Lansdowne Park Redevelopment Phase 1 | Completed

[Sven Izhoungrie]

Hi,

I'm currently a Glebe homeowner (lived here for 16 years). We purchased one of the townhouses on Holmwood in November.

Does anyone know of a Facebook page or Skyscraper thread for people who have purchased a townhouse or terrace home?

Cheers. Thanks!

[RW12888]

Originally Posted by Sven Izhoungrie

Hi,

I'm currently a Glebe homeowner (lived here for 16 years). We purchased one of the townhouses on Holmwood in November.

Does anyone know of a Facebook page or Skyscraper thread for people who have purchased a townhouse or terrace home?

Cheers. Thanks!

Congrats! We purchased one of the terrace homes in Block B.

I dont think there are any dedicated threads for Towns on Holmwood owners yet.....

[Glenlivet Ave]

Congrats to you both! I'm in bloc C, the corner unit on the east side.

I think construction of the Towns on Holmwood is scheduled to begin in Feb 2014.

[gjhall]

This is so refreshing to read. Perhaps for the benefit of the forum, you could let us know why you chose to buy what you did and at Lansdowne in general?

[alecz_dad]

A groupswhose interesting project examines the historic appearance of the mouth of the Rideau Canal. And their next project will visualize Lansdowne Park's history, and "give a portion of Lansdowne back to the community."

Hyperlab helps Ottawa take a walk in the past; Lansdowne Park history app to be next project
Dec 26, 2013
Michelle Nash, Metroland

Carleton University grad students have created a few fun digital ways to get to know the city's historical landmarks.

Over the past year, Carleton's digital humanities department has worked closely with both architect and archive graduates to develop a mobile app called the Forgotten Worker Quest.

Funded in part by Heritage Canada, the app is aimed at children age eight to 12 and offers a virtual taste of the life of an Irish immigrant worker from the early 1800s.

"People can take a stroll down the canal and learn some history," said Brian Greenspan,

the Hyperlab's founding director.

The project focused on Confederation Park and the Rideau Canal. The Hyperlab students were in charge of creating a live, locative museum app, which asks users to gather tools, and learn about diseases, avoid explosions and malaria outbreaks all while attempting to complete various tasks.

The group worked with the city's Bytown Museum staff to gather information about appropriate artifacts for the app.

Even though the game is made for children, Greenspan said anyone can go down to the canal and take on the quest.

As far as creating active history lessons, Greenspan said this app is just the beginning - up next is a project centred on Lansdowne Park.

"It's a huge site that's been so important to the community," Greenspan said. "You name it and it has such an important influence for history. And now, my main concern is this once public land is being handed over for private interest."

It may only in be an opportunity to view the historic site in a virtual sense, but Greenspan said this project could give a portion of Lansdowne back to the community.

"It will be a way to make the space available again," he said.

The professor said he would like to make the project one that includes history as well as a "what could have been" aspect of the site, adding that this way, people can visualize what Lansdowne Park could look like in 50, 100 or even 150 years.

"We are planning on making it an open interface, to make it collaborative," he said.

The app will be designed as a portal, so at some point the community can participate in helping expand the structure of the app.

The design space for the students is quite a comfy one, with the lab itself including a

game room, a computer lab station and reading room.

He added, unlike a lot of graduate studies, this lab allows students to work together, in what would otherwise be lonely thesis study.

"Basically students can bounce ideas off each other," Greenspan said.

The lab, he said, offers a space for students to study the impact computer technology has on humans - including gaming, mobile apps, computer programs and gaming accessories, including Garage Band guitars, steering wheels and light sabers.

"Typically when you are playing computer games, there is a tug of war struggle between emersion and interactivity," Greenspan said.

"Designers want to find the perfect balance. That is what we study here."

Graduates also study the impact storytelling has had in a computer-age society.

"It's the human side of a digital world," Greenspan explains.

"Everything from how a story travels over different platforms to different modes of storytelling."

Funding for the Lansdowne Park project is still unknown, but Greenspan said he hopes to get started on the project sometime in the new year.

Tourists, residents alike are welcome to take the Forgotten Worker Quest by visiting www.passageshistoriquesheritagepassages.ca/angeng/application_mobile-mobile_application on a mobile device.

[Sven Izhoungrie]

Originally Posted by gjhall

This is so refreshing to read. Perhaps for the benefit of the forum, you could let us know why you chose to buy what you did and at Lansdowne in general?

Sure!

Right now we own a 90 year old house in the Glebe, with a yard and a driveway (tandem parking - no garage). We bought it when we were expecting our child 16 years ago. It's been a great house, and we have done top-to-bottom renovations on it over the years (foundation to roof).

Our kid will be going off to Uni in a couple of years (my how time flies...), and my wife and I decided that we wanted to move to a 'lower maintenance' place when she moves out where someone else takes care of the outside (ie. a condo). We both aren't fans of Ottawa winters, and eventually when we retire we want to shut the door and leave for warmer places a few months each winter, so a condo also makes sense in this regard.

However, we both didn't like the idea of going to a tower condo because we like having multiple floors of living space. I also like having my front door exit to the street. (Not that there's anything wrong with a tower condo for a lot of people, it's just not for us...)

Last year we were reading about the townhomes on Holmwood, but I thought they'd be very expensive because, well, *all* new construction in the Glebe is expensive. So we never really considered them.

When these townhomes came up for sale (I found out via the "Big Box Buffer" article in the Citizen) I was surprised about the lower-than-expected price and the higher-than-expected square footage. So my wife and I decided that this will just fit our expected lifestyle and requirements nicely. And, there's more than enough space for our daughter to live with us until she is ready to move out, and then come back to visit with us whenever she likes

In addition to price and space, another major contributing factor is that our daughter doesn't need to completely change *her* life because we are moving. She will still be going to the same high school, attend the same fantastic Community Centre (yay GCC!!), and keep the same great friends she has made over the years.

Are the Towns on Holmwood perfect? Of course not. I know all about the expected traffic issues, expected pedestrian traffic, fronting a 15 metre commercial building, etc. All of these are compromises we are willing to accept, and if it means the house is $200,000+ less expensive than it would have been otherwise, that's worth it for us.

Have a good New Year's everyone!

[gjhall]

Thanks for sharing your perspective! Happy New Years to you too!

[RW12888]

Originally Posted by gjhall

This is so refreshing to read. Perhaps for the benefit of the forum, you could let us know why you chose to buy what you did and at Lansdowne in general?

This will be our first home for my wife and I; we got married in September 2013.

Currently, we are renting a duplex on Hopewell, and we love the location. We really wanted to stay in the area, but thought the homes were too expensive for a first home plus we didn't want to invest too much in renovations.

The Towns on Holmwood were priced in our price range, and thought the new shops would be suitable for a young couple in their 20's.

Looking forward to meeting our new neighbours.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

You might remember the Coliseum Inc. winter dome that was at Lansdowne for several seasons.

It was kicked out of Lansdowne with two years still on a contract. A complicated three way deal with the city, Coliseum, uOttawa was to see it on Lees avenue.
That deal fell though and there was to be arbitration as Coliseum sought damages from the city.

Well, with almost no media attention, the Coliseum Inc. dome has risen again on Riverside Dr. in a deal with the RA Center. It is heavily booked.
The uOttawa dome is up and begins operation after New Year's day. In spite of the Coliseum dome being back, the rental time at the uOttawa dome is sold out for this winter as well.

This shows the voracious demand in Ottawa for indoor sports and recreation space during the winter.

[alecz_dad]

Not sure that your neighbours across the street will be too terribly happy to see you.

Unfortunately, I think you will inherit the bad blood that has developed towards all things Lansdowne from the existing residents, especially those on Holmwood, who have had to put up with the constant noise and disruption

I know that in particular the folks that live right across from the parking garage exit will not be happy to meet you.

And it is a sad irony that the the house models are named after trees, in an area where Sylvia Holden Park contained adolescent trees.








Take a walk down Holmwood, as it was before the chainsaws came.


It took nearly 20 years to grow the trees that were formerly located on the site of your future home, to a degree of maturity. Don't expect your promised, single, teensy tree to amount to much any time soon.

Originally Posted by RW12888

This will be our first home for my wife and I; we got married in September 2013.

Currently, we are renting a duplex on Hopewell, and we love the location. We really wanted to stay in the area, but thought the homes were too expensive for a first home plus we didn't want to invest too much in renovations.

The Towns on Holmwood were priced in our price range, and thought the new shops would be suitable for a young couple in their 20's.

Looking forward to meeting our new neighbours.

[White Pine]

Originally Posted by alecz_dad

Not sure that your neighbours across the street will be too terribly happy to see you.

Unfortunately, I think you will inherit the bad blood that has developed towards all things Lansdowne from the existing residents, especially those on Holmwood, who have had to put up with the constant noise and disruption

I know that in particular the folks that live right across from the parking garage exit will not be happy to meet you.

And it is a sad irony that the the house models are named after trees, in an area where Sylvia Holden Park contained adolescent trees.








Take a walk down Holmwood, as it was before the chainsaws came.


It took nearly 20 years to grow the trees that were formerly located on the site of your future home, to a degree of maturity. Don't expect your promised, single, teensy tree to amount to much any time soon.

Don't forget, they're planting trees in the park portion of Landsdowne, maybe even more than they cut down. I don't live there, but I don't see greenspace as a problem in this proposal.

And I think any ill will from the neighbours wouldn't last longer than they don't know you. Most people in that area have people living across the street from them anyways. Most people in Ottawa as well, coincidentally

Edit: I'm pretty sure most people are more mature than to rage at people because they live in a townhouse.

[RW12888]

I understand that the current folks on Holmwood are dealing with a lot of inconvenience and disturbances. I sympathize with them.

However, Alecz_dad, you do NOT speak for everyone on Holmwood. You seem to be just an individual who thinks he represents everyone on Holmwood and surrounding area. I can tell that you are a proud house owner, and just want to protect your neighbourhood. However, saying that neighbours will not be happy to see me based on where I live is just plain IGNORANT.

By they way, what do you think was on your land before your house was built? Probably trees as well.

Why so much hate for my "teeny" tree?

Originally Posted by alecz_dad

Not sure that your neighbours across the street will be too terribly happy to see you.

Unfortunately, I think you will inherit the bad blood that has developed towards all things Lansdowne from the existing residents, especially those on Holmwood, who have had to put up with the constant noise and disruption

I know that in particular the folks that live right across from the parking garage exit will not be happy to meet you.

And it is a sad irony that the the house models are named after trees, in an area where Sylvia Holden Park contained adolescent trees.








Take a walk down Holmwood, as it was before the chainsaws came.


It took nearly 20 years to grow the trees that were formerly located on the site of your future home, to a degree of maturity. Don't expect your promised, single, teensy tree to amount to much any time soon.

[Sven Izhoungrie]

Not sure that your neighbours across the street will be too terribly happy to see you.

Unfortunately, I think you will inherit the bad blood that has developed towards all things Lansdowne from the existing residents, especially those on Holmwood, who have had to put up with the constant noise and disruption

I know that in particular the folks that live right across from the parking garage exit will not be happy to meet you.

Well, actually you *don't* know. At all.

On Saturday, I had a nice conversation with a homeowner whose house will be #directly# across from my unit - which, by the way, is near the parking entrance.

I stopped by Holmwood to see if anything new was happening, and he was outside shoveling his walkway. So I introduced myself. And we had a great conversation for about half an hour. Very nice guy. He wasn't terribly pleased about the construction (who would be?), but he also wasn't in a permanent uncontrollable rage about it.

He *was* quite happy about the townhouses. He brought up the fact that houses overlook the blank wall of Loblaws on Pretoria, and thinks the townhouse idea is a better solution.

He was asking me all sorts of questions about how the interiors are going to be set up, and how the condo structure works for parking, etc.

When I had to leave, we shook hands, and he said "Welcome to the neighbourhood." Wow Alecz_dad, we even had a laugh or two, and exchanged email addresses! Go figure. So much for your theory that my neighbours won't be happy to see me.

Lansdowne is being built. The townhouses are going to be built. So there may as well be considerate, quiet families like mine living in the units. Would you rather have them left empty and boarded up? (you don't need to answer that, I already know you would)

It's not the OSEG Board of Directors who are moving into the townhouses. It's real regular individuals and real regular families. I would like to think that the current residents of Holmwood are people who can differentiate between OSEG and the people who are moving there.

I get that construction is always a PITA and often a major inconvenience, and I sympathize with the current residents of Holmwood. I really do. But I really wouldn't understand any future neighbour who hates me and my family already, without ever meeting or talking with me.

That being said, I'm glad you aren't going to be my neighbour, Alecz_dad. Wow.

Don't expect your promised, single, teensy tree to amount to much any time soon.

Hey thanks for the good wishes, most appreciated!

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Sven Izhoungrie

Well, actually you *don't* know. At all.

On Saturday, I had a nice conversation with a homeowner whose house will be #directly# across from my unit - which, by the way, is near the parking entrance.

I stopped by Holmwood to see if anything new was happening, and he was outside shoveling his walkway. So I introduced myself. And we had a great conversation for about half an hour. Very nice guy. He wasn't terribly pleased about the construction (who would be?), but he also wasn't in a permanent uncontrollable rage about it.

He *was* quite happy about the townhouses. He brought up the fact that houses overlook the blank wall of Loblaws on Pretoria, and thinks the townhouse idea is a better solution.

He was asking me all sorts of questions about how the interiors are going to be set up, and how the condo structure works for parking, etc.

When I had to leave, we shook hands, and he said "Welcome to the neighbourhood." Wow Alecz_dad, we even had a laugh or two, and exchanged email addresses! Go figure. So much for your theory that my neighbours won't be happy to see me.

Lansdowne is being built. The townhouses are going to be built. So there may as well be considerate, quiet families like mine living in the units. Would you rather have them left empty and boarded up? (you don't need to answer that, I already know you would)

It's not the OSEG Board of Directors who are moving into the townhouses. It's real regular individuals and real regular families. I would like to think that the current residents of Holmwood are people who can differentiate between OSEG and the people who are moving there.

I get that construction is always a PITA and often a major inconvenience, and I sympathize with the current residents of Holmwood. I really do. But I really wouldn't understand any future neighbour who hates me and my family already, without ever meeting or talking with me.

That being said, I'm glad you aren't going to be my neighbour, Alecz_dad. Wow.



Hey thanks for the good wishes, most appreciated!

That is very good to hear. One expects an attitude of entitlement from some elements in the Glebe but to think that the reception of new neighbours might be as graceless as alecz dad's post implied seems beyond the pale. In my experience, if you connect with the "right sort" in the Glebe you can make some really good and interesting (even fascinating) friends. The thing that you have to beware of are the ones who think that just living in the Glebe makes them the right sort - it just ain't so.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Sven Izhoungrie

Well, actually you *don't* know. At all.

On Saturday, I had a nice conversation with a homeowner whose house will be #directly# across from my unit - which, by the way, is near the parking entrance.

I stopped by Holmwood to see if anything new was happening, and he was outside shoveling his walkway. So I introduced myself. And we had a great conversation for about half an hour. Very nice guy. He wasn't terribly pleased about the construction (who would be?), but he also wasn't in a permanent uncontrollable rage about it.

He *was* quite happy about the townhouses. He brought up the fact that houses overlook the blank wall of Loblaws on Pretoria, and thinks the townhouse idea is a better solution.

He was asking me all sorts of questions about how the interiors are going to be set up, and how the condo structure works for parking, etc.

When I had to leave, we shook hands, and he said "Welcome to the neighbourhood." Wow Alecz_dad, we even had a laugh or two, and exchanged email addresses! Go figure. So much for your theory that my neighbours won't be happy to see me.

Lansdowne is being built. The townhouses are going to be built. So there may as well be considerate, quiet families like mine living in the units. Would you rather have them left empty and boarded up? (you don't need to answer that, I already know you would)

It's not the OSEG Board of Directors who are moving into the townhouses. It's real regular individuals and real regular families. I would like to think that the current residents of Holmwood are people who can differentiate between OSEG and the people who are moving there.

I get that construction is always a PITA and often a major inconvenience, and I sympathize with the current residents of Holmwood. I really do. But I really wouldn't understand any future neighbour who hates me and my family already, without ever meeting or talking with me.

That being said, I'm glad you aren't going to be my neighbour, Alecz_dad. Wow.



Hey thanks for the good wishes, most appreciated!

That's great to hear. I'm in the Glebe as well, and I think that what you will find is that people like Alecz_dad, while vocal, certainly do not represent the views of entire community, no matter how much they like to think they do. In fact, that is a large part of the reason why the opposition failed - they couldn't agree amongst themselves on what should be done at Lansdowne. As a result, they were 100% negative in their position and comments, which sadly seems to continue to this day on this board.

In any event, don't be bothered by that nonsense. Given your well- constructed and definitive rebuttal of Alecz_dad's post, I don't expect that you'll hear much more from him.

There are plenty of Glebe residents who are excited about the project, are quite okay with the intensification that it brings, and who will welcome you with open arms. I wish you the best. I expect that you will love your new home.

[Nepean]

Originally Posted by alecz_dad

Radster, I think you'll be disappointed. Not really any lawns to park cars on, on Adelaide Street. And many residents have only one spot, or none.

*snip*

I'm sorry, but this is a total bs attitude on your part. I moved to the Glebe from Nepean some time ago and love this neighbourhood. I share your concern about having my street becoming a parking lot. However, my instinct is not to treat the rest of the city like a bunch of unwashed barbarians who need to be kept away, but rather to find a solution that works for all residents of the National Capital Region.

The Glebe has a pretty shitty reputation. That's too bad, because in my experience there are a lot of wonderful people here. What turns a lot of folks off, however, is the selfish, self-absorbed, rich-boy whining that some Glebites indulge in.

In case you forgot, you live in a community called Ottawa. Lansdowne is not the private play toy of me and my fellow Glebe neighbours. It's a municipal gem that should be accessible to everyone in the city. That is why I want to find a solution, e.g improving public transit, that allows all of the city's residents to enjoy Lansdowne, while minimizing traffic chaos as much as possible.

[AuxTown]

Wow it's nice to see that we are getting more and more positive attitudes toward development at Lansdowne and even a few future residents! I purchased my season tickets for the Fury last week and can't wait to take in an event at the new stadium. I will probably see 1 or 2 RB games as well. Don't worry Glebites, I will be parking my car at my usual spot on Maclaren and walking down. It's a nice walk and will result in one less car in the traffic mayhem. I think we will see a lot of people finding unique and practical ways to avoid the traffic, something that is not possible at CTC. I'd say one of the easiest things to do is to take public transit to Billings and walk from there. Surely a 1.7km walk through a nice neighborhood with a stop for food along the way is not too arduous for most. It's only 2.4km from the soon-to-be functional LRT line so even a slow train of shuttle buses along Bank could cover the distance in less than 10 minutes. Can't wait!

[waterloowarrior]

As a general reminder, please keep the focus on people's arguments and don't make the attacks personal. A few of the posts that crossed the line have been deleted.

[rocketphish]

Corroded steel in Civic Centre boosts Lansdowne costs $17M

By David Reevely, OTTAWA CITIZEN December 31, 2013 11:01 AM

OTTAWA — Key steel supports in the Civic Centre at Lansdowne Park are were in much worse shape than anybody realized and the city and the private consortium renovating Lansdowne are arguing over whose problem it is to pay the $17-million bill.

Wayne Newell, the city’s general manager of infrastructure, told councillors of the problem in a long memo just before Christmas.

Previous inspections had found minor deterioration in steel beams over the Civic Centre’s ice pad (under Frank Clair Stadium’s north-side stands) but concluded the building as a whole was structurally sound. Then, when contractors for the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group took out insulation and other coverings as part of their wholesale redevelopment of the property, they got a nasty surprise.

“The completed investigation identified extensive repairs required due to corrosion of the structural steel elements of the facility, which would impact the structure’s capability of supporting its designed loading capacity,” Newell wrote. The more parts they looked at, the more alarmed they got.

“The largest portion of work involved replacing the arena steel decking; essentially this is the roof structure over the arena,” he wrote.

“In order to safely access this area, scaffolding had to be installed from the arena floor up to the underside of the roof. Working from the top side, the concrete floor was removed, followed by the existing steel deck. Repairs to the support beams were completed and new steel joists were installed along the entire area under the upper concourse.”

The cost for this and fixing a main beam and other parts of the structure add up to $17 million, according to the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group of private developers and sports businessmen.

The work is mostly done — OSEG sped ahead with it to keep the delicate construction schedule on track for the Canadian Football League’s coming summer season — but OSEG and the city don’t agree on whether this is just an expense that arose in the normal course of the Lansdowne work (in which case it’s OSEG’s problem) or a major new problem that’s not part of the work OSEG agreed to do as part of its partnership with the city (in which case it’s the city government’s problem).

The complex agreement between the parties includes a way of arbitrating disputes like this if they can’t be resolved amicably and “OSEG has notified the City that it is considering invoking the dispute resolution procedures of the Project Agreement,” Newell wrote.

Even if OSEG ends up having to pay, the $17-million would be treated as an additional investment in the $400-million project, giving the consortium a bigger share of the proceeds that are eventually supposed to come from all the retail, residential and commercial development on the former fairground off Bank Street at the Rideau Canal.

Despite the surprises in the Civic Centre, Newell’s memo said the Lansdowne project as a whole is on track, with several big buildings due to be turned over to contractors fitting them up for their retail tenants as soon as February and major work about to begin on the “urban park” that’s to occupy the southeastern quadrant of the site.

[email protected]

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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ottawa...oosts+Lansdowne+costs/9337609/story.html

[JFFournier]

Originally Posted by alecz_dad

It took nearly 20 years to grow the trees that were formerly located on the site of your future home, to a degree of maturity.

How long do you plan on taking?