Building LeBreton Flats - Master Planning

[OTSkyline]

Not saying the entire waterfront should be privatized but I think Ottawa's shores are dominated today by fields/greenspace/grass or parkways, none of which are particularly nice or inviting. Having a section dedicated to condos, coffee shops, plaza, boardwalk would a very nice and welcomed addition to the city. Think of Queens Quay in Toronto or the Halifax boardwalk - this is something missing in Ottawa for a city with so many rivers & canals.

[SL123]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Not saying the entire waterfront should be privatized but I think Ottawa's shores are dominated today by fields/greenspace/grass or parkways, none of which are particularly nice or inviting. Having a section dedicated to condos, coffee shops, plaza, boardwalk would a very nice and welcomed addition to the city. Think of Queens Quay in Toronto or the Halifax boardwalk - this is something missing in Ottawa for a city with so many rivers & canals.

The thousands of people walking, running, cycling, picnicking along the waterfront every nice summer day sure seem to think its nice and inviting

[flavour_town]

All of the birds that nest on the shoreline also find it inviting...

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Not saying the entire waterfront should be privatized but I think Ottawa's shores are dominated today by fields/greenspace/grass or parkways, none of which are particularly nice or inviting. Having a section dedicated to condos, coffee shops, plaza, boardwalk would a very nice and welcomed addition to the city. Think of Queens Quay in Toronto or the Halifax boardwalk - this is something missing in Ottawa for a city with so many rivers & canals.

I'm with you 110% on this. Greber decided to build mini-highways along every inch of waterfront in this city and we have missed out on a lot of opportunities tio embrace our waterfront because of it.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by SL123

The thousands of people walking, running, cycling, picnicking along the waterfront every nice summer day sure seem to think its nice and inviting

There is enough shoreline in this city that we could spare a percent or two for some more varied interaction with the waterfront than just driving along it on a mini-highway or riding/walking/running along it.

[OTSkyline]

If you read my comment I'm advocating for variety in use of this space, not bulldozing and replacing all of them.

Got forbid we would provide seating, shade, or anything interesting along our waterways...

[Harley613]

Montreal does it right, for example:

[Richard Eade]

Yes, I thought that the 'beach' around the clock tower in Montreal was a great idea. Montreal seems to have picked up some of the European thinking of providing public facilities for its population, even in smaller, unexpected, places.

The City of Ottawa seems to think that the NCC is responsible for public spaces, so the City tries to maximize property tax revenue from every inch of land that it can.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

If you read my comment I'm advocating for variety in use of this space, not bulldozing and replacing all of them.

Got forbid we would provide seating, shade, or anything interesting along our waterways...

I'm all for everything in your images, except the second one. The waterfront feels really squeezed in with the condos that close. As someone who worked at Harbourfront for a number of years, I can say that it is fine for a short visit by a tourist, but it is not the model to follow if you want an actual livable area. And in the winter it was a windswept wasteland.

[bartlebooth]

Good, holistic urban design is simply not possible in Ottawa. I used to hold out hope that we'd get there but I've resigned myself to the fact that it's not possible. On occasion we get good buildings but they sit in poorly designed and dead urban environments or vice versa. Take the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat building on Sussex. Great building but it's sandwiched in between a highway and hostile road (Sussex). Not a place you want to spend time hanging out in even if the building itself is great. There's a big list of places like it all across the city including LeBreton and all of our waterways. We just can't seem to put it all together in a way that results in memorable and exciting urban places you want to spend time exploring/hanging out in.

The only possible development that might come close is Zibi but even then, the building's so far are not exceptional. I'll give them time because it's a work in progress and it's certainly better than the status quo so far but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit the area (yet). It's a cultural problem. Generally speaking, people in Ottawa don't care about stuff like this. Don't get me wrong, some do (including most in here) but too many Ottawans don't and we won't see meaningful change until/if that ever happens.

[Harley613]

The Dow's Lake Pavillion, Canal Ritz, 1 Elgin @ The NAC, a couple of shipping container bistros, Mill Street, Tavern on the Falls, Rockcliffe Boathouse. These are all the places I can think of that you can have a pint and a meal on the water in this city of lakes and rivers.

Lebreton should come with some new 'waterfront' options along the aquaduct but I think there should be more, especially around the water inlet.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by flavour_town

All of the birds that nest on the shoreline also find it inviting...

Welcome to the forum!

[JayBuoy]

sometime in our city's future we will have the tact and vision to remove the parkways and properly embrace our waterfronts.

[rocketphish]

Next owner of the Ottawa Senators has a chance to do some city-building

Mark Sutcliffe, Ottawa Citizen
Apr 12, 2022 • 21 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Eugene Melnyk’s death was a tragic end to a remarkable and fascinating life. But it’s hard not to see the resulting transition as an enormous opportunity for the future of not only the Ottawa Senators but the city.

Melnyk presided over the longest chapter in the modern history of the Senators, one that began with great relief and optimism. He was, at first, a sports fan’s dream: a billionaire owner who rescued the team from bankruptcy, prevented it from moving, and wanted to win.

But it ended with much frustration. It wasn’t just that there were no championships. Melnyk’s finances, behaviour and relationship with the community all soured in the last few seasons, causing core players to leave and culminating in a failed attempt to move the team downtown. It left many Ottawa residents and hockey fans looking forward to a day when someone else would own the franchise.

Now, that day appears close at hand. Indeed, the most important figure in the immediate future of the Senators is not team captain Brady Tkachuk, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. League commissioners work for team owners, not the other way around, so Bettman was always diplomatic and deferential about the complicated dynamics of Melnyk’s ownership. But now that change is in the air, Bettman will be deeply engaged in engineering the outcome. He’ll want an owner who brings fewer debts and greater stability than Melnyk was able to provide in the last few years.

Of course, it’s still possible that Melnyk’s family will retain ownership of the team. But even though it was his stated wish, it seems unlikely. And if the Senators are sold, the new proprietors will have a terrific opportunity not just to capitalize on an exciting young team but to contribute to the future of our city.

In the time since Melnyk purchased the team, professional sports has changed and so has Ottawa. It will never be as vibrant as other, much larger NHL cities, but Ottawa has become more sophisticated and cosmopolitan. Thanks to Shopify and other companies, there’s a new generation of active, well-paid employees spending their money on entertainment and food. That makes Ottawa a more suitable NHL city than it was in 2003. But no owner should take the rising number of prospective customers for granted. The entertainment product, on and off the ice, must be of the highest calibre.

And that demands a downtown arena. It’s widely accepted that Bettman would like to see the Senators move to a more central location from their current home in the distant suburbs. And it’s not a surprise that the Senators are one of the bidders in the latest phase of development at LeBreton Flats. If nothing else, securing an option on some downtown land would increase the value of the franchise to a prospective buyer.

But this isn’t just about the Senators; it’s about the city. Ottawa’s downtown is facing an existential crisis. The trucker convoy was painful, but more concerning is the prospect of thousands of downtown employees continuing to work mostly from home. Even a hybrid work environment would be damaging for restaurants and other businesses. So a new plan for downtown Ottawa that includes a major entertainment centre is even more of a game-changer than it was three years ago.

The future of our city and our hockey team could be dramatically enhanced by a community-minded owner (ideally, one who resides in Ottawa) with the political and financial capital to not just fund a winning team, but secure and build a new arena that will anchor a vibrant new community and capitalize on and even help to grow public transit.

The next owner of the Senators may not be remembered for saving professional hockey in Ottawa. But whoever steps up will play an essential role not just in our chances of winning a Stanley Cup, but reshaping our downtown core at a critical time.

Mark Sutcliffe is a longtime Ottawa entrepreneur, writer, broadcaster, and podcaster. He hosts the Digging Deep podcast, a business coach and adviser, and is a chair with TEC Canada. His column appears every two weeks.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/sutcliffe...rs-has-a-chance-to-do-some-city-building

[rocketphish]

60 years later, LeBreton Flats is a triumph of public policy incompetence
In 1962, a federal minister promised to 'beautify the capital and do away with a real eyesore in central Ottawa.'

Barry Padolsky
Apr 13, 2022 • 10 hours ago • 2 minute read



On April 19, 1962 — 60 years ago — the government of Canada, led by prime minister John Diefenbaker, announced the expropriation of an Ottawa neighbourhood known as LeBreton Flats.

Minister of public works David James Walker, a longtime friend of Diefenbaker, proclaimed he was “very proud to make the announcement since the project would beautify the capital and do away with a real eyesore in central Ottawa.” Walker declared that the expropriated householders “will be pleased in being able to find new and better housing surroundings elsewhere. They will consider the development a godsend in the end.”

He also asserted that “In similar Government developments elsewhere, it has been found that the families concerned have shown an amazing facility in finding new housing accommodation themselves.” Walker was referring to the government’s Urban Renewal (slum clearance) program — which would be cancelled in 1973 for its devastating social impact on Canada’s inner-city neighbourhoods.

Minister Walker regretted that the absence of mayor Charlotte Whitton prevented him from notifying her about the government’s ambitious plan for the centre of the City of Ottawa.

In the lead-up to the 1962 national elections, Walker promised to spend $70 million to build a stunning campus of 10 government buildings on LeBreton Flats. The architectural centrepiece would be a trio of high-rise towers for the Department of National Defence.

“We, of course, have a target date, July 1, 1967 (Canada’s Centennial). That is the ambition of the Prime Minister,” proclaimed Walker, the minister responsible for not just Public Works, but the National Capital Commission and Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Lead by lieutenant-general Samuel Findlay Clark, the NCC was charged with the mission of realizing the vision.

By 1965, LeBreton Flats was levelled. Then … nothing. Canada’s “Pentagon“ project and a series of future “field of dreams” projects died on the drawing board. Since 1962, Canada has had 11 prime ministers and at least six “visionary” master plans for LeBreton Flats that were stillborn or aborted.

In 1980, for example, the master plan agreement with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to develop LeBreton Flats as housing was quietly dropped by the NCC, citing the “softness of the housing market.”

Today, except for the Canadian War Museum, a small cluster of apartment buildings, and bouquets of government promises, LeBreton Flats is still a field of weeds. What went wrong?

To put things into perspective: The expropriated land area of LeBreton Flats (154 acres) is comparable to the size of the ancient Roman cities of Florence, Paris, Vienna, Dubrovnik and Pompei, now world heritage sites. Is building a small city within the national capital too great a challenge for the government of Canada?

Yes, I know Rome was not built in a day. But Canada’s Parliament buildings were designed and built within 18 years (1858-1876) as its leaders, with limited resources, were busy forging a nation. The LeBreton Flats expropriation and six decades of inaction have proven to be a quiet triumph of public policy incompetence. Let’s hope it will not take another 60 years for this historic neighbourhood to be reborn.

Barry Padolsky is an Ottawa architect, urban designer and heritage consultant.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/padols...-a-triumph-of-public-policy-incompetence

[originalmuffins]

Glad many of us agree that Lebreton has huge potential for waterfront. Zibi started to show that, I am just hoping the new Lebreton potential plan can prove Ottawa is more of a waterfront city than it seems now. A boardwalk would be excellent, even during the non-summer months.

[Pinter]

I’m really hoping the Senators end up down there and the city gets an arena in that apot.

[OTownandDown]

Pessimistic prediction:

NCC-led 'concert venue' cum 'hockey arena' is constructed. NHL sells the team to *checks notes* Quebec City, and the 67's get a shiny new arena on the flats to allow for extra field-side condos at Lansdowne.

Wally World part deux is built within the Canadian Tire Centre, and the parking lot turned to Minto Townhomes.

The End

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Pessimistic prediction:

NCC-led 'concert venue' cum 'hockey arena' is constructed. NHL sells the team to *checks notes* Quebec City, and the 67's get a shiny new arena on the flats to allow for extra field-side condos at Lansdowne.

Wally World part deux is built within the Canadian Tire Centre, and the parking lot turned to Minto Townhomes.

The End

At least that's not the worst case scenario.

[originalmuffins]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

At least that's not the worst case scenario.

Sucks that we don't even think that is the worst case scenario

Friggin NCC lol