier

OTTAWA — The provincial heritage agency that controls key aspects of the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park can live with the redevelopment planned for the property as long as the historic centrepiece of the site is preserved and enhanced, according to an agreement it's reached with the city.

http://capitalward.ca/en/component/c...lansdowne-plan

Well, there goes the "it'll destroy the heritage" argument against Lansdowne.

[S-Man]

Weird - stopping rotting heritage buildings from rotting further counts as preserving heritage? FOL would somehow find a way to argue otherwise....

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Originally Posted by S-Man

Weird - stopping rotting heritage buildings from rotting further counts as preserving heritage? FOL would somehow find a way to argue otherwise....

They'll find a way. I can almost guarantee it.

[todspe67]

I'm 100% behind the current OSG plan, but the only thing I haven't liked about the plan is the current northside stands and arena. What's the lifespan of the grandstand and civic center? If we're spending all this money now and digging everything up, why not rebuild? With all the new architecture around it, it's going to be an ugly eyesore in the middle of it all.

[umbria27]

Originally Posted by JFFournier

OTTAWA — The provincial heritage agency that controls key aspects of the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park can live with the redevelopment planned for the property as long as the historic centrepiece of the site is preserved and enhanced, according to an agreement it's reached with the city.

http://capitalward.ca/en/component/c...lansdowne-plan

Thanks for that. I hadn't heard that news. That's a significant obstacle removed.

Some of the language in the agreement is beautifully vague:

"New buildings and structures extending into or located within the protected Bank Street View Corridor may be considered only if these views are preserved or enhanced and/or the quality and experience of the public realm is enhanced in the context of the view corridor,"

"Any new buildings extending into or in proximity to the Bank Street View Corridor will reflect the pavilion-style character of the historic landscape in scale, proportion, and form and contribute to defining the public realm experience around and between these buildings."

Since there's no objective test for "reflect the pavilion-style character of the historic landscape" or "views are preserved or enhanced and/or the quality and experience of the public realm is enhanced", it's safe to say that this won't be a problem.

[rakerman]

http://jimwatsonottawa.ca/en/news/de...-new-lansdowne

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwats...7629217387931/

UPDATE - video is up in Mayor Watson's second post

http://www.jimwatsonottawa.ca/en/blo...-new-lansdowne

http://vimeo.com/36355573

[JFFournier]

There may be more here too.

http://ottawa.ca/en/city_hall/planni...plan/index.htm

[Cre47]

Only 24 000 seats? This is going to be the smallest CFL stadium. Molson Stadium at McGill had fewer seats but they've made some significant expansion which made the number of seats higher then the new Lansdowne. I think it is something closer to 27 or 28 000 at McGill now.

Too much empty space for sure, all because of the FOL fringe. I would more of the empty space to expand further the stands.

Quite frankly, I was hoping for something around 30 000-40 000 seats with capacity up to 60 000+ for eventual hockey games. It would be great to have at least 3 or 4 Sens game each year to be played outdoors.

[amanfromnowhere]

I like it! Everything! I assume that residential components are just place holders

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Only 24 000 seats? This is going to be the smallest CFL stadium. Molson Stadium at McGill had fewer seats but they've made some significant expansion which made the number of seats higher then the new Lansdowne. I think it is something closer to 27 or 28 000 at McGill now.

Too much empty space for sure, all because of the FOL fringe. I would more of the empty space to expand further the stands.

Quite frankly, I was hoping for something around 30 000-40 000 seats with capacity up to 60 000+ for eventual hockey games. It would be great to have at least 3 or 4 Sens game each year to be played outdoors.

There is a very good reason for what they are doing. The old Frank Clair Stadium had empty seats 99% of the time. The owners want to create a situation where there is a possible shortage of tickets, just as has been the case in Montreal. This increases the 'buzz' for the games and allows for prices to be increased to some degree. There is nothing worse than having a half empty stadium from the fans point of few. A full stadium creates excitement. In any event, my understanding has always been that the stadium is designed to be expandable and that will occur when appropriate. There is also space for temporary seating so that Ottawa can host the Grey Cup and the Winter Classic hockey game.

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by Cre47

Only 24 000 seats? This is going to be the smallest CFL stadium. Molson Stadium at McGill had fewer seats but they've made some significant expansion which made the number of seats higher then the new Lansdowne. I think it is something closer to 27 or 28 000 at McGill now.

Too much empty space for sure, all because of the FOL fringe. I would more of the empty space to expand further the stands.

Quite frankly, I was hoping for something around 30 000-40 000 seats with capacity up to 60 000+ for eventual hockey games. It would be great to have at least 3 or 4 Sens game each year to be played outdoors.

The expanded stadium in Montreal has 25,000 or so. Prior to expansion it had 20,000.

They are much better to make it a bit smaller. It forces people to buy tickets if they want to go. You can't sit and play the wait and see game wrt to everything from weather to how the team is doing. If you wait until the game of the game you may lose out.

This is a common sales technique used by many companies like Apple. There is a reason why the new iPhone, or new iPad is always hard to get. Apple wants it this way. It creates demand and buzz. People want what they can't have.

[kevinbottawa]

The designs look awesome! This is what you call a game changer for the city. They did a great job! The rendering with the CFL sign in the stadium is getting me excited about football in Ottawa.

[MountainView]

This looks great! One of Ottawa's first Mixed-use, Smart Growth designs!

Does anybody know what the skating court will be made out of? Artificial ice or real ice with cooling pipes underneath? Because the illustrations show people skating in the summer!

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by MountainView

This looks great! One of Ottawa's first Mixed-use, Smart Growth designs!

Does anybody know what the skating court will be made out of? Artificial ice or real ice with cooling pipes underneath? Because the illustrations show people skating in the summer!

The landscape architect said refrigerated ice rink.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Me likey. Me likey a lot.

So let's see here...

- Heritage people okay with the plan.
- Sightlines are preserved.
- The buildings along Holmwood are not too tall.
- New stadium (where it SHOULD be and HISTORICALLY has been).
- Lots of new usable public space, including courts, plazas, fields, skating rinks, etc.
- More greenspace.

And sure enough, FOL and the LPC will continue to bitch and moan, even though these new renderings are awesome.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

todspe67 wrote

I'm 100% behind the current OSG plan, but the only thing I haven't liked about the plan is the current northside stands and arena. What's the lifespan of the grandstand and civic center? If we're spending all this money now and digging everything up, why not rebuild? With all the new architecture around it, it's going to be an ugly eyesore in the middle of it all.

I am not sure of the lifespan either.

Going on what has been said earlier in the developement of this project , here is what I remember is supposed to happen to the northside.

A teflon covering will be put on the roof of the structure.

All the current seats in the northside will be torn out and replaced with better quality larger seats. This will result in the reduction of several hunderd seats on the north side.

A new facade will be built along the length of the arena side of the building.
This will reult in new look to the entrance to the area and will also house some small shops. This facade/buiding is supposed to intrergate with the design of the new commercial buildings directly across the street.

Most importantly , the supporting beams of the stuctue need to be reinforced.This is amust as it is a safety factor, Personnaly I think they should have started doing this now. It needs to be done even if Lansdowne is delayed by court cases.

Also supposed to be about a milion bucks of renos to the interior of the arena.

[c_speed3108]

I think keeping the North side was a reasonable choice. It is one of the more interesting pieces of architecture on the site with the huge beams. It was an awesome centennial year project built over only one off-season...those the 67's moved in a bit late.

The thing is structurally sound and steel frames last a bit longer than (weather exposed) concrete. It would have cost a ton of money to replace both the arena and the stands. The arena is one of the best in the OHL aside from minor issues like the roof leaking.

The other thing about the stadium is that historically it has been built, rebuilt, reconfigured in sections and it has worked pretty well. Why stop now?

There has been two north side grand stands to date and this will be the third or forth south side depending on what you choose to count.

[AuxTown]

They made some small, but what I consider significant changes to the plan that I hope will quiet some of the naysayers. It's gonna be really cool to see how many cranes they have to build the stands and other aspects of the project (though I don't know how many will be there at once). I really like the public gathering spaces, but I do worry about what will happen to them once the temp is <-10 outside. A good addition to central Ottawa and I think an appropriate amount of retail/commercial injected into a vibrant and growing area.

[Ottawan]

From http://ottawa.ca/en/city_hall/planni...plan/index.htm

(Sorry for the varying sizes)

[Hybrid247]

Wow that looks great! I just have 1 concern though... How are 24000 fans going to get there for games/events? There's no parking and it's not like 24000 people can bus there. Am I missing something?