Zibi says it is building to weather a one-in-a-thousand year flood
Elizabeth Payne, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: April 29, 2019
Zibi’s new seven-storey observation tower made from shipping crates opens to the public on Wednesday, offering a birds-eye view of the Ottawa River, the source of the worst spring flooding in recent memory. The opening comes just as the river is expected to peak in parts of Ontario and Quebec.
Despite its proximity to the water — and the roiling Chaudière Falls — officials at Zibi say they are high and dry and will remain that way because the development is being built to withstand once-in-1,000-year floods.
“Our philosophy is that we build with climate resiliency in mind. If you think about extreme weather due to climate change, all of our infrastructure is built with that in mind,” said president Jeff Westeinde.
Zibi’s observation tower made from shipping crates opens to the public on Wednesday, offering a birds-eye view of the Ottawa River just as the river is expected to peak in parts of Ontario and Quebec. Errol McGihon/PostmediaThe bridge that links two parts of the development is not high and dry however. The Chaudière Bridge has been temporarily closed to the public as flood waters lap around its deck. It was also temporarily closed during the 2017 floods.
Each half of the Zibi development is accessible by municipal roads — Booth Street in Ottawa and Eddy Street in Gatineau. Getting from one side to the other while the bridge is closed involves using the Portage Bridge, just east of the Chaudière Bridge.
There are 79 residents living on the Quebec side, where retail construction is underway. On the Ontario side, a six-storey residential building is set for occupancy early next year. Commercial construction is also beginning.
Westeinde said he sees the spring flooding as an opportunity to talk about environmental sustainability in the way communities are built — something that is a focus of the project.
“Anybody who comes down here, it is visually apparent that we are significantly higher than the water levels — you can see it,” he said. “We have done a tremendous amount of due diligence on these lands.”
Westeinde said flooding and other issues should make people think about not only where we they live, but how communities are built.
The development plans to be the region’s first zero-carbon district. Its cooling and heating system will employ post-industrial waste heat, among other things.
“I think anybody looking at real estate should be thinking about climate resilience,” he said.
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new...o-weather-a-one-in-a-thousand-year-flood
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