Maison Riverain [2 Montreal Rd] | 76/94/106m | 22/28/32f | U/C

[Davis137]

Not too shabby. What are the chances of this moving forward?

[J.OT13]

ML Devco, main + main plan three-tower development at Vanier ‘gateway’

OBJ Staff, August 14, 2020

A pair of Canadian developers are proposing to redevelop an entire block on the western edge of Vanier, overlooking the Rideau River, with a trio of residential high-rises on top of ground-level retail space.

The property at 2 Montreal Rd. and 3 Selkirk St. – the site of a former gas station and the Eastview Shopping Centre, respectively – is located just across the Cummings Bridge:

ML Devco and main + main are looking to build 1,003 rental units in three towers of 22, 28 and 32 storeys sitting atop a two-floor podium. A rezoning application filed with the city says a range of apartment types are envisioned, “with only a small component of studio units.”

Elsewhere in Ottawa, ML Devco – the development arm of Magil Laurentian Realty Investments – is also planning a multi-residential development in Hintonburg after acquiring several parcels of land bordered by Wellington Street West and Armstrong Street just west of the O-Train line for $6.2 million earlier this year, according to RENX.

Main + main, which specializes in mixed-use urban developments, is also planning to develop three highrises on the site of the former Alterna Savings and Credit Union on Albert Street.

The project’s proponents say they hope their Vanier project will help revitalize the wider community. It’s located several blocks away from the site of another proposed multi-building development on Montreal Road. Manor Park plans to build some 591 residential units across three towers on its site near the Vanier Parkway.

https://obj.ca/article/real-estate/resid...n-three-tower-development-vanier-gateway

[Mille Sabords]

No. Not good. They have to go back to first principles. Break the superblock and align your goddamn buildings with the street. Enough of these useless angles.

[kwoldtimer]

??? The angles are my favourite part!

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

No. Not good. They have to go back to first principles. Break the superblock and align your goddamn buildings with the street. Enough of these useless angles.

Uhhh dude...the lot is an irregular quadrilateral. What kind of road alignment are you looking for? I like what they have done with the building alignment here. The project is angled to face the end of the bridge so it creates an excellent gateway feature to a *fingers crosssed* gentrifying Vanier.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by Mille Sabords

No. Not good. They have to go back to first principles. Break the superblock and align your goddamn buildings with the street. Enough of these useless angles.

Seconded. I hate that stupid pointless open space at what should be a "strong building" corner with good street frontage. If it survives the rest of the design process, at very least it has to be designed above and beyond the usual trash Ottawa standards that leave us with windswept awfulness in the winter and sun-drenched shadeless awfulness in the summer.

[J.OT13]

I can't say I understand the criticism about the corners that leave some space for parkettes. This is far better than some downtown blocks where we see lot-line to lot-line blocks with narrow sidewalks. And with such a huge podium, those corners are that much more important.

Looking at the specific corners, the one facing the Cummings Bridge is partially owned by the City. It's the gateway to Vanier. The "Welcome to Vanier" corner. So I don't see how anyone can argue with that one. Next is Selkirk/North River where the Vanier Towers across the street are also set-back, so it's needed for consistency. Montgomery/Selkirk is harder to defend, but certainly doesn't have that much of a negative a effect on the overall development.

The only criticism I might have is the extensive "empty" podium on the corner of Montgomery/Selkirk (which is a parking garage). I wouldn't mind if they added a 12 floor mid-rise to fill it-up, along with more green-roof/terrace space.

[Mille Sabords]

This proposal is horrible in so many ways. It is a massive block of podium that only hides surface parking and produces an excessive quantity of blank walls. The useless angling of the building edge is not to create parkettes, it is to snap to a parking grid and the residual space just gets grass. I barf all over it. There's better ways to do this. The previous proposal for this same site was by far superior.

[waterloowarrior]

I agree with Mille - limited active frontages, above-ground parking, and building orientation are problematic.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

I agree with Mille - limited active frontages, above-ground parking, and building orientation are problematic.

The long non-active frontage on Selkirk faces old office buildings. I quite like the frontages facing Montgomery, North River and Montreal Road. It's human scale and the towers float lightly above. The massive green roof on top of the grocery store/parkade would be a great amenity for residents. The courtyard is a nice touch as well. I like the building orientation because these towers are massive for the neighborhood but they are pushed back from main road and don't hover over the lot lines like the Great Wall of Claridge going up on Rideau. To me it looks like a unique solution for a very oddly shaped lot. I like it.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The long non-active frontage on Selkirk faces old office buildings. I quite like the frontages facing Montgomery, North River and Montreal Road. It's human scale and the towers float lightly above. The massive green roof on top of the grocery store/parkade would be a great amenity for residents. The courtyard is a nice touch as well. I like the building orientation because these towers are massive for the neighborhood but they are pushed back from main road and don't hover over the lot lines like the Great Wall of Claridge going up on Rideau. To me it looks like a unique solution for a very oddly shaped lot. I like it.

I agree with this 100%

Remember folks, the Selkirk facade today is absolutely dismal. Not even a sidewalk. Check out the Google Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4318106,...itch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192


With the new development, the big blank wall will be cut in half.

There's a reason why most of the parking is above grade. I'm sure that reason is specified in the report, but I suspect it's because of the water table.

They might have been able to build two underground parking levels (which is part of the plan), followed by a retail level before the last few levels of parking. Again, I still wish they would include a 12 level tower on the corner of Selkirk and Montgomery.

I also wish they had space for a restaurant on North River or Montreal in order to add a terrace (though the grocery store could have one, similar to Sobey's/Farm Boy on Metcalfe).

All in all though, I still think this is a fantastic project, far better than most, if not all, local developers could have pulled-off.

[J.OT13]

September Design Review Panel Feedback.

3 Selkirk Street and 2 Montreal Road | Formal Review | Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment | Main & Main Developments; ML Devco; HOK Architects

Summary

• The Panel recognizes that this is a gateway site and a very important opportunity for city and neighbourhood building. Concerned was expressed that the scale of the proposal, the positioning of the towers, the car-dominated design, and minimal pedestrian realm design do not support these aspirations.
• The Panel recommends that the proponent work with City staff to organize a focused design review session.

Context

• The current design is focused on creating a gateway development and a view terminus, but additional attention should be paid to how the proposal relates to its immediate surroundings.
• The design should not be driven by relationships with the office buildings.
• The design should look to broader residential context for architectural vocabulary. The architecture should consider cold winter conditions and reference climate.
• The development needs to strengthen Montreal Road.

Built Form

• The Panel has no concerns with the proposed density; however, has concerns with the disposition of the towers and recommends that their relationship with each other and with their surrounding context continue to be studied.
• In response to the "sameness" of the towers and the "sameness” of the base, the Panel recommends that the proponent explore additional variation between the towers and variation between the various street frontages of the base.
• Explore means of strengthening the towers’ relationship to the street.
• The alignment of built form along Montreal Road will influence and set the tone for future development along this main street.
• The two-storey podium is more of a modernist tower in the park approach rather than an urban response that is intended to strengthen the urban edges along Montreal and Montgomery.
• The tower closest to Montreal Road should be set back to support the main street context
• The Panel suggested that it may be difficult to animate the street with a grocery store.

Public Realm

• The Panel recommends that the proponent continue to study the proposal’s relationship with the public realm, including a greater focus on the pedestrian experience both within the site and in the adjacent public spaces.
• The footprint of the two-storey podium could be reduced and the space for the public realm needs to be increased.
• Further animation is needed along the Selkirk frontage to help build the residential character of the street. Grade-related units along the residential streets would help in this respect.
• The Panel recommends strengthening the gesture at the corner of Montreal Road and North River Road.
• The proposed park looks like a small buffer with little contribution to the city.
• The public space needs to be more generous in size.
• No surface parking should be provided.

Site Plan

The Panel is supportive of the commercial uses at grade, but the design, access, and distribution of the parking should be reconsidered so that automobiles do not dominate the design of the site. The site is very large in an urban context, and currently, the layout of the site does not take advantage of the generous lot area.

https://ottawa.ca/en/planning-developmen...nel-recommendations#october-1-and-2-2020

[rocketphish]

Updated proposal (February 2021) in response to UDRP feedback.

The highlights of these changes include the following:
• A new private lane connecting Montgomery to Selkirk Street, which includes a streetlevel pedestrian experience, drop-off areas and access to underground parking garages and service areas;
• Approximately 18,200 sq.ft of public park at the corner of Montgomery and Selkirk Streets as per City staff recommendation;
• Towers have been set back to create a more defined podium edge at the street level, including podium heights that range between 1-3 storeys; a “street wall” along Montreal Road and the current urban park at North River Road strengthen the towers’ relationship to the street with a greater focus on the pedestrian experience and good built form;
• A minimum 6 metre (m) tower setback along Selkirk Street;
• The redistribution of tower heights to provide a more appropriate massing approach and to better relate to the site’s immediate surroundings, as follows: Tower A (22 storeys), Tower B (28 Storeys) and Tower C (32 storeys); and
• A Bike lane within the existing public right-of-way (ROW) on Selkirk Street and on Montreal Road (land dedication area to be determined).


Siteplan:






Renderings:

[TransitZilla]

I like this a lot.

[J.OT13]

Solid improvements to the original. Only complaint would be the new charcoal brick vs the old red brick.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Solid improvements to the original. Only complaint would be the new charcoal brick vs the old red brick.

I thought the red brick was interesting and it tied the podium into the neighbourhood very well as there are many many red brick buildings in the area. This new brick looks very drab and Lahey-ish.

[waterloowarrior]

Much better and good to see more activation on North River

[Uhuniau]

Wow.

They.... improved it?

[roger1818]

It is an improvement, but I don't like how they have split the lot with a new cross street between Montgomery and Selkirk.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by roger1818

It is an improvement, but I don't like how they have split the lot with a new cross street between Montgomery and Selkirk.

What's the problem?