Park River Properties Design Inspiration

[ParkRiverProperties]

Hi All,

We have acquired a new high-rise site and we were hoping to get some input on what this group would like to see in a high profile TOD site. The site is a single tower site with a small podium (likely 6 storeys) and sits on a corner along a TM corridor. Given the new policies, a high rise between 30-40 storeys is appropriate, at a minimum.

There is an existing thread for favourite architecture - but we thought by providing some additional input in terms of site constraints - that may help refine the inspiration. We would like to provide direction to the design team over the next few weeks.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with - your help is much appreciated. The next SSF meet up drinks are on us!

Cheers,
The Park River Team

[McKellarDweller]

Originally Posted by ParkRiverProperties

Hi All,

We have acquired a new high-rise site and we were hoping to get some input on what this group would like to see in a high profile TOD site. The site is a single tower site with a small podium (likely 6 storeys) and sits on a corner along a TM corridor. Given the new policies, a high rise between 30-40 storeys is appropriate, at a minimum.

Wow; that's very commendable that you are proactively looking for feedback!
My only initial comment is that I do think there would be a demand for a three bedroom unit line with a large/functional balcony offered. (That isn't a >$1M penthouse). ...Especially with working from home becoming more normalized, and baby boomers downsizing from their family homes. Other mainstream builders keep churning out cookie cutter interchangeable one bedrooms and two bedrooms, and there are 1000s of them in the market. Maybe this change to the typical unit mix would play well?

[phil235]

Very commendable indeed. Do you have any other information that you can provide on the site? Maybe the general area, what is around it etc.?

[bartlebooth]

It's great that you're proactively looking for input from people in the community before putting pen to paper (so to speak).

For me, I'd love to see that you really push the idea of TOD. This probably requires some risk given Ottawa's car obsessed nature, but too many developers claim a project is TOD without making much effort to really do it (good connection to transit, good street level interaction for humans - not cars, reduced parking for private vehicles, family sized units as mentioned above etc...).

From a design perspective, it's difficult to articulate what should occur because we don't know the site but it'd be great to see a bold statement from an architecture firm that isn't located in Ottawa. I'd love to see you push the status quo. At the end of the day, you're proposing a massive building that will impact the city for a damn long time. It'd be fun to see something out of the ordinary. If someone came to visit this city for the first time, would they want to go see your building?

[SL123]

I think your LOFTY RIVERSIDE project is high quality and could inspire other. One of my main critique about most new development in Ottawa recently is that none of them have a distinctive rooftop. I wish more high rise would have unique rooftops like Minto Metropole. Especially if the project is in the core along the O-train Line 1

[Harley613]

Very nice ask! With limited information my initial comment is that Ottawa lacks variation in design, especially since Roderick Lahey and Neuf started monopolizing the architecture industry in town and pumping out 27 story charcoal brick tower after 27 story charcoal brick tower. It is so amazing to see anything with unique design and/or materials proposed in this city, like Main + Main's 400 Albert project, Lux Place at Cummings and Ogilvie, and your own project at Billings Bridge.

[waterloowarrior]

Ace Hotel in Toronto, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects...for the podium at least

https://urbantoronto.ca/database/pro...-hotel-toronto



One Delisle in Toronto by Studio Gang

https://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/one-delisle

[McDonald's Racoon]

Rooftop Restaurant/Bar. Human scaled design for the podium. Anything but grey brick with small windows!

[ParkRiverProperties]

We are planning to have good 3-bedroom layouts in almost all of our projects. That being said - We know they may not satisfy all renters looking to downsize from a 2-3,000sf+, but it’s definitely a gap in the market we’d like to provide.

Something to keep in mind with this project (and others), is that the initial unit mix proposed will change (sometimes significantly) through the process as timelines / market conditions / more detailed design occurs.

Originally Posted by McKellarDweller

Wow; that's very commendable that you are proactively looking for feedback!
My only initial comment is that I do think there would be a demand for a three bedroom unit line with a large/functional balcony offered. (That isn't a >$1M penthouse). ...Especially with working from home becoming more normalized, and baby boomers downsizing from their family homes. Other mainstream builders keep churning out cookie cutter interchangeable one bedrooms and two bedrooms, and there are 1000s of them in the market. Maybe this change to the typical unit mix would play well?

[ParkRiverProperties]

We are unable to disclose the location at this time. It’s along the Western LRT line. It will likely also be another rental building although we are just exploring all design concepts at this time.

Originally Posted by phil235

Very commendable indeed. Do you have any other information that you can provide on the site? Maybe the general area, what is around it etc.?

[ParkRiverProperties]

We are focusing on improving the design process to incorporate feedback upfront to try and address potential issues in the initial design, as it’s very difficult to do so after the fact. Some sites are easier to do this than others (larger ones, as an example), but getting broader perspectives is important.

We will likely have a pretty aggressive parking ratio on the site. On our Bank/Riverside site we are less than 50% parking and it’s not an LRT site - so we are certainly open to this. That being said - a lot of the parking is defined by the product (rental vs. condo, small units vs. large, etc). People purchasing a 2 bedroom condo unit typically will purchase a parking spot even if they don’t have a car, as the market to resell the unit is significantly limited in the future.

We will be working on selecting an architectural firm after we develop our internal design brief - but agree with your sentiments about putting forward a building that adds to the community. Appreciate the response.

Originally Posted by bartlebooth

It's great that you're proactively looking for input from people in the community before putting pen to paper (so to speak).

For me, I'd love to see that you really push the idea of TOD. This probably requires some risk given Ottawa's car obsessed nature, but too many developers claim a project is TOD without making much effort to really do it (good connection to transit, good street level interaction for humans - not cars, reduced parking for private vehicles, family sized units as mentioned above etc...).

From a design perspective, it's difficult to articulate what should occur because we don't know the site but it'd be great to see a bold statement from an architecture firm that isn't located in Ottawa. I'd love to see you push the status quo. At the end of the day, you're proposing a massive building that will impact the city for a damn long time. It'd be fun to see something out of the ordinary. If someone came to visit this city for the first time, would they want to go see your building?

[ParkRiverProperties]

That’s very kind. We are very excited to refine and further improve that design as we are getting into finer details now. We agree with your distinctive rooftop suggestion - we think the Metropole and 90 George are good examples of unique rooftops - we think both have stood the test of time quite well.

Originally Posted by SL123

I think your LOFTY RIVERSIDE project is high quality and could inspire other. One of my main critique about most new development in Ottawa recently is that none of them have a distinctive rooftop. I wish more high rise would have unique rooftops like Minto Metropole. Especially if the project is in the core along the O-train Line 1

[ParkRiverProperties]

We are going to do our best to bring something new to Ottawa. Really appreciate putting our project in the same category as the others you mentioned as we think they are all really solid projects. Thanks for taking the time.

Originally Posted by Harley613

Very nice ask! With limited information my initial comment is that Ottawa lacks variation in design, especially since Roderick Lahey and Neuf started monopolizing the architecture industry in town and pumping out 27 story charcoal brick tower after 27 story charcoal brick tower. It is so amazing to see anything with unique design and/or materials proposed in this city, like Main + Main's 400 Albert project, Lux Place at Cummings and Ogilvie, and your own project at Billings Bridge.

[ParkRiverProperties]

Both of those projects are impressive. Excited to visit the Ace Hotel as the interior looks as stunning as the exterior. Thanks for your feedback.

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

Ace Hotel in Toronto, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects...for the podium at least

https://urbantoronto.ca/database/pro...-hotel-toronto



One Delisle in Toronto by Studio Gang

https://urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/one-delisle

[ParkRiverProperties]

thanks for your feedback. The rooftop bar/restaurant may be challenging as it’s difficult to provide public access using the same elevators as residents. We will see what works on the ground floor or potential podium. Thanks for your feedback.

Originally Posted by McDonald's Racoon

Rooftop Restaurant/Bar. Human scaled design for the podium. Anything but grey brick with small windows!

[Kitchissippi]

It would be nice to see a return to full/wraparound balconies. Windows you can clean yourself, and repairs that won't necessarily involve a crane. Not enough buildings in Ottawa have been built like the Barclay (370 Dominion)

[ParkRiverProperties]

That building stands out for sure. Took a photo of it the other day while out for a walk as a reminder.

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

It would be nice to see a return to full/wraparound balconies. Windows you can clean yourself, and repairs that won't necessarily involve a crane. Not enough buildings in Ottawa have been built like the Barclay (370 Dominion)

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by ParkRiverProperties

Hi All,

We have acquired a new high-rise site and we were hoping to get some input on what this group would like to see in a high profile TOD site. The site is a single tower site with a small podium (likely 6 storeys) and sits on a corner along a TM corridor. Given the new policies, a high rise between 30-40 storeys is appropriate, at a minimum.

There is an existing thread for favourite architecture - but we thought by providing some additional input in terms of site constraints - that may help refine the inspiration. We would like to provide direction to the design team over the next few weeks.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with - your help is much appreciated. The next SSF meet up drinks are on us!

Cheers,
The Park River Team

You seem to be open to feedback unlike many developers in the City. Is that your own doing or did your consultant team suggest it. Good luck with your Vanier project.

[ParkRiverProperties]

We are doing our own thing - trying to also learn from, and share with, others in the industry along the way.

One of the issues facing the industry is the “us” versus “them” mentality that creates a lot of friction between developers and residents. We are hoping we can help shift the perception of developers, as the vast majority are doing things to make communities better - not for the sole purpose of profit.

We know we are not going to be able to please everyone - as much as we’d like to - but at least if we have the discussion, we can provide rationale that will provides more insight into the decisions. Often solving one issue may be simple - but it creates a number of cascading issues.

Design can be a very personal thing and one of our core beliefs is that these are not “our” buildings and we need to design them for the end users, which is both the resident (for residential projects) and the community/city. We spend a lot of time on our target market before working on a project design.

We have a long way to go to get where we want to be - but we hope we can earn trust along the way.

Thanks for the best wishes on our Vanier project - our hope is that many households will call Vanier home for a long time in that development!

Appreciate your feedback.

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

You seem to be open to feedback unlike many developers in the City. Is that your own doing or did your consultant team suggest it. Good luck with your Vanier project.

[SL123]

Originally Posted by ParkRiverProperties

That’s very kind. We are very excited to refine and further improve that design as we are getting into finer details now. We agree with your distinctive rooftop suggestion - we think the Metropole and 90 George are good examples of unique rooftops - we think both have stood the test of time quite well.

Very glad to hear you are getting into finer details for your Lofty riverside project. I definitely think this is a transformative development for the area, and one im truly excited to see go up.

90 George is indeed another great example, Its quite simple and yet makes a huge difference.