320 Lees Ave | 2x89m + 2x102m | 2x28f + 2x32f | U/C

[rocketphish]

New renderings (Oct/Nov 2022)

Are they trying to hide the three ugly towers behind the one interesting one?

[Harley613]

My knee jerk thoughts on this one within 30 seconds of seeing the new renderings:

*I appreciate the curved forms in the facade. They are unique. I don't like the popout boxes nearly as much.
*There is a lot of aluminum cladding, and very little brick. I am LOVING this trend in the CharcWart Kingdom. It looks far more clean and modern after the overuse of brick in the last ten years.
*I'm glad there are no crosses, but why do so many projects these days feature the upside down Tetris L???

Edit after two more minutes of thought:
'Are they trying to hide the three ugly towers behind the one interesting one?' Rocketphish is right, these renderings seem very quarter baked. I wonder if they ran out of render budget/time after the first tower, or they are actually intending to build one tower with some panache and three other towers with no architectural merit of any kind whatsoever.

[SL123]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

New renderings (Oct/Nov 2022)

Are they trying to hide the three ugly towers behind the one interesting one?

I think they are phasing the project and leaving the other towers in the pictures for context.

[RideauRat]

I'm hoping they're gonna push for more height isn't there a zoning for a 30-40 story right beside the station?

[OTSkyline]

Agreed, the one black tower has potential but the other 3 bland towers are concerning (hopefully just place holders for now).

I also like the curved pieces which are unique and would add some interesting texture. I don't mind the black, I think it stand out and look sleek from the 417 although that domino black/white podium and those random blue patches are a no-go. Looks like the protective film you find on stainless steel appliances before it's peeled off.

[Davis137]

Man, that is a substantial development...wonder if it's going to start soon...?

[OTownandDown]

I literally said out loud "ooo, a blue section"

[J.OT13]

Blue section gives me an incomplete Blue Skin/Tyvek, forgot to complete the siding vibes. Curvy protrusions are kind of sharp, but might blend in, especially on the black face. Good effort, but falls short.

If they painted the protrusions in vibrant colours, they might show better and the random blue might not be as out of place.

[OTownandDown]

Blueskin's quest for world domination is almost complete. Bare blueskin is finally becoming trendy.

[rocketphish]

Updated docs (January 2023)

Now we're talkin'.

[originalmuffins]

Looks much better. I like it, and it provides much needed housing in an area that really needs it.

[BlueJay]

Still clumpy, stumpy, & dumpy

[Ottawacurious]

Originally Posted by BlueJay

Still clumpy, stumpy, & dumpy

I like it but also agree height variation on the towers would be great, one 15% taller, one 30% taller, and one 50% taller. (Heresy!) But, great spot for height.

[OTSkyline]

Slightly better but would like to see a few more improvements;
-Height variation between towers
-More variation in style or materials of towers so it doesn't look like a student ghetto or Lees 2.0
-Not a fan of that blue ground floor... looks like a hospital campus

[Harley613]

I appreciate the lighter tones and a splash of colour.

[Dzingle Bells]

my god these are awful.

[JayBuoy]

I honestly don't care as much about how it looks as how it will be integrated into the surrounding neighbourhood. This plan looks extremely isolated to me. Will there be a ped connection on the north side into Sandy Hill? Connection to Lees or Uottawa? Will residents be expected to walk along King Edward

[OTSkyline]

Are there any talks of replacing the Sandy Hill arena and redeveloping the 2 lots to the north? Between this development & Mann Ave and the main OttawaU campus?

That would be ideal, to better integrate the development and making it more walkable and feel like part of the campus. Surface parking, what looks like a very dated ice rink and a baseball diamond are probably not the best use of space here.

[J.OT13]

I would love a reimagining of the entire highway interchange and road network. So much wasted land.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Re: The Sandy Hill Arena.

The Arena is old and energy inefficient. The City has long said that it wanted to get rid of/replace it. However, the land the arena sits on belongs to the NCC and is leased to the City. Sources at uOttawa have told me (I am a donor to Gee-Gee Sports) that the NCC has agreed to transfer/sell the land to uOttawa when uOttawa is ready to build a new Athletic Center on it (to replace the aging substandard Montpetit Hall). At the snail's pace that the university is gathering the resources for building an Athletic Center, it is still pretty far away.

Just for context, the city has used the "old and inefficient" argument as a pretext for getting rid of all of their single pad arenas in central areas. Sandy Hill Arena is actually in quite good shape and is probably the nicest rink in central Ottawa. It is identical to Kilrea Arena in Alta Vista (both built in the 70s I believe), which recently received a large investment in the form of a covered outdoor rink adjacent to the arena. If we saw fit to invest in that arena, not sure why Sandy Hill has been tagged as not viable.

It's really unfortunate that these true community rinks that are properly integrated into communities are endangered, and the only replacements are suburban-style multiplexes that are not accessible to those living in the central city.