Ugly Ottawa - Page 2

Harley613 · #21 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 11:06 PM**

yes i am referring to the accessories. the house is quite nice but i have trouble seeing it behind the messy political statement

Uhuniau · #22 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 11:06 PM**

The typical Vanier storefronts on Montreal Road show a main street with great bones: commercial properties respecting the street wall, tight to the street line, frequent storefronts rather than larger mono-boxes.

The "ugly" property on Marier with all the toys and such - eye of the beholder. There's a backstory there that the Citizen reported a couple of years ago. Anal uptight Ottawa could use more of this sort of eccentricity.

Nasty little post WW2 econo-boxes? I got outbid on one of those in Carlington, and that was seven years ago. Was never in an economic position to put in an offer on the related NLPWW2EBs in the SOB nimbyhood near Landry, south of Beechwood. The NLPWW2EBs have seen some of the highest percentage property-value increases of pre-existing homes anywhere in the city in the past decade.

Zach6668 · #23 Posted **Dec 28, 2012, 11:32 PM**

Nothing uglier, in my mind, than the bland, cold, sterile, concrete apartment towers all over town.

Where were the nimby types when these things were in planning? We can't get beautiful downtown towers without big fights, but these hideous monstrosities are all over the place.

DLLB · #24 Posted **Dec 29, 2012, 1:12 AM**

Actually, the ugliest part of Ottawa is in the House of Commons !

kwoldtimer · #25 Posted **Dec 29, 2012, 1:52 AM**

Only the Government side....

Capital Shaun · #26 Posted **Dec 29, 2012, 3:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The typical Vanier storefronts on Montreal Road show a main street with great bones: commercial properties respecting the street wall, tight to the street line, frequent storefronts rather than larger mono-boxes.

Montreal road in Vanier has so much potential to be a nice main street with shops and restaurants like Bank or Wellington West & Richmond. Vanier is close to downtown and still affordable for those who don't mind an old house needing some fixing.

Postmaster · #27 Posted **Dec 29, 2012, 4:02 AM**

I delivered mail at the Friel towers for about a year or so. Stairwells reek, I'm glad I only had to go up once or twice. I pity the folks at the retirement home that have to stare at that all day.

pprs18a · #28 Posted **Dec 29, 2012, 6:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Only the Government side....

Actually on all sides you dummy!

WarProphet · #29 Posted **Dec 29, 2012, 10:21 PM**

How about the ugly sport structure on Hunt Club and Greenbank?

Cre47 · #30 Posted **Dec 30, 2012, 3:03 AM**

Ugly is a lot of neighborhoods with poor planning mostly in the suburbs. Like a few here, I'm having a big peeve at the lack of decent street grid in the suburbs that is like in downtown, lowertown, Vanier, Westboro, Carlingwood and on the Quebec side the Wrightville area of Hull.

One bad example of ugly planning is Bridlewood with its network of loops and crescents, which all connects to one main arterial - Stonehaven which is basically only have two accesses from Eagleson and Richmond.

Beaverbrook is a another neighborhood with lots of loops and crescents but virtually no commercial elements like convenience stores and other basic services within the neighborhood, all of it located in big boxes on Terry Fox.

J.OT13 · #31 Posted **Dec 30, 2012, 4:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

We still have these treasures though!

King Edward St.

Murray St.

We sure take care of our history, don't we? Let's replace them with shitty stucco and blue-green glass condos!

Capital Shaun · #32 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 2:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.OT13

We sure take care of our history, don't we? Let's replace them with shitty stucco and blue-green glass condos!

Those look like future cases of demolition by nelgect.
So which develloper owns those lots in prime locations?

Acajack · #33 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 2:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

Those look like future cases of demolition by nelgect.
So which develloper owns those lots in prime locations?

Someone will correct me if am wrong but the ones on King Edward are owned by the Shepherds of Good Hope or some other charitable organization.

The one at the corner of Murray and Cumberland I believe is the old Guigues school and has some historic value for the Franco-Ontarian community as it was where francophones made their stand against Regulation 17 in the early 1900s with the ban on French-language education.

A few years ago Guigues was slated for a pretty impressive rebuild as a seniors' condo building but it fell through.

I'd say that like many other buildings that are too close for comfort to the main Shepherds shelter at the corner of King Edward and Murray the development options are often stymied by this fact.

Once again, feel free to correct any errors.

Harley613 · #34 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 2:56 PM**

i wouldn't call anything on or near murray street 'prime locations'. pretty much everything in the area is abandoned or guarded with tall fences. two shelters at the corner of rideau and king edward make this a dead zone for development. i really wish they'd move these shelters out of the market.

Acajack · #35 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 3:08 PM**

It's very telling that quite a few pictures on here are of Bank St. South. I've always found this stretch of road quite surprising for a (n allegedly) "prim and proper" capital like Ottawa.

It feels more like some of the old two lane highways you take coming out of New Orleans towards the Bayou Country.

For full effect somewhere along there I think there is even a house that looks like the typical hillbilly hideaway with barbed wire fencing, all sorts of junk lying around and spray painted "KEEP OUT" and "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT" signs.

Or maybe that's along the Old Highway 16 on the other side of the Rideau River?

Chris-R · #36 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 3:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

Those look like future cases of demolition by nelgect.
So which develloper owns those lots in prime locations?

I'm reasonably certain (remembering Citizen articles from a few years back) that they're both held by local rundown lot owner Claude Lauzon. Sort of a Hail Mary wait-until-the-location-may-be-developed-profitably move. Combined with their long-held assembly of lots on Beechwood, they must be very patient.

Capital Shaun · #37 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 3:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harley613

i wouldn't call anything on or near murray street 'prime locations'. pretty much everything in the area is abandoned or guarded with tall fences. two shelters at the corner of rideau and king edward make this a dead zone for development. i really wish they'd move these shelters out of the market.

I consider it a 'prime location' by its proximity to the Byward Market and downtown.

I agree that the numerous shelters make the neighbourhood unattractive but having a bunch of crumbling abandoned buildings mixed in there isn't going to make the place look any better either.

Capital Shaun · #38 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 3:58 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris-R

I'm reasonably certain (remembering Citizen articles from a few years back) that they're both held by local rundown lot owner Claude Lauzon. Sort of a Hail Mary wait-until-the-location-may-be-developed-profitably move. Combined with their long-held assembly of lots on Beechwood, they must be very patient.

Must be this article:
http://www2.canada.com/ottawacitizen...6-e9622e3cfe19

And this one concerns Beechwood:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...234/story.html

Harley613 · #39 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 4:43 PM**

The perpetually under construction mosque on Moodie

Harley613 · #40 Posted **Dec 31, 2012, 4:51 PM**

This one on St. Laurent and the Queensway. I think the owner of the property is keeping it like this out of spite because of an old argument with the Mierins (owners of Bytek next store)