LeBreton Flats 2.0 (RendezVous LeBreton) | Cancelled

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by ars

DEVCORE put out a press release regarding Lebreton:

DCDLS Group Announces Its Commitment to Move Forward on LeBreton Flats Effective Immediately



If everything falls into place with DEVCORE, we may not have to wait too long for development at Lebreton to start up, especially since it looks like the NCC has completed a lot of the required paperwork and due diligence already for the RVL project.

If citizens want to see something happen, we should be vocal about this. We don't want to see Lebreton lay fallow for another 70 years.

Now were these the guys proposing the "brewseum" and "auto museum"? I'm all in for the beer but I would hope they wouldn't be so misguided as to put an auto museum in a city with absolutely no connection to the auto industry. They should keep that building architecture but put in a Costco....wouldn't that get people fired up!

• Video Link

[acottawa]

The Devcore proposal was rejected, in part, because they didn’t have any sort of plan to actually get any of the proposed elements built (except maybe the car dealership building). There was no financial commitment from any of the partners either inside or outside the consortium. Unless they can demonstrate that they have clear, binding commitments I think the NCC would be wasting its time dealing with them again.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by acottawa

The Devcore proposal was rejected, in part, because they didn’t have any sort of plan to actually get any of the proposed elements built (except maybe the car dealership building). There was no financial commitment from any of the partners either inside or outside the consortium. Unless they can demonstrate that they have clear, binding commitments I think the NCC would be wasting its time dealing with them again.

Way to rain on our pie in the sky parade!

[eltodesukane]

z

[AndyZagg]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Since the NCC is calling all the shots and has all the powers,
why doesn't the NCC itself build something?

They don't have the budget or mandate. It's not a bad idea to have the federal government build something monumental there (with partners), but realistically there is no way politically you could get away with it.

The NCC did the right thing and RV was a great plan except that Melnyk was involved.... so it blew up.

[AndyZagg]

Originally Posted by O-Town Hockey

If citizens want to see something happen, we should be vocal about this. We don't want to see Lebreton lay fallow for another 70 years.

Now were these the guys proposing the "brewseum" and "auto museum"? I'm all in for the beer but I would hope they wouldn't be so misguided as to put an auto museum in a city with absolutely no connection to the auto industry. They should keep that building architecture but put in a Costco....wouldn't that get people fired up!

• Video Link

Having the COSTCO certainly wouldn't fire up Sobey's who owns Farm Boy (who is a partner of DC in the development).

Also brewseum and auto museum are terrrible ideas, but maybe if they work with the city and NCC they can make this flawed plan better.

Having a Farm Boy, a YMCA, a french language school are all good community building ideas.

[ars]

Originally Posted by AndyZagg

Having the COSTCO certainly wouldn't fire up Sobey's who owns Farm Boy (who is a partner of DC in the development).

Also brewseum and auto museum are terrrible ideas, but maybe if they work with the city and NCC they can make this flawed plan better.

Having a Farm Boy, a YMCA, a french language school are all good community building ideas.

I agree, the two themed museums, and even the indoor skydiving center, are all terrible ideas that don't fit in with what a downtown development should incorporate. If DEVCORE does get picked, I hope the NCC will work with them to remove some of the "pie in the sky" ideas and incorporate some of the stuff RVL had in their proposal. Overall I preferred the RVL proposal, but DEVCORE did have some good ideas in their proposal as well.

[Kitchissippi]

If RVL fails (which looks like it has), I think the NCC and the city should just concentrate on developing the Aqueduct first so it becomes the focal core and foundation of the future community. It’s probably good that this remains a public space and not controlled by a private corporation. I imagine partially covering the tracks and building terraced shops and restaurants along the aqueduct, turning it into a unique space that does not exist elsewhere in the city. Hire the best planners, architects and designers to do a great job on it and make the area really desirable. This would allow the land to be sold in smaller parcels to be developed according to demand. Adding value to it beforehand, they’ll probably get more money for it. I don’t even mind if some of the empty land start off as parking lots if that’s what it takes to attract people in the beginning.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I don’t even mind if some of the empty land start off as parking lots if that’s what it takes to attract people in the beginning.

Blasphemy!

I wonder if they could do a smaller scale development as you have suggested but also include an arena development with the Sens new owners....that is when Desmarais and his gang take over the team. Or do you think it would require the entire flats development to make an arena project like this viable?

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

If RVL fails (which looks like it has), I think the NCC and the city should just concentrate on developing the Aqueduct first so it becomes the focal core and foundation of the future community. It’s probably good that this remains a public space and not controlled by a private corporation. I imagine partially covering the tracks and building terraced shops and restaurants along the aqueduct, turning it into a unique space that does not exist elsewhere in the city. Hire the best planners, architects and designers to do a great job on it and make the area really desirable. This would allow the land to be sold in smaller parcels to be developed according to demand. Adding value to it beforehand, they’ll probably get more money for it. I don’t even mind if some of the empty land start off as parking lots if that’s what it takes to attract people in the beginning.

I think that is sensible, but I think both the city and NCC have convinced themselves this can be done without public money.

My concern is that the NCC panics, hands over the project to Devcore, doesn’t do any due diligence and 10 years from now we have 1 or 2 condos and a car dealership overlooking an empty field.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

If RVL fails (which looks like it has), I think the NCC and the city should just concentrate on developing the Aqueduct first so it becomes the focal core and foundation of the future community. It’s probably good that this remains a public space and not controlled by a private corporation. I imagine partially covering the tracks and building terraced shops and restaurants along the aqueduct, turning it into a unique space that does not exist elsewhere in the city. Hire the best planners, architects and designers to do a great job on it and make the area really desirable. This would allow the land to be sold in smaller parcels to be developed according to demand. Adding value to it beforehand, they’ll probably get more money for it. I don’t even mind if some of the empty land start off as parking lots if that’s what it takes to attract people in the beginning.

Sorry, but the shops and restaurants can only come when there is sufficient local population and other public attractions in the area. They cannot precede the rest of the development. And we don't want parking lots on site that will take decades to get rid of.

[J.OT13]

The NCC has, on multiple occasions, including last month, confirmed that the DCDLS bid will not be re-considered. This is just a last ditch attempt from the group (or Poulin) to try and get back in. I predict the NCC will give them a resounding "no" and DCDLS (or Devcore and maybe a few other partners) will attempt to sue. And they might have a case if the NCC had in fact approached Melnyk to submit a bid, as Melnyk's suit claims.

The fact is, DCDLS' plan was pretty terrible. The mixed-use component was fine, but both the Library and French Public School (to be built with the City's Gladstone project) are now out of the equation. The public realm was just a massive, wind-swept barren plaza with mostly novelty attractions that could be built anywhere (such as the skydiving experience, which is also proposed in Gatineau now at a Go-Karting facility) or have nothing to do with Ottawa (car museum?).

The biggest issues with their plan were the rail line severing the two sides and lack of connectivity with the rest of the city (RVL's street grid).

That brings up a question; does the NCC own the plans from the two bids, sort of like how the City owns the plans from transit line bids in order to use some ideas from other groups to help improve the winning groups proposal? If so, the NCC might be able to pursue with RVL's proposal by auctioning off pieces of land a few at a time, and keep the arena's surroundings clear for a future Sens owner.

[ars]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The NCC has, on multiple occasions, including last month, confirmed that the DCDLS bid will not be re-considered. This is just a last ditch attempt from the group (or Poulin) to try and get back in. I predict the NCC will give them a resounding "no" and DCDLS (or Devcore and maybe a few other partners) will attempt to sue. And they might have a case if the NCC had in fact approached Melnyk to submit a bid, as Melnyk's suit claims.

The fact is, DCDLS' plan was pretty terrible. The mixed-use component was fine, but both the Library and French Public School (to be built with the City's Gladstone project) are now out of the equation. The public realm was just a massive, wind-swept barren plaza with mostly novelty attractions that could be built anywhere (such as the skydiving experience, which is also proposed in Gatineau now at a Go-Karting facility) or have nothing to do with Ottawa (car museum?).

The biggest issues with their plan were the rail line severing the two sides and lack of connectivity with the rest of the city (RVL's street grid).

That brings up a question; does the NCC own the plans from the two bids, sort of like how the City owns the plans from transit line bids in order to use some ideas from other groups to help improve the winning groups proposal? If so, the NCC might be able to pursue with RVL's proposal by auctioning off pieces of land a few at a time, and keep the arena's surroundings clear for a future Sens owner.

I don't think that's true...?(that the NCC will outright reject DEVCORE)

This is what was reported when RVL was picked by the NCC:

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...-redevelopment

The DCDLS plan wasn’t rejected outright. The NCC is keeping it as a backup plan in case negotiations with RendezVous LeBreton go poorly.

Negotiations will start this summer and could continue into 2017, with federal approvals and the announcement of a successful proponent late next year or in 2018.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by ars

I don't think that's true...?(that the NCC will outright reject DEVCORE)

This is what was reported when RVL was picked by the NCC:

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...-redevelopment

In May 2016, they were still in the running, but when the NCC and RVL signed an agreement in principal in January 2018, DCDLS was officially eliminated.

In early 2016, The Devcore Canderel DLS (DCDLS) Group got as far as showcasing its plans for a linear park, skateboarding pavilion, aquarium, outdoor event space and new 18,500 seat arena against those for RendezVous LeBreton.

Their chances officially ended once the National Capital Commission chose the other finalist — a partnership between the Ottawa Senators and Trinity Development Group — as its top choice this past January.

---

Both during and after its meeting last month, when the RendezVous LeBreton issues came to light, NCC leadership has mused it may need to do some sort of restart of the process.

It has also said the current process doesn't allow it to go back to DCDLS.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...rena-1.4929782

[AndyZagg]

Deleted because you answered my question.

[ars]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

In May 2016, they were still in the running, but when the NCC and RVL signed an agreement in principal in January 2018, DCDLS was officially eliminated.



https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...rena-1.4929782

Ah, missed that tidbit today.

This seems like a misstep on the NCC's part, they should have had a better pulse on the situation before going forward with signing the agreement.

I'm quite interested to see how the NCC will handle this because I don't think Trinity and Melnyk/CSMI will iron out their issues by the deadline(effectively ending that bid and the agreement).

[rocketphish]

DCDLS is 'ready to roll' if the NCC cuts RendezVous LeBreton loose

Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: December 3, 2018



Devcore Canderel DLS, the consortium that was the runner-up in the LeBreton Flats redevelopment competition, says it’s ready to take over the historic project if the National Capital Commission cuts its ties with RendezVous LeBreton Group.

“We’re all still all united and ready to roll,” Jean-Pierre Poulin, president of Devcore Group, said Sunday night in a brief interview.

Poulin, the founding partner of the DCDLS consortium, said the group has contacted the NCC about taking over the development if the agency’s arrangement with RendezVous falls through.

“We’re looking forward meeting with the NCC where we can find out about the next steps,” Poulin said.

The possibility of RendezVous’s exclusive property development deal with the NCC falling through is very real, since Eugene Melnyk’s Capital Sports Management Inc., an Ottawa Senators company, is suing John Ruddy and Trinity Developments. Melnyk and Ruddy are the main partners with RendezVous. Melnyk is also suing Graham Bird, a project management consultant on the RendezVous project.

Ruddy and Bird have denied the allegations in Melnyk’s $700-million lawsuit, which claims the two defendants used the LeBreton Flats project to leverage a major Trinity-involved mixed-use development at 900 Albert St.

The NCC’s board of directors is poised to make a major decision during a meeting in January about what it will do about its partnership with RendezVous.

DCDLS, which was officially removed from the LeBreton Flats picture when the NCC signed a preliminary agreement with RendezVous earlier this year, has stayed quiet in recent weeks since the NCC revealed there’s strife in the RendezVous partnership. Then Melnyk filed the lawsuit.

The DCDLS partners include some heavy-hitters, such as André Desmarais of Power Corp., Guy Laliberté of Cirque du Soleil William Sinclair, co-founder of JDS Uniphase and the Mierins Family. Montreal developer Canderel is also a major partner in the consortium.

Poulin declined to say more in the interview, referring to a written statement that DCDLS released. He noted, though, that DCCLS worked on the press release Sunday.

“Our team has the expertise, experience and the financial resources that are necessary to deliver a world class project on behalf of the citizens of Ottawa and all Canadians, working together with the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa,” Poulin said in the written statement.

Poulin said DCDLS would still reserve part of the land near an LRT station for an arena on LeBreton Flats.

DCDLS calls its vision Canadensis LeBreton Re-Imagined. It includes major attractions, such as an aquarium, skate park pavilion, a skydiving wind tunnel and a bandshell. More than 2,000 residential units and one million square feet of office space were also in the DCDLS blueprint, which also has a French-language school and a YMCA.

An NHL-calibre arena is also part of the DCDLS vision, although that part has always been rather mysterious since the consortium doesn’t own the NHL team in Ottawa.

RendezVous has wanted to build the NHL arena for the Senators in the middle of a mixed-use community. The Melnyk side of the RendezVous partnership questions if the market is big enough in the LeBreton Flats area for a major planned development like 900 Albert St. and the community RendezVous was planning on LeBreton Flats, according to claims in the lawsuit.

The City of Ottawa has pauses its planning work on LeBreton Flats while RendezVous and the NCC sort out their arrangement.

Says Poulin in his written statement: “We do not believe Ottawa or Canada should be held hostage one day longer.”

jwilling@postmedia.com
twitter.com/JonathanWilling

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...lebreton-loose

[ars]

JP Poulin(president of DEVCORE) was on TSN1200 and CFRA580 this morning, it was quite an interesting conversation:

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-1200...oney-1.1219937

http://www.iheartradio.ca/580-cfra/p...rticle.8594578

Some points I got from his answers:

- Meeting with the NCC in the next few days
- Ready for shovels in the ground as soon as possible
- No public money involved
- Will set aside land for Melnyk or whoever it is that owns the Sens to build an arena
- In a follow up to the buying the Sens question, the NHL is a billionaires club, DEVCORE has billionaires behind it
- Would continue forward with where the RVL process left off, don't want to throw away the last 2 years
- 900 Albert not a concern/would not affect the development

[rocketphish]

The original DCDLS proposal was an absurd joke and I hope it never sees the light of day. If they want to participate in a new open competition and adhere more realistically to the NCC's requirements for the site, that's ok.

[zzptichka]

Main reason for DCDLS to bring up their bid right now is to apply pressure on Melnyk to sell. NHL Board of Governors is meeting this week and they'll be certainly discussing it.