Rideau Registry Residences [70 Nicholas St] | 66m | 21f | U/C

[RuralCitizen]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Strange feature, but I get it. Where else would you bring your dog for a run in that concrete wasteland? The nearest proper parks are Major's Hill and Confederation, both an unpleasant walk if you have a dog.

There's lots of people who use the park in front of Tabaret Hall to bring their dog.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by SL123

In my opinion its purpose is to create a buffer zone between the resident terrace and the bridge (theres always homeless people or smokers at that corner) way more than being a dog park

They've thought of that too. If your dog gets all smokey, there's a Dog Wash room on the ground floor right under the Dog Run.

[vtecyo]

I hope the doors into the building from the back terrace are going to be locked. That fence on the bridge looks like it could be easily scaled and someone could get into the building. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but would those sorts of terraces in building normally require a key to get back inside... assuming it was a floor or more above street level?

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by vtecyo

I hope the doors into the building from the back terrace are going to be locked. That fence on the bridge looks like it could be easily scaled and someone could get into the building.

Who would do that in the Byward Market? It's the crown jewel of Ottawa, there's no tolerance for crime there

[Davis137]

What a peculiar place to put a highrise condo...

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by Davis137

What a peculiar place to put a highrise condo...

Sarcasm?? Because 70 Nicholas receives a walkability score of 93 and a transit rider score of 100. So not sure if there is a MORE appropriate spot for a highrise condo. Anyway, looks like a nice addition to the very under-developed area of our downtown.

[Harley613]

I only find it a peculiar place to put a highrise condo because I always thought a hotel would go there. It's a no brainer to put a hotel there, I'm shocked that it's condos.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I only find it a peculiar place to put a highrise condo because I always thought a hotel would go there. It's a no brainer to put a hotel there, I'm shocked that it's condos.

"The purpose of this application is to accommodate the development of a high-rise mixed-use building
consisting of 280 apartments above 230 square metres of at-grade retail space. " (from app summary)

Unless i'm missing something its Rental apartments, which makes sense with the ever increasing move to online retail I assume most large malls have rental apartments in the works. Gets them both the rent income and a customer base.

Plus the mall has a hotel already.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

Sarcasm?? Because 70 Nicholas receives a walkability score of 93 and a transit rider score of 100. So not sure if there is a MORE appropriate spot for a highrise condo. Anyway, looks like a nice addition to the very under-developed area of our downtown.

I think maybe he was referring to the congestion caused by countless trucks and cars at the front door trying to get to the Queensway. Not a great spot when considering noise and pollution. With the Feds continually finding excuses not to build a new east-end bridge and the City focusing on a shelved truck tunnel, those issues aren't going away anytime soon. The shift to electric vehicles in 10-20 years will help, but won't make the area a whole lot better for pedestrians and cyclists.

Originally Posted by Harley613

I only find it a peculiar place to put a highrise condo because I always thought a hotel would go there. It's a no brainer to put a hotel there, I'm shocked that it's condos.

I thought so too. That was the plan for decades and the Convention Centre has been asking for a new hotel since it opened. But I guess money is in rentals nowadays.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

"The purpose of this application is to accommodate the development of a high-rise mixed-use building
consisting of 280 apartments above 230 square metres of at-grade retail space. " (from app summary)

Unless i'm missing something its Rental apartments, which makes sense with the ever increasing move to online retail I assume most large malls have rental apartments in the works. Gets them both the rent income and a customer base.

Plus the mall has a hotel already.

One of the reasons our convention centre has been struggling (pre-covid) was the lack of easily accessible and/or available hotel rooms in the vicinity at certain times of year. That is why most of us on here (and offline in the community) have been expecting a hotel on this lot for many years.

Rental apartments are even less of a boon for the convention centre than a Condo building would be, at least with a condo there would have been a lot of new Airbnb rentals available to help fill the need for more hotel space. I guess this is all good news for the owners of the new AC Marriott under construction on Rideau St. though...

[SL123]

Originally Posted by Harley613

One of the reasons our convention centre has been struggling (pre-covid) was the lack of easily accessible and/or available hotel rooms in the vicinity at certain times of year. That is why most of us on here (and offline in the community) have been expecting a hotel on this lot for many years.

There's a fairmont, a Westin, a Novotel, a Les Suites and a Le Germain all literally circling the Rideau Centre. How many more Hotel does a Convention Centre needs? I'm not even counting the one downtown or the market.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I guess this is all good news for the owners of the new AC Marriott under construction on Rideau St. though...

That will definitely be a big improvement for the convention centre. There is also still a possibility that when the Bay moves to redevelop its downtown store it will include a hotel or at least a condo-hotel development. The general scheme in other places has been a reduced footprint in the store combined with a tower above.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by SL123

There's a fairmont, a Westin, a Novotel, a Les Suites and a Le Germain all literally circling the Rideau Centre. How many more Hotel does a Convention Centre needs? I'm not even counting the one downtown or the market.

The only answer I have is 'more than that'. A friend of mine is the F&B Manager at the convention centre so I have an inside source on that in addition to what has been discussed in the past on here. During festivals and the busy summer tourist season (pre and hopefully post Covid) Ottawa's core is still short on accommodation.

[SL123]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The only answer I have is 'more than that'. A friend of mine is the F&B Manager at the convention centre so I have an inside source on that in addition to what has been discussed in the past on here. During festivals and the busy summer tourist season (pre and hopefully post Covid) Ottawa's core is still short on accommodation.

I think Ottawa is short of decent affordable Hotel. The only new one that look decent (Holiday Inn Express) is in the shittiest location possible. Then you have the shit looking daysInn on Rideau and Shit looking Marriott in the market. I'm not even gonna bring up the Econo Lodge on Rideau has im frankly not even sure its run as a hotel anymore. Looks to me like it became a shelter. So ill give you thats there is a lack of budget hotel in the area but i dont think the area around the convention centre lacks hotels

[UrbOttawa]

Originally Posted by SL123

... and Shit looking Marriott in the market.

There are few buildings I hate more in central Ottawa than this one. A shitty suburban stucco hotel beside a shitty suburban surface parking lot taking up half of a block in our most historic neighbourhood.


Its even worse when looking at what was there before...


http://www.pastottawa.com/include/ot...1376739853.jpg

[SL123]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

There are few buildings I hate more in central Ottawa than this one. A shitty suburban stucco hotel beside a shitty suburban surface parking lot taking up half of a block in our most historic neighbourhood.


Its even worse when looking at what was there before...


http://www.pastottawa.com/include/ot...1376739853.jpg

Yeah you made it even worse for me after seeing this archive picture

[J.OT13]

Cadillac Fairview floats plan for 21-storey highrise at Rideau Centre

OBJ Staff, December 7th 2021



The owner of the Rideau Centre wants to add a residential component to the downtown mall in a plan that would see a heritage building integrated into a new mixed-use highrise with nearly 300 rental units.

Cadillac Fairview recently filed an application to build a 21-storey tower at 70 Nicholas St. on the southwest corner of the shopping centre near the Mackenzie King Bridge.

Designed by Toronto-based Zeidler and Montreal’s Neuf architects, the proposed highrise would include 280 apartment suites in a mix of one- and two-bedroom units as well as about 2,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space. An enclosed pedestrian walkway would connect the building to the Rideau Centre.

The site is currently occupied by the City Registry Office, a provincially designated heritage building. Cadillac Fairview says it plans to restore the structure, which was built in 1874, and relocate it farther north on the property, where it would be integrated into the retail component as a “focal point for a new plaza” along Nicholas Street.

The proposal calls for 102 parking spaces in a two-level underground garage accessed from a new ramp via Nicholas Street at the south end of the property. Cadillac Fairview says the lot will be “intentionally separate” from the Rideau Centre’s main parking garage and will be accessible only to residents of the building.

Heritage permit required

he plan also features amenities such as a gym, theatre, playrooms and lounges and well as a rooftop pool.

Cadillac Fairview would require a special heritage permit to relocate the City Registry Office. The company is also seeking an exemption from zoning rules that require a minimum of 27 visitor parking spaces as well as relief from a bylaw that mandates at least 50 per cent of ground-floor space must be dedicated to “active uses.”

Cadillac Fairview joins a growing number of retail landlords that are seeking ways to generate new revenue from their properties amid a widespread shift to online shopping.

RioCan, for example, is redeveloping various local malls, including Elmdale Acres, Gloucester Centre, Lincoln Fields Shopping Centre and Westgate Shopping Centre, into mixed-use projects.

https://www.obj.ca/article/real-esta...-rideau-centre

[daud]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The only answer I have is 'more than that'. A friend of mine is the F&B Manager at the convention centre so I have an inside source on that in addition to what has been discussed in the past on here. During festivals and the busy summer tourist season (pre and hopefully post Covid) Ottawa's core is still short on accommodation.

I work in this industry-the IT side of it and know quite a bit about the convention business coming in and out of the city. Setting aside the whole covid issue which has decimated the sector, the need for a hotel was very high. Conventions want often hotels that are connected to their space-the westin was always full. The westin also has a good amount of its own space and will want to fill its rooms with groups that are using their catering, their meeting rooms etc... So that is the westin's priority. It puts the shaw centre in a tough spot. Same goes for les suites and novotel. They are all partners but they have their own niche's and clients to serve.

Usually when bidding on a conference, there are enough hotels to cobble together the required room nights, but it often will involve 4 or more properties. Conference planners want to sign as few hotel contracts as possible-especially for the size of conferences that the Shaw Centre and Ottawa Tourism usually bid on. Those big 5000-10000+ conferences are a different animal but they are out of our league-we don't have the contiguous space at the shaw centre-that's another issue altogether. For the ones we do go after-the sweet spot so to speak, organizers don't want their guests spread all over the place and they don't want the risk of signing 4+ hotel contracts. So it puts Ottawa at a disadvantage. That's just one side of it. There are other considerations that would make a hotel in this spot a boon for the Shaw Centre.

That being said, building a hotel in this covid area carries risks-its success would be dependent on a return to live conferences which won't fully be realized for some time.

[mykl]

At the end of the day, if the convention centre needs a hotel, I don't see why it would be the Rideau Centre's responsibility to provide it. its not like the congress centre didn't have this same issue for years before the convention centre was built.

[daud]

Originally Posted by mykl

At the end of the day, if the convention centre needs a hotel, I don't see why it would be the Rideau Centre's responsibility to provide it. its not like the congress centre didn't have this same issue for years before the convention centre was built.

Its definitely not Cadillac Fairviews responsibility, but in normal circumstances, could be to their benefit. Convention travelers (MICE) spend considerably more and with another hotel and more conferences, there would be another revolving door of them all year long each buying gifts, eating in restaurants, buying clothing etc.. all attached to the rideau centre. For this reason, a hotel would be a win win, but with COVID that's been thrown out the window for now.

As such, we are seeing a condo which is probably a much safer investment. I was just trying to expand on the question of why a hotel had been considered for the spot.