Zibi (Domtar Lands Redevelopment) | U/C

[UrbOttawa]

Looks as though zibi has held a competition for an office building on Chaudière island.

Heres Chmiel Architects entry

[kevinbottawa]

I like the exterior of the building. The "corporateness" of the lobby seems odd seeing that the area will probably have a cool/industrial vibe.

[J.OT13]

Pretty nice building, but a little reminiscent of a suburban office park. I checked Zibi's plans, and they don't seem to have an office building in that location. Not that it's a big deal.

[Cre47]

No pics, but the first building on the Gatineau side is about 6-7 stories up

[zzptichka]

They poured the roof last week. Still no walls though I think.

[Jayday23]

Zibi adds veteran leasing exec Stan Humphreys to Dream team

"Humphreys says the retail component will feature a mix of grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and services such as dry cleaners and tailors. He and Wadley say they’ve had “great conversations” with a number of potential private-sector tenants – including tech and professional services firms that don’t currently have a presence in the Ottawa market – although they declined to name any specific firms or brands they’re negotiating with."

Link: http://www.obj.ca/article/zibi-adds-veteran-leasing-exec-stan-humphreys-dream-team

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by Jayday23

Zibi adds veteran leasing exec Stan Humphreys to Dream team

"Humphreys says the retail component will feature a mix of grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops and services such as dry cleaners and tailors. He and Wadley say they’ve had “great conversations” with a number of potential private-sector tenants – including tech and professional services firms that don’t currently have a presence in the Ottawa market – although they declined to name any specific firms or brands they’re negotiating with."

Link: http://www.obj.ca/article/zibi-adds-veteran-leasing-exec-stan-humphreys-dream-team

Among those jobs was a stint as director of leasing at a company co-owned by John Westeinde, the patriarch of the well-known Ottawa construction clan that includes John’s sons and Windmill co-founders Jeff and Jonathan. As part of that role, he was in charge of finding tenants for the Kanata Centrum when the west-end shopping centre was being developed in the mid-’90s.

That doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence...

[Jayday23]

A small crane has been installed at the Zibi Kanaal site. Additional ground work is also being done next to the current building.

[Kitchissippi]

Interesting piece from the opposing POV with a timeline. Sort of explains the slow progress on some of this, as the much of the site remains controversial. What is moving ahead probably are the parcels with the titles cleared.

https://watershedsentinel.ca/articles/akikodjiwan/

[Vixx]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Interesting piece from the opposing POV with a timeline. Sort of explains the slow progress on some of this, as the much of the site remains controversial. What is moving ahead probably are the parcels with the titles cleared.

https://watershedsentinel.ca/articles/akikodjiwan/

Has anyone driven or walked by the site lately? I'd love to see how things, if anything, have been coming along here.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Vixx

Has anyone driven or walked by the site lately? I'd love to see how things, if anything, have been coming along here.

I drive by quite often. They are tearing down one of the larger warehouses on the islands right now, one that doesn't have any historical value. The first condo building on the Quebec shore is well under way.

[139Driver]

Did a little flyby of the Zibi site the other day. Here are a few pictures. Taking with my cell phone so not the best quality.

[MountainView]

Awesome photos (even with a cell phone!) - thanks for posting!

[J.OT13]

Thanks for these. Looks like a they demolished nearly everything they needed to. Maybe just the one building along Laurier left?


http://www.zibi.ca/community/project-maps/

[rocketphish]

First Zibi residents to start moving in this fall

By: Peter Kovessy
Published: May 9, 2018 12:46pm EDT

With three massive mixed-use real estate projects poised to transform the western edge of downtown Ottawa – and compete for residents and business tenants – the lead developer behind Zibi says his firm has secured its first commercial space users.

Jeff Westeinde concedes he’s happy that Zibi, which is transforming some 37 acres of former industrial land on the Ottawa River into a new community, was “first out of the gate” and is several years ahead of the neighbouring LeBreton Flats redevelopment and planned trio of skyscrapers at Bayview Station.

However, he argues that the three projects will collectively help attract new skilled workers and companies to the region.

“The west side of downtown is going to redefine our city,” Westeinde said on the Ottawa Real Estate Show. “It’s an exciting time to be in this part of the world.”

Westeinde says he has signed “a couple” of tenants for the commercial component of the project, which has generated “a lot of interest” from companies that are currently located downtown as well as outside the Greenbelt. On the residential side, the first homeowners will move into units on the Quebec side of the project in September, Westeinde added.

By contrast, the Ottawa Senators-backed RendezVous LeBreton – which is looking to construct an NHL arena, condos and shops on LeBreton Flats – is still in negotiations with the National Capital Commission. Slightly to the west, Trinity Development Group spent the winter rerouting underground water pipes to enable to construction of three towers of between 50 and 59 storeys.

While Ottawa Senators owner and CEO Eugene Melnyk recently appeared to question whether the local residential market could support all the new condos and townhomes planned for central Ottawa, some real estate experts say there is sufficient demand for the commercial components.

“Both on (the) tech front and on (the) government front, we’re seeing growth,” said Shawn Hamilton, managing director of real estate services firm CBRE, a sponsor of the Ottawa Real Estate Show.

“There will be enough demand … (and these projects) are well-positioned to take advantage of that growth.”


• Video Link


http://www.obj.ca/article/ottawa-real-estate-show-first-zibi-residents-start-moving-fall

[zzptichka]

Latest state of construction on the Quebec side.

[kevinbottawa]

Windmill asks city for record $60M grant to cleanup of Zibi site

Matthew Pearson

Published: May 30, 2018
Updated: May 30, 2018 3:06 PM EDT

Windmill Developments has filed the largest ever grant application to the city to help finance the cleanup costs of contaminated industrial lands on the Ottawa River, where the company plans to build its flagship Zibi community.

The developer is asking for more than $60 million in brownfields rehabilitation grant and development charge credits to clean up the 6.5 hectares of land it owns at 3 and 4 Booth St., on Chaudière and Albert islands.

The city’s program, which caps all grants, tax breaks and development charge reductions at 50 per cent of the eligible costs to scrub the property, is designed to kickstart development at key lands, fuelling economic development and building the property tax base.

According to a report prepared for the finance and economic development committee, Windmill will use the money to cover a wide range of activities, including the costs of a feasibility study and environmental assessments, new fill and grading, building demolition and rehabilitation, and half the costs of upgrading on-site infrastructure, including water services, sanitary sewers and stormwater management facilities.

Brownfields are properties where past actions have resulted in actual or perceived environmental contamination and derelict buildings. They are usually former industrial or commercial properties.

There is “widespread contamination” related to the use and storage of chemicals used at the various mill buildings, on-site spills, buried waste, existence of poor fill materials, burning of waste, and an extensive fire on the site in 1900, the report says.

The site in question has been vacant for years.

The city sees the Windmill proposal as a “unique opportunity to revitalize the area and create a vibrant community that both honours the various aspects of site history and incorporates a modern approach for sustainable community living,” the report says.

The site has already been rezoned and construction is underway on the first building on the Gatineau side.

The total costs eligible for grants under the program are $121,726,028.

Zibi could generate $360 million in direct construction value, as well as more than $750 million in new commercial and residential assessments added to the city’s property tax assessment roll at full development, the city said.

There will also be millions annually in increased property and education taxes, as well as development charges, building permit fees and other development fees.

The city has approved 34 brownfields grant applications since 2007.

Most breeze through committee and council, but Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney says she doesn’t support the current grant being applied to portions of the lands that were “contaminated by industrial uses under federal ownership or management.”

The finance committee will consider the report when it meets on June 5.

http://ottawasun.com/news/local-news/win...wcm/9c5d8eb0-9038-4f86-bc12-107188c24b9c

[rocketphish]

Zibi gets nod for $61M in municipal fee and tax breaks to defray cleanup costs

By: Peter Kovessy
Published: Jun 5, 2018 3:02pm EDT

The developers behind the ambitious plan to turn a 37-acre industrial site on the Ottawa River into a mixed-use community is poised to receive a discount of up to $60.9-million on municipal fees and taxes to help it offset to cost of remediating the contaminated land.

On Tuesday, the city’s finance and economic development committee endorsed the brownfield grant application submitted by Zibi’s proponents. The project is now being led by THEIA, a spinoff company founded by several Windmill Developments partners, and real estate firm Dream Unlimited.

The city’s incentive program is aimed at encouraging the cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated properties. Zibi’s application focuses on 16 acres on the Chaudière and Albert islands that’s been polluted by chemicals used by former mills, on-site spillage, buried and burned waste as well as an “extensive” fire on the site in 1900, according to city staff.

The city’s brownfield programs cover a maximum of 50 per cent of the rehabilitation cost. With the Zibi cleanup cost estimated at $121.7 million, the city is looking at granting a maximum of $60.9 million – the largest amount ever requested under the program.

The amount is divided into two envelopes: A development charge credit that would be awarded when Zibi applies for its building permits and a property tax rebate awarded annually after all the property taxes – which will go up significantly as a result of the higher assessed value prompted by the redevelopment – are paid.

At the moment, the municipal taxes levied on the property add up to approximately $200,000. That’s expected to increase to $18 million once development is complete.

“The economic benefits to the city (of the redevelopment) speak for themselves,” Zibi Canada president Jeff Westeinde said in a presentation to the committee.

The application, and in particular its monetary value, has generated controversy in recent weeks with some city councillors suggesting that taxpayers are subsidizing a project that would have gone ahead even without the municipality’s financial support.

However, in a presentation Tuesday, city planning services director Lee Ann Snedden called Zibi a “poster child” for an Ottawa brownfields grant and said this project “is exactly what the program was designed for.”

The brownfields application now goes to full city council for approval. The first Zibi residents are scheduled to move in to homes on the Gatineau side this October, with commercial and residential occupants moving into buildings on the Ottawa side next spring.

http://www.obj.ca/index.php/article/zibi...-fee-and-tax-breaks-defray-cleanup-costs

[J.OT13]

I'm glad it went through. Hopefully it gets approved from full council.

To me, this is an easy choice for the City; invest $6.1 million per year (that's breaks, not hard money), for 10 years in order to speed up this game changer of a project that, not only prevents future contamination of the river, but also preserves historic buildings. We then get all of our money back within just over three years of completion (realistically, it will be much faster because buildings will be complete and occupied over the years and values will go up).

And McKenney's argument that we shouldn't pay for decontaminating land once owned by the Feds. Here's the ownership map before Windmill came along;


https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/100979216618065484/

The Feds didn't own a whole lot on the Ottawa side of the project. And the bulk of the clean-up is probably under buildings that were owned by Domtar identified for preservation. A fraction of the $61 million is former federal lands.

I understand how that argument worked with the LeBreton Flats negotiations to get the NCC to foot the entire clean-up bill (leaving the City and RVL off the hook), but it doesn't work here. Now we're just nickel and diming.

[zzptichka]

Does anyone know if Gatineau pays for their side cleanup?