Zibi Ottawa Ontario | U/C

[originalmuffins]

Are they planning on keeping the InterZip? It was a nice addition to the area.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by originalmuffins

Are they planning on keeping the InterZip? It was a nice addition to the area.

I think the idea was to have it for a few years and maybe build something more permanent if it proved popular.

Zibi definitely needs these types of attractions (zip line, observation deck, maybe Ferris wheel, museum, light show at the Falls) to get people to come to the site, since it's a bit out the way, especially from the Ottawa side. Restaurants and river views won't be enough.

[Harley613]

The Zibi project had potential to be similar to Granville Island, but it's Ottawa, so we'll get condos and offices...and a zipline to say we tried.

[J.OT13]

I visited Granville Island once, and honestly, I don't get the hype.

[Harley613]

I have visited as well and thought it was great. It's about the programming, there is always something going on. In Ottawa we only get good programming during festivals.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I have visited as well and thought it was great. It's about the programming, there is always something going on. In Ottawa we only get good programming during festivals.

Maybe we were there on a day nothing was going on.

[OTSkyline]

As someone who has worked at the front desk of a downtown hotel in the past, it was always sad when visitors used to stop by asking what was around to see or do and, as others have pointed, unless it was a weekend with a festival our answer was typically in the form of;

"Head to the Byward Market for dinner or drinks, on the way you'll see Parliament Hill and the Canal and a shopping centre. And there's a bunch of museums if that's something you're interested in."

But not a lot of animation. I agree, a nightly free light show at the falls would be great fun way to get people to Zibi. I was impressed with Mosaika though - there's one thing I found Ottawa did right. I wonder if it's back this year (or the next few years) with construction happening on Centre Block.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Maybe we were there on a day nothing was going on.

They have a really nice cement factory

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

They have a really nice cement factory

+funky shops
+waterside patios & great food everywhere
+a fantastic microbrewery
+art galleries
+theatres and a great comedy club
+a big year round indoor public market
+buskers
+kids market & splash pad
+endless festivals and events
+boat rentals, boat tours, aquabus, whale watching, pirate boats
+seawall walk with incredible skyline views

Zibi has a zipline and a nice view of a waterfall

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I visited Granville Island once, and honestly, I don't get the hype.

I was just about to say the same. Admittedly, we visited on a weekday, but it was during peak summer tourism season and pretty much everything on the island was closed by 7pm. Ended up just having dinner at a mediocre restaurant that put us on a 45 min wait-list despite ~40% of the tables being empty when we got in.

[phil235]

I worked with Granville Island for many years. It's situation is quite different from Zibi in many respects, including being from a different era of federal involvement in urban development. A lot of its uniqueness comes from its more recent industrial past and placement in a working harbour, but I'd call it more of a tourist attraction than a real vibrant area of the city. For instance, the fantastic micro-brewery is really just a pub, as the actual brewing takes place in Kelowna. Granville is less of an actual live-work-play neighbourhood than Zibi will be, which does make it prone to more dead times. It's also surprisingly car-oriented for Vancouver.

What they both have in common is poor transit access.

[skisail_ott]

Originally Posted by Harley613

The Zibi project had potential to be similar to Granville Island, but it's Ottawa, so we'll get condos and offices...and a zipline to say we tried.

You may or may not like Zibi, but it was conceived as a real neighbourhood with a mix of residential and commercial. I like Granville Island, but it's a shopping and tourism district, not a neighbourhood.

(Why do people equate Zibi with condos? Two mid-rise condo buildings with a total of 140 or so units. Everything built since is rental, because that's what the municipalities want.)

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by skisail_ott

You may or may not like Zibi, but it was conceived as a real neighbourhood with a mix of residential and commercial. I like Granville Island, but it's a shopping and tourism district, not a neighbourhood.

(Why do people equate Zibi with condos? Two mid-rise condo buildings with a total of 140 or so units. Everything built since is rental, because that's what the municipalities want.)

Condos, Apartments, Rentals, whatever. Same sort of thing unless you're being pedantic. Most condos these days are also rental apartments, just owners renting instead of developers.

[lrt's friend]

Zibi is a planned mainly residential neighbourhood. We can't have much going on otherwise their will be complaints from the local residents.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Zibi is a planned mainly residential neighbourhood. We can't have much going on otherwise their will be complaints from the local residents.

Odd comment. Festibiere Gatineau and Cirque du Soleil have both been held outside the new condos on the Quebec side without issue.

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by Harley613

+funky shops
+waterside patios & great food everywhere
+a fantastic microbrewery
+art galleries
+theatres and a great comedy club
+a big year round indoor public market
+buskers
+kids market & splash pad
+endless festivals and events
+boat rentals, boat tours, aquabus, whale watching, pirate boats
+seawall walk with incredible skyline views

Zibi has a zipline and a nice view of a waterfall

They could use those industrial brick and beam buildings (#24 and $25) on the Quebec side for some of that.
Unfortunately it doesn't look like there is much of a vision/desire on Zibi's part to make it work. Those two 2-storey buildings they rebuilt, sit empty with no tenants.

[zzptichka]

Water slide. Check.

[Richard Eade]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Odd comment. Festibiere Gatineau and Cirque du Soleil have both been held outside the new condos on the Quebec side without issue.

Honestly, I don’t think that this is a meaningful response. What is your data for such a statement?

According to the 2022 Annual Report on Zibi, there have been residents on the site since July 2020, but that number has been small (140 residents) until the population more than doubled with the opening of Aalto in 2022. The population reached about 360 by the end of 2022. With a small population, it is likely that there would be few complaints.

Also, the CoViD-19 pandemic meant that Cirque du Soleil was on the sight for the second time in 2022. There were no residents within Zibi the last time Cirque was there, in 2017. Thus, this was the first year that they experienced it. It might have been fun and exciting the first year, but we have no idea if they will get tired of hosting it in the future.

According to the surveys carried out by Zibi, there has been a decline in the happiness of the residents living there. In 2020, the happiness rating averaged out to 4 out of 5, with 5 representing ‘Very Happy’. By 2022, that had dropped to 3.8 out of 5. Perhaps with your apparent knowledge of how the Zibi residents feel, you can shed some light on why the level of happiness is falling. Could it be because of the festivals and shows being a disruption?

See the 2022 Annual Report for yourself here: https://zibi.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/UDEV2926_Zibi_2022OnePlanetReport_EN_FA.pdf

[J.OT13]

Everyone who lives at Zibi knows what's coming. And although they haven't secured tenants at this point, it's not from a lack of trying. The pandemic (+ labour shortage, + material shortage) has out a damper and slowed down the plans, but I'm sure things will pick-up soon. With the new three new buildings nearly compete, I'm optimistic that by next summer, we'll start seeing some movement.

Chaudière Bridge reopening will help as well.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

According to the surveys carried out by Zibi, there has been a decline in the happiness of the residents living there. In 2020, the happiness rating averaged out to 4 out of 5, with 5 representing ‘Very Happy’. By 2022, that had dropped to 3.8 out of 5. Perhaps with your apparent knowledge of how the Zibi residents feel, you can shed some light on why the level of happiness is falling. Could it be because of the festivals and shows being a disruption?

I think that it is a bit of a leap to conclude that the lower satisfaction rating is due to festivals and shows. Do you have any actual evidence that was the reason? I can think of lots of reasons that satisfaction may have decreased for downtown condo dwellers during that period, starting with the pandemic and the convoy.