267 O'Connor St | 90+100m | 28+30f | Proposed

[McC]

Originally Posted by AuxTown

It's funny how much I loved that building when they first built it (I was in undergrad). It's still a cool structure and appropriate for the engineering faculty but I don't LOVE it anymore. It was also painful to find out it had an exact copy at another university (I forget which one).

Lakehead.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Love how the City rejected 27 floors in 2014 and the new owner is coming back with an even taller proposal. What was the point of the Centretown CDP?

As long as the City at least sticks with this:

"either the proposed building makes a significant and exceptional contribution to the public realm or it creates a publicly accessible space that consists of a minimum of 40 per cent of the subject area’s property."

If the proposal has a landmark design and/or significant park space, than have at it; it would still respect the CDP. Height doesn't matter past 27 floors.

The Centretown CDP was drafted in the second last year of Diane 'NIMBY' Holme's long career of fighting dense and tall development in the downtown core of a large city. The initial proposal for this site was pitched in the last year of her career. I'm not surprised to see developers go for a taller proposal for this site now that she is out of the way. Our city seems far more receptive to proper density in the core with the current set of councillors.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Jayday23

A couple tidbits about the updated development:

- a new plan will be presented soon. Council has drafted a structured public comment and review process that will be taken to Planning committee next week.

- There will be 2 towers on the site. They will be in excess of 27 stories.

- The new site plan will include sizeable park space.

- Taggart is the new owner and developer of the property.

I'm going to pass out from holding my breath since this post, any updates?

[Jayday23]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I'm going to pass out from holding my breath since this post, any updates?

When i hear something, ill make sure you'll be the first to know Harley

[UrbOttawa]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I'm going to pass out from holding my breath since this post, any updates?

The proposed consultation plan was carried at council yesterday, so I imagine we'll be seeing something soon!

http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/agdoc...&itemid=402328

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

The proposed consultation plan was carried at council yesterday, so I imagine we'll be seeing something soon!

http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/agdoc...&itemid=402328

Wow, thanks! I guess we better start looking at new office spaces downtown

[UrbOttawa]

Proposed towers are 28 and 30 stories. Design is by Hobin - nothing earth shattering but imo better than a lot of the Neuf and Lahey designs that we've been seeing lately in the core. 40% of the site is to be privately owned public space.



https://devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applica...BAV3EF/details

[Harley613]

How very Ottawa. I mean it's GOOD for Ottawa I guess but it's just so paint by numbers around here.

[Jayday23]

The property is zoned to be an ‘exceptional property’. There is nothing exceptional about this. I’m deeply disappointed by this lacklustre showing by Hobin.

[rocketphish]

Taggart O’Connor Corporation is proposing a development consisting of two (2) high-rise, mixed-use buildings sitting within a substantial privately owned public space (POPS) comprising approximately 40% of the total development area at 267 O'Connor Street. In total, the proposal contains 541 residential units and 339 underground parking spaces. Given the conceptual nature of the proposed development at the time of writing, specifics of the proposed development are subject to change and will be refined through a future Site Plan Control application.

The proposed south tower is a 28-storey (90 metre) residential building with approximately 259 residential dwelling units and 16,942 square metres of total gross floor area. The building features a three (3) storey podium clad in red brick and relating to the adjacent buildings along Gilmour Street to the east. The upper floors of the building are clad in a mix of glass and aluminium panels that provide a light and modern aesthetic for the building.

The proposed north tower is a 30-storey (100 metre) mixed-use building with approximately 282 dwelling units and 17,835 square metres of gross floor area. As with the south building, the building features a three (3) storey podium clad with red brick relating to the context further east on MacLaren Street and a mix of glass and aluminium panels on the upper floors.

The two towers will share a four (4) storey underground parking garage that includes 339 parking spaces and is accessed via a garage ramp along Gilmour Street, within the podium of the south tower. Of the 339 spaces, 54 spaces are proposed as visitor spaces, while the balance of the spaces will be for residents resulting in a residential parking rate of 0.52 spaces per unit. No parking is proposed for the small retail component in the north tower. Bike parking has been included at grade in both buildings with additional parking to be provided in the underground parking garages.

Architect: Hobin Architects


Development application:
https://devapps.ottawa.ca/en/applica...BAV3EF/details


Site:








Additional rendering:

[JHikka]

Always a good sign when you typo 'building' in your render specs.

[AuxTown]

Hard to say with these initial renders but I like the plan overall. I think it's an appropriate height and the area sorely needs little parks like this. Now the question is whether we move out of 267 soon or try to wait until the last minute. With the market as it is I can only imagine that more and more real estate will become available the longer we wait.

[J.OT13]

I like the concept as a whole. The architecture is quite good compared to the majority of towers in Centretown. Not a fan of the height for the area, but if zoning allows for it, I can't complain too much. At least the podiums are design is much needed in the area.

Here's the floor plan.

[kwoldtimer]

A single retail space to make the project "mixed use"? That seems a bit weak.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

A single retail space to make the project "mixed use"? That seems a bit weak.

With retail vacancies at the rate that they are now due to Covid and the glut of available retail on the market as a result, I can understand why the developer is doing this.

If it would be preferable to devote more ground floor to retail to make it 'mixed use', I feel it would be just ticking off a box for the City but in reality over time if retail vacancy continues the way it is it would probably change to another use.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

With retail vacancies at the rate that they are now due to Covid and the glut of available retail on the market as a result, I can understand why the developer is doing this.

If it would be preferable to devote more ground floor to retail to make it 'mixed use', I feel it would be just ticking off a box for the City but in reality over time if retail vacancy continues the way it is it would probably change to another use.

I really doubt covid factors into any development that is still on the drawing board. I don't think the developer would say 'hey let's plan less retail in our building they will be completed in five years and stand for over a hundred years because there is a pandemic right at this moment and the retail economy's down right now.' This part of O'Connor is just a bad spot for any serious retail. It's a heavily residential neighbourhood along a one way road.

[kwoldtimer]

Perhaps they could consider some ground floor "live/work" spaces, like the recent Beechwood proposal.

[RogueNacho]

I'm happy with the height and the design, especially for the park space, but I was expecting more. This is really just a carbon copy of the towers planned for Gladstone/Loretta next to the O-Train.

[Arcologist]

I actually really like this proposal. The brick used on the podium interacts well with street-level, while the towers are sleek, slender, and although nothing special, they don't overwhelm. The 40% greenspace/park will be a welcome feature for the area, I'm sure.

8/10

[J.OT13]

I much prefer this new proposal from the 2014 SoHo proposal, which was surprisingly underwhelming.