The Next at Central Park [Merivale Rd] | ?m | up to 25f | Approved

[waterloowarrior]

Central Park at Merivale
http://www.ashcroft-homes.com/news/merivale.aspx

Ashcroft Homes is planning a new 930,000 square-foot project on the Merivale Road side of its Central Park housing development by the Experimental Farm, complete with eight mixed-used buildings — four of them 18-storey-plus condo towers.

The expansion of Central Park has been well received by members of the 1,300 household strong community. And it’s not a surprise as to why. The plan remaining for the undeveloped lands along Merivale community consists of a main street running parallel to Merivale Road, bordered by several mixed-use buildings - four of which will be 18 stories or higher, perched on top of broader podiums.

Ashcroft is currently working with well-known Ottawa architect Ritchard Brisbin for the first time to create something of a walkable main street for the residents of Central Park that would include small gardens, street-level shops and parking. There would be greenery and some commercial uses between the new main street and Merivale, but mostly the gap would serve as a barrier between the housing development and the heavily used artery.

The wide sidewalks adding to the streetscape will contribute to the urban lifestyle that is being created within Central Park. Shops will be within walking distance for those in this expanding community. Bicycle lanes and bicycle parking will be available for the avid cycler.

Currently, Ashcroft’s proposed development calls for eight buildings, with the two highest on the extreme north and south ends with structures getting smaller towards the middle of the development. The building plans so far include two 25-storey towers on five-storey podiums, two 18-storey condos on two-storey podiums, a five-storey building in the centre of the development, and about three two-storey retail-and-office buildings.

Ashcroft aims to start building the middle of the development first, expanding outward over the next five to 10 years.



Zoning by-law app
http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__8JXT0S

[adam-machiavelli]

I'm not sure whether to blame the City for turning Merivale into a pedestrian-unfriendly corridor or the developer for building a "main street" behind an actual main street. Regardless, these buildings will back onto Merivale and in one place have parking between Merivale and the central building. This is a planning failure. The only things that should be between these buildings and Merivale are a wide sidewalk, perhaps some patios and landscaped areas, and these buildings' front doors. The only thing behind these buildings should be a back lane for loading and accessing underground parking.

[waterloowarrior]

Too bad it's experimental farm on the other side of all this density, makes it hard for Merivale to have a main street feel for that section.

[Ottawan]

Overall I think this isn't that bad considering the constraints of the site. I'll reserve final judgement for when I see more detailed/finalized designs - Brisbin is a good architect (ex: our new Convention Centre), and it looks promising in how it may interact with Merivale (plazas, potential retail fronting onto that street as well as the parking lot-main street behind).

Consider how this compares to develpments nearby such as at Clyde and Baseline, or what is proposed at the former CTV complex. This is definitely a step in the right direction when similar big-box store-type developments could have been proposed here. This is also much better than how the rest of Central Park has been used, and gives Ashcroft some street cred (they are pro-density not only at the easy sites like Les Soeurs).

I also like that this will bring my vision of an Experimental Farm surrounded by towers closer to reality.

[S-Man]

I think the overall proposal is an interesting idea which should be attempted, and what better place than this?

[eternallyme]

Bad plan. I would reject it if I were City Council and tell them to place those fronting Merivale. Even though it would require some Experimental Farm lands (although a parkland corridor could be designed on the east side of Merivale there), it would be a much better plan overall. There is no reason why Merivale cannot be reclassified as an urban main street - it is one north of there!

A continuous tree-lined median divider should be added on that section of Merivale as well, and the speed limit should be reduced to 50 km/h on that section from 60 km/h.

[eemy]

Although I kind of agree with eternallyme in principle, the pragmatic part of me kind of thinks that trying to change a street like Merivale is a bit hopeless and that the inward focus of this development is an acceptable compromise considering the other positive design aspects.

[Dado]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

Too bad it's experimental farm on the other side of all this density, makes it hard for Merivale to have a main street feel for that section.

In time that could be mitigated by a line or two of tall trees on the east side of Merivale (and I don't mean the squat conifers that they've got planted there right now) along with some proper sidewalk treatment rather than the degraded grass that is there at the moment.

Originally Posted by Ottawan

Overall I think this isn't that bad considering the constraints of the site. I'll reserve final judgement for when I see more detailed/finalized designs - Brisbin is a good architect (ex: our new Convention Centre), and it looks promising in how it may interact with Merivale (plazas, potential retail fronting onto that street as well as the parking lot-main street behind).

Consider how this compares to develpments nearby such as at Clyde and Baseline, or what is proposed at the former CTV complex. This is definitely a step in the right direction when similar big-box store-type developments could have been proposed here. This is also much better than how the rest of Central Park has been used, and gives Ashcroft some street cred (they are pro-density not only at the easy sites like Les Soeurs).

Ya... no. Sorry, when they come up with things like "Eastboro", a name that is clearly a rip-off of Westboro, complete with an urbanesque icon yet without anything taller than 3 storeys to be found in it, it's hard to believe they're "pro-density". If they were proposing something like this or the Soeurs Q-West at Eastboro, then that might be an arguable point. Anyway, it is, as you say, a step in the right direction and far better than the offerings not far away.


This site is itself an example of what's wrong with the way we build our suburbs. One of the effects of this redevelopment will be the removal of the Tim Hortons and the strip mall behind it, to be replaced with what looks to be one of the 18-storey condos on a 2-storey podium. That strip mall, complete with the faked-up second storey windows, will be demolished within a generation of it being built. And over at Ashcroft's Eastboro, they also claim it will have a "light commercial" component, which I think it is safe to say will very much resemble the one that Ashcroft will be removing at Central Park. It's an asinine way of doing things. New developments like Eastboro should be designed with a main street, like the one at Central Park, for the long term from the outset. They need not build it out all at once, but the street and planning for it should be there.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

Although I kind of agree with eternallyme in principle, the pragmatic part of me kind of thinks that trying to change a street like Merivale is a bit hopeless and that the inward focus of this development is an acceptable compromise considering the other positive design aspects.

It's parking lots facing Merivale right now with few buildings in the area. It is pretty easy to just have the new businesses pointing that way.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

It's parking lots facing Merivale right now with few buildings in the area. It is pretty easy to just have the new businesses pointing that way.

It's entirely hopeless if you never start.

[McC]

Originally Posted by eternallyme

Bad plan. I would reject it if I were City Council and tell them to place those fronting Merivale. Even though it would require some Experimental Farm lands (although a parkland corridor could be designed on the east side of Merivale there), it would be a much better plan overall. There is no reason why Merivale cannot be reclassified as an urban main street - it is one north of there!

A continuous tree-lined median divider should be added on that section of Merivale as well, and the speed limit should be reduced to 50 km/h on that section from 60 km/h.

would there be room to re-align Merrivale into the Central Park site at a 50km/h design spec, so that Merrivale is this "new mainstreet"? It seems a big waste of space and asphalt to have two streets side by side, and it would allow for development on both sides of "new Merrivale" without infringing on the farm.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by McC

would there be room to re-align Merrivale into the Central Park site at a 50km/h design spec, so that Merrivale is this "new mainstreet"? It seems a big waste of space and asphalt to have two streets side by side, and it would allow for development on both sides of "new Merrivale" without infringing on the farm.

Plenty of room. The only building in the way is Tim Hortons, and it is set back enough that all it needs to do is lose the drive-through.

[gjhall]

Originally Posted by McC

would there be room to re-align Merrivale into the Central Park site at a 50km/h design spec, so that Merrivale is this "new mainstreet"? It seems a big waste of space and asphalt to have two streets side by side, and it would allow for development on both sides of "new Merrivale" without infringing on the farm.

Great idea.

[McC]

Originally Posted by gjhall

Great idea.

I'm full of 'em.... or full of *something*

;-)

[S-Man]

The developer's rationale is that Merivale is and always will be a 4-lane artery, and funnelling it into Central Park and slapping 50 km/h signs on it won't do anything to make it a main street. I tend to agree.
This proposal means people in the community can have their amenities, even park on the street, and have some unused land developed while acting as a buffer to Merivale Rd. I agree it looks weird, and it is certainly an experiment in urban planning, but the parallel main street idea seems to be the only way to have accessible high density on that property.

[waterloowarrior]

staff report
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/cit...0Park%20Dr.htm

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

staff report
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/cit...0Park%20Dr.htm

Disagree with the staff report there. Should be REJECTED until a better plan, Merivale-focused, is introduced.

[MountainView]

Approved!

Zoning change paves way for highrise complex near Experimental Farm

By Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen November 23, 2011

OTTAWA — City council has approved a rezoning application to permit a large redevelopment planned for the Central Park community.

Ashcroft Homes is planning a project consisting of seven commercial and residential buildings — including two 18-storey towers and two 25-storey towers — with an internal road, on properties north of Baseline Road on the west side of Merivale Road, near the Central Experimental Farm.

The zoning application was not for an increase in the level of development allowed under the current zoning for the site, “but rather to provide for the redistribution of the intensity of development currently permitted within an alternative built form program” that includes the towers and lower buildings, according to staff. (Instead of short and squat, the developer wants to build up.) City staff have said the project would be built in phases, and a holding provision contained in a report approved by council would ensure that the site develops “in accordance with the concept.”

Some residents have raised concerns about the tall buildings and their proximity to existing homes, saying the development would block sun and views of the Experimental Farm and result in new noise and traffic.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen


web link:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...439/story.html

[Kitchissippi]

I actually don't mind this at all. In many old towns they usually build an arterial bypass when traffic gets too much on the main street (for example, I think Renfrew needs one). This is kind of the reverse of this process.

[S-Man]

I don't mind it either - it's the same density, and given the number of parking spaces alloted for high-rises, it would actually mean less cars than a similar amount of homes with room for two vehicles.
Having a fake-ish side street that you could still park on but would be worthless as a shortcut gives it utility, and:
Even if they had built more 2-storey homes there, it would still mean absolutely no Farm views for dwellers of the existing 2-storey homes. As well, it's not a wall of buildings.