Domtar lands proposal a ‘must not miss’ opportunity, Gatineau mayor says
Public consultation set for Dec. 11; Algonquin community seeks separate dialogue
By Elizabeth Payne, OTTAWA CITIZEN December 3, 2013 10:50 AM
OTTAWA — With two cities, two provinces, the federal government and the National Capital Commission involved, plans to redeveloped the Chaudière Islands will be “administratively, very difficult to manage,” Gatineau Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin said Monday.
But the newly elected mayor said redeveloping the site on the islands in the Ottawa River is so important that there must be political will to think outside the box to make it happen.
“The project that is on the table is extremely interesting to help us promote what we are and what we were from an identity point of view. From an environmental point of view it is extremely interesting as well: This land is contaminated and we have to do something about it. ... If we don’t have a private partner it will be very difficult to redevelop this land, so I think it is an occasion that we must not miss.”
Pedneaud-Jobin said the project proposed by Windmill Development, which is in the process of purchasing the 37-acre site from Domtar, could take precedence over other plans to redevelop the waterfront in Gatineau.
Pedneaud-Jobin said he has met with Windmill, as well as with Chief Gilbert Whiteduck of the Kitigan Zibi First Nation, to discuss the proposed project.
Whiteduck told the Citizen on Monday that a long talked-about National Indigenous Centre on Victoria Island should be an integral part of redevelopment of the former Domtar lands.
“I don’t believe this project should go forward without the indigenous centre. It should be the jewel in the crown” of Ottawa riverfront redevelopment, he said.
Whiteduck said he has spoken to officials from Windmill Development, which is looking at building a major green development involving housing, retail, restaurants, business, parks and historic sites. The working title of the project — which has been compared to Vancouver’s Granville Island — is “The Isles”.
Whiteduck said he plans to attend Windmill’s public consultation on the project, to be held Dec. 11 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. But he said the company should conduct a separate dialogue with the Algonquin community about its vision for the site. The area around Chaudière Falls is considered a sacred meeting place for First Nations going back hundreds of years.
The plan for a national aboriginal centre is not a new one. It was a vision of William Commanda, a widely honoured Algonquin elder who spent his life promoting a better understanding of aboriginal tradition and bridging the gap between cultures. The Order of Canada recipient died in 2011.
Architect Douglas Cardinal, who was a friend of Commanda, drew up plans for the project with his trademark curved walls, reflecting his iconic Canadian Museum of Civilization across the Ottawa River. The project has received support from the National Capital Commission but no funding. The centre — to include a museum, restaurant and elders’ residence — was expected to cost in the range of $85 million to build.
Whiteduck said he and his community members also have concerns about what the entire project will look like — whether the falls, which have long been hidden amid the post-industrial landscape — will be “free” and whether “they are turning it into a tourist attraction on the backs of the Algonquin people.”
“We will insure to the best of our ability that our voice is heard.”
Windmill has sketched broad strokes of what it would like to see on the site, but managing partner Jonathan Westeinde said it is first seeking public input into the concept.
Windmill has said it wants the site to be environmentally sustainable, with parkland, bikes and walking trails linking to the mainland on either side of the river. Its proposals include housing in a variety of forms, restaurants, cafés, stores and creative industries. The Ottawa development company also proposes the municipalities of Ottawa and Gatineau work together on unified zoning approvals for the development. The cities would likely also have to work together on transit.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, through a spokesman, said only that he looked forward to seeing the draft plans for the proposed redevelopment.
Pedneaud-Jobin said the land — which has been declared of national interest by the NCC — is of great importance to Gatineau and Ottawa as well as for Canada.
“It is where our region was born. Our industry was born there. It is also a land where all the great leaders, both French and English, passed through, as well as native leaders.”
epayne@ottawacitizen.com
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