== Background / Canada's Wonderland & the new Billion dollar Vaughan Hospital ==
The debate over the New Civic Campus can be improved with some contextual comparisons with other Ontario hospitals under development. By some chance I was zooming around Toronto in Google Earth, not sure why originally, but eventually I was over Vaughan and looking at Canada's Wonderland. Now, I know at least back home every once and awhile the rumour would come up that Canada's Wonderland was 'stuck' with nowhere to expand and was considering a move of the whole park- this was more based on a commentary about the explosive growth of all the ticky-tacky suburbs in Vaughan and less so based on reality. Case in point, anyone who looks at the area will see that nearly 1/3rd of Canada's Wonderland's property is surface parking lots, and that condensing that into parking garages could easily free up a quarter of the size of the current park for development. Their latest megacoaster seems to be designed in preparation for that eventuality.
Key facts:
Canada's Wonderland's parking lot is "over 3 million square feet with 10,300 parking spaces", this is roughly 70 acres. Wikipedia reports the park is 330 acres.
== Vaughan's New $1 Billion Dollar Hospital ==
Now, this is an aside, as the main story is the large lot next door that is integrated into the rest of Canada's Wonderland's property with access roads via underpasses under the avenue. The presence of these underpasses made me assume that it was owned by Canada's Wonderland- and it was, till it was sold for the development of a new $1 billion dollar hospital for Vaughan. And boy, did that send me down a rabbit hole...
Now at this point I need to do a whole scale revision of what I had wrote as basically every source quotes a different size of the property, and how much it was sold for. Originally I had wrote a comparison based on 25 acre quotes; wondering why there was such a difference in sizes.
This article seems to have the full story.
- the City of Vaughan has provided a lease on "up to 50 acres of land" for the future hospital.
- the lease deal provides 40 acres with an additional 10 for potential expansion.
- in 2009, the city agreed to pay $60 million to purchase the 82 acre property.
- the city also committed to providing another $20 million to help develop the land into a "state-of-the-art, health-care campus, complete with a full-service hospital and ancillary health care services such as a long-term care facility, laboratories and some type of medical research or education facility."
- this $80 million dollar investment is being paid back through a special levy on Vaughan taxpayers expected to last to 2022, this started in 2009
- "a complicated land deal", as the Star reports, "has held up the plan for years"
- this plan has also been controversial due to the regular NIMBYs, but more significantly due to the private developer / operator of the hospital. In what I can only call an angry NIMBY groups website, has reported that "Mackenzie Health has increased their demands for land from 40 acres to 50 acres to 62 acres"
The 82 acre property:
The '50 acre' plan?
How this plan- stated as 'up to 50 acres'- and the reported size of the property being 82 acres, jells, is beyond me at this point. What is clear is that across Ontario hospital development takes up large properties and no one seems to be able to clearly express what is reality.
Also, one thing to consider, that ~$80 million dollars could provide a substantial envelope to prepare Tunney's Pasture and provide for a hybrid solution to parking: both multi-level garage and surface parking. When you consider that nowhere else in Ontario would a municipality have the ability to get 60-80 acres for development for free.
A full comparison between the Vaughan Hospital, the Civic and other Hospitals would be nice, but I'm not a paid journalist- journalists who really should be investigating this more fully. But allow me to do my best for the moment.
== A summary of the Civic Hospital's perspective ==
Ottawa Hospital: New Civic Hospital
Our goal is to build a cost-conscious world-class facility that meets modern health-care standards, and improves patient experience and outcomes. The world’s best health-care design experts concluded that we need 50 to 60 acres of land, in a central area, to achieve our goal.
The requirements outlined for our new Campus, including its size, are also largely based on our desire to make the most of the funding available to us.
A lower building costs less to build and maintain. A surface parking lot can save our community hundreds of millions of dollars. Given the choice, we will prioritize health-care programs and equipment over things like underground parking. As the region’s trusted health-care provider, our community’s health needs will always be our priority.
+ Building and Expansion - 25 acres
"21st century hospitals offer intuitive layouts; minimal distance between intake, diagnostics and treatment; dedicated routes for emergency patient transport; and private patient rooms. This layout has been proven to improve flow and access to treatments; reduce hospital stays, the spread of infections, stress and the need for pain medication; and brighten the attitudes of patients and their families, along with hospital workers."
+ Exterior Wellness Areas - 7 acres
"Modern hospitals offer therapeutic healing gardens, outdoor or enclosed patios, and large windows that provide ample natural light"
+ Access - 6 acres
"This means easy access for emergency vehicles, many points of entry, quick drop-offs, links to walking and cycling paths, and good parking and transit service."
+ Parking - 15-20 acres
"Creating surface parking would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Underground parking would increase costs by $275 million; an above-ground garage by $84 million - costs that are not funded by the government. We are committed to consulting the community on this topic."
Current Civic Campus parking statistics: There are approximately
1,200 visitor spots at the Civic. Visitor lots at the Civic are at 100% capacity during the week; 95% occupancy on Ruskin Street.
6,200 people worked at the Civic in 2015 - approximately 150 spots are reserved for staff onsite and another 1,200 offsite. There are an
additional 3,400 physicians, residents, fellows and medical students who
move between our three campuses. We run intercampus shuttle buses throughout the day for staff, volunteers and trainees.
/ as an aside- this seems to be a big plus for the LRT connection Tunney's offers. /
We need ~3,400 spaces to meet future demand.
Estimated Costs of Parking Modes:
- Surface: $16 million
- Above Ground: $100 million
- Underground: $291 million
One can estimate that ~$80 million could provide the ~3,400 spaces in a hybrid option, with a majority in multi-level garages.
The province does not fund costs for parking facilities. "Funding solutions" would be required to implement the more expensive parking options.
/ my added quotations, the Feds/City could come to the table here, and I think that's the implication. /
== Tunney's Pasture ==
+ Total size of Tunney's Pasture: 121 acres
+ 10,655 employees currently
+ Modal Splits: 36% public transit; 10% walk / cycle; 54% motorized vehicles
+ Civic Hospital parcel: 50 acres (supposed magic number)
As
reported in the CBC circa 2011:
"Some federal government buildings in Ottawa's Tunney's Pasture area will be vacated in 2015, according to a representative from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)."Many workers have also said a lack of clean water is among the most common concerns of employees at Tunney's Pasture, according to PSAC." Four buildings at Tunney's are rated in "Poor" condition, "Five" as fair.
1) R.H. Coats Building (26 storeys)
2) Finance Building (3 storeys)* ('good condition', in Yarrow & Sorrel Block- slated for redevelopment)
3) Statistics Canada Main Building (2 storeys)
4) Standard Lab Building (2 storeys)
5) Jean Talon Building (14 storeys)
6) Laboratory Centre for Disease Control (4 storeys)
7) Health Protection Building(3 storeys)
8) Environmental Health Centre (3 storeys)
9) Brooke Claxton Building (16 storeys)
10) Butler Hut (1 storey)
11) Animal Breeding Building (2 storeys)
12) Central Heating & Cooling Plant (3 storeys)
13) Finance Annex (2 storeys)* ('poor condition', in Yarrow & Sorrel Block- marked for redevelopment)
14) Public Archives General Records Centre (2 storeys)*
15) DND Building (4 storeys)*
16) Occupational Health Unit Bldg (1 storey)* ('good condition', marked for redevelopment)
17) Public Archives Personnel Records Centre (4 storeys)*
18) Jeanne Mance Building (21 storeys)
19) Sir Frederick G. Banting Research Centre (4 storeys)
2, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, are all marked for development, have no significant long term value, I believe will be on the table if this goes forward to a proper planning stage. Upgrades to the Central Heating & Cooling Plant (12) are possible so as to feed the hospital. My prediction is this will draw the main hospital closer to the centre of the campus, along the goldenrod axis and closer to the LRT station. With a new road crossing the transitway trench, and a new interchange at the Parkway- it's lanes have been tightened up- at the Northwest corner at Banting.
'Poor' rating (year built)
#7 Health Protection Building (1956)
#14 Finance Annex Building (1958)
#15 General Records Centre (1957)*
#17 Personnel Records Building (1965)*
'Fair' rating
#3 Statistics Canada Building (1952)
#4 Standards lab Building (1954)
#11 Butler Hut (1955)
#13: Central heating plant (1952)
#15 DND Data Centre (1962)*
I think this graphic really shows the potential strength for the site: which is the integration of a major research hospital, and the heart institute (potentially), both have strong connections with the University of Ottawa and Carleton (linked by rail), within the larger Health Canada campus. The National Defence building will likely end up being moved to the Carling DNDHQ Campus, and the two records buildings are both 'poor' rating and could possibly be demo-ready now, assuming the PSAC has been prep-ing them for their eventual demolition over the past 5 years. Regardless, records buildings used for storage I don't think represent much of a hurdle. Also, the block bound by Sorrel Dr. and Yarrow Dr. is also slated for re-development, so that could potentially be added to the plan during the design phase. Currently the parcel chosen is really just the residential zoned 'Western Precinct' from the 2014 Master Plan.
It's noteworthy that buildings 10, 11, & 6, and the Sir Frederick G Banting Research Centre (19), are home to Health Canada labs and offices that
include:
+ Environmental Health Science and Research Bureau
+ Bureau of Chemical Safety; Food Research Division, Toxicology Research Division
+ Bureau of Nutritional Sciences
+ Bureau of Microbial Hazards; Microbiology Research Division
+ Scientific Services Division
+ Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate
+ The Centre for Vaccine Evaluation
+ Blood Safety Surveillance and Health Care Acquired Infections Division
+ Community Acquired Infections Division
+ HIV/AIDS Policy, Coordination and Programs Division
+ National HIV and Retrovirology Laboratories
+ Surveillance and Risk Assessment Division
Not sure if you're making a compelling case that it is isolated when you show it has 5 road intersections- two with what is essentially a freeway, another 2 with the main east/west avenue to the downtown core. Close to the 417 and connected via rail to the pre-war suburbs, the downtown core, 3 universities/colleges, the train station and airport, and all suburbs east/west and south.
== Current 25 Year Master Plan ===
2009 - 2014 (5 year development?!)
+ office for approx. 22,000 – 25,000 employees;
+ multi-unit residential for approx. 3,400 – 3,700 units, ~9,000 residents
The current master plan that basically had almost the whole 50 acre site- the "Western Precinct"- zoned for residential. Eventually roughly 9,000 residents surrounding national research laboratories and Health Canada office buildings. Given the soft market and abundance of development lands on the Flats, and down the Trillium line corridor. It's unlikely this whole development would have been feasible in the 25-30 year horizon, imo.
Notes from Meeting Minutes (NCC) of the Tunney's Pasture 25 years Master Plan:
Dec, 2009-
+ The vocabulary used in the master plan should
reflect a stronger commitment towards residential
development.
+ PWGSC should find a way to allow different
uses in the redevelopment scheme. Economic,
financial, real estate models should be developed
and presented to the government in addition to
the planning dimension of the project.
+ There should be more than one scenario,
including one that really pushes the limits and
goes beyond the 30-year projection.
March, 2010-
+ The NCC should not allow this site to be transformed into
another campus but should promote the idea of
capital building. Integrating this site with the
neighbouring community will enable the
infrastructure and commercial scheme to be
successful. / (the thinking of the time)
+ While PWGSC outlined the roadblocks, at least in the short term, with respect
to residential development on Tunney’s Pasture,
most participants considered densification and
mixed-use development on this site essential. More
single use office space would lead to more demand
for parking and create the same kind of
environment that currently exists and that
obviously does not work
+ The committee urged PWGSC to apply the
profession’s current best practices of urban design,
which include mixed-use, and to examine ways in
which the rules can change to accommodate this. It
was considered essential to change the mindset of
decision makers; otherwise, the same scenarios will
repeat themselves (traffic congestion, parking
problems, unpleasant environment, etc.).
Oct, 2013-
+ Members supported the direction of the
Tunney’s Pasture Master Plan that was
presented, and they were prepared to accept the
principle of a future connection to the Sir John A.
Macdonald Parkway at Banting, subject to future
analysis, and to the closure of the intersection at
Goldenrod Avenue.
+The future connection should ... be shown on the
concept development plan as a possibility only / (it shows up nowhere in the final master plan)
Might have gone over board, but this is basically my notes after a bit of research.
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