200 Lees Ave [uOttawa] | 25m | 5f | Completed

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Somewhat of a surprise this morning,

uOttawa has long indicated it would tear down the 5 buildings at Lees Avenue and rebuild. In particular it was indicated that a new Faculty of Health Sciences Building would go up there.

It looks like it will be a very long time before that happens as uOttawa has announced a big turn around and will do a major retrofit of these buildings, with all departments of the Health Sciences faculty moving and consolidating there. Shovels in ground this September, completion for 2022

Some Hi-Lites:

> new pedestrian link with Lees LRT station
>new labs
>new cafeterias
>architectural updates (no details yet)
>reduce green house gas emissions by 50 %
>upgraded landscaping with more greenery

No renderings yet, No cost estimate, No indication of any effect on the Gee-Gees Field at 200 Lees.

You can see the whole announcement here:

https://www.uottawa.ca/gazette/en/news/future-community-and-sustainability-faculty-health-sciences

[Multi-modal]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Somewhat of a surprise this morning,

uOttawa has long indicated it would tear down the 5 buildings at Lees Avenue and rebuild. In particular it was indicated that a new Faculty of Health Sciences Building would go up there.

It looks like it will be a very long time before that happens as uOttawa has announced a big turn around and will do a major retrofit of these buildings, with all departments of the Health Sciences faculty moving and consolidating there. Shovels in ground this September, completion for 2022

Some Hi-Lites:

> new pedestrian link with Lees LRT station
>new labs
>new cafeterias
>architectural updates (no details yet)
>reduce green house gas emissions by 50 %
>upgraded landscaping with more greenery

No renderings yet, No cost estimate, No indication of any effect on the Gee-Gees Field at 200 Lees.

You can see the whole announcement here:

https://www.uottawa.ca/gazette/en/news/future-community-and-sustainability-faculty-health-sciences

Hmm,

I don't understand how this pedestrian link is supposed to work?

Maybe they are adding an entrance on the east side of the trench.

[c_speed3108]

Glorified swing space it sounds like.

I wonder if they are trying to clear space on the main campus for some re-vamping around the Montpetit area - with Brooks empty next door, and the Unicentre redo has been a dream for some time.

Granting, the school of nursing has always been a bit of hodge-podge space-wise.

A line like "By installing reflection-free glass or adding stickers to the windows, the Precinct will be doing its part to reduce those numbers." screams we are not even planning to change all windows!

It seems like a replacement of HVAC...which is probably 50 years old...with a bunch of Greenwashing...and a bit of blah blah LRT blah.

A sales job on swing space. The faculty site does not even report this as news.

[Catenary]

Originally Posted by Multi-modal

Hmm,

I don't understand how this pedestrian link is supposed to work?

Maybe they are adding an entrance on the east side of the trench.

It would not shock me if it was merely a covered walkway across the parking lot.

[DogsWithJobs]

I had heard that this site cannot get any new development unless the university does some sort of environmental cleanup of the soil.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

Glorified swing space it sounds like.

I wonder if they are trying to clear space on the main campus for some re-vamping around the Montpetit area - with Brooks empty next door, and the Unicentre redo has been a dream for some time.

Granting, the school of nursing has always been a bit of hodge-podge space-wise.

A line like "By installing reflection-free glass or adding stickers to the windows, the Precinct will be doing its part to reduce those numbers." screams we are not even planning to change all windows!

It seems like a replacement of HVAC...which is probably 50 years old...with a bunch of Greenwashing...and a bit of blah blah LRT blah.

A sales job on swing space. The faculty site does not even report this as news.

The opposite of swing space in my opinion. It signifies that these buildings will move from being considered swing space to being the dedicated home of The Faculty of Health Sciences for a very long time to come.

A lot of people in the FHS are going to be disappointed and perhaps angry. For along time they were promised a brand new modern building for the faculty. Five years ago when then Prez Alan Rock announced that a new building was being put on hold, the outgoing Dean of the Faculty called him a liar in an open letter.The Dean said a building had been promised to him and that the promise was broken.

Now it looks like the faculty may be stuck with this retrofit for 20 years or so, while buildings for other faculties move ahead of FHS in priority No wonder the faculty has not heralded this news on their web site.

In December , a person in Development told me that there would be a few announcements this year concerning the shape of the campus. The first shoe has dropped and FHS will not be happy.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by DogsWithJobs

I had heard that this site cannot get any new development unless the university does some sort of environmental cleanup of the soil.

That is not news. It has been known for decades.There used to be a gas plant there. However the problem lies at the end of the site occupied by Gee-Gees Field. It is one of the reasons the field is where it is. Sort of tantamount to paving over the problem area.

Edit--beneath the field is a pit full of ash--buried there as a by product of the industrial uses the site once held.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by Catenary

It would not shock me if it was merely a covered walkway across the parking lot.

Not sure the parking lots will be kept as they are.

Trees, pollinator plants and shrubbery will also be planted around the River Precinct to green up the campus. The new cafeterias will all have Green Restaurant Certification and serve fresh, locally procured food prepared on-site, and the School of Nutrition Sciences will have access to raised garden beds—integrating agriculture into the urban landscape and reclaiming industrial land for productive, sustainable uses

Where will this new greenery, and particulary the raised garden beds go? On one of the current parking lots?



Could the walkway be elevated? When the new facilities on Mann avenue are built, I can see an elevated walkway across the 417 from there to Lees station--linking to the walkway from the station to 200 Lees.

All speculation by me. The current announcement is vague and we will still have to see the details to get the true picture.

Here is what the Campus master Plan says about the River (Lees) Precinct.

Consolidation of the Faculty of Health Sciences***
Academic or mixed-use buildings
Green quad
Riverfront trail
Pedestrian bridges
Pedestrian access to Lees Station
Dock and boat house

***Being done--but as a refit of old buildings rather than the new building the faculty was expecting.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

An article on the uOttawa Facilities Dept web site gives a bit more insight into these retrofits.

The 200 Lees retrofit is only phase one of new facilities for Health Sciences Faculty and the Medicine Faculty. Phase 2 and 3 takes place at the Guindon Campus and the hospitals at Alta Vista.

The Lees retrofit is expected to extend its life for 25 years.

All three phases will cost an astounding 425 million dollars.

The University of Ottawa is undertaking the next major step in realizing its Campus Master Plan and achieving the goals set out in the new strategic roadmap, Transformation 2030. The project will modernize existing buildings—extending their useful life by at least 25 years—and ensure the responsible and sustainable growth of our infrastructure over the next decade. The Lees Avenue campus redevelopment is the first of three interdependent projects.


Phase one
In phase one, the River Precinct at 200 Lees Avenue will receive mechanical and architectural upgrades, as well new landscaping and food services, that will contribute to a more sustainable and greener campus.

With a pedestrian link to the Lees LRT station, the project will improve access to the Faculty of Health Sciences with a uOttawa pass. New state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities will be built to support the Faculty’s ongoing evolution and address long-standing accommodation issues.

Shovels are expected to be in the ground by September 2020.


Phase two
In phase two, Roger Guindon Hall will undergo a complete mechanical and electrical upgrade, as well as architectural enhancements. Work is expected to begin in 2021.


Final phase
The final phase is a prospective partnership with Ottawa General Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), which involves the construction of a cutting-edge heavy wet lab at 451 Smyth Road. The final phase is expected to start in 2022.

The entire infrastructure project is expected to cost $425 million.


Goals
Some of the goals of the project include:

Create state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities that support the Faculty of Health Science’s ongoing evolution and address long-standing accommodation issues.
Create a sense of “place” and “community” that fosters faculty identity and enhances student experience and research excellence.
Extend the life of existing infrastructure, which includes Smart Building design principles that enhance sustainability and resiliency.
Provide flexible, reliable, and intelligent utility supply to enhance research capacity.

Information
For more information about this project, please contact Geoffrey Frigon.

https://www.uottawa.ca/facilities/projects-and-construction/major-projects

[J.OT13]

Looking forward to renderings. Very curious about the Lees Station connection.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Looking forward to renderings. Very curious about the Lees Station connection.

I have not come across any renderings yet. Has anybody?

Here is a new blurb from the university about paying for all this.

Posted on Friday, February 28, 2020
The University of Ottawa has raised $300 million for the modernization of existing buildings, to extend their useful life for decades to come. This modernization is consistent with the strategic goal of responsible and sustainable growth of uOttawa’s infrastructure over the next decade.

The funds were raised through a 2.635% debenture offering with a 40-year term, the lowest interest rate for a 40-year debenture offering on record in Canada. The University’s superior debt ratings remain unchanged, reflecting uOttawa’s ongoing prudent financial management.

One of the modernization projects involves the 200 Lees Avenue campus, where five buildings will receive mechanical and architectural upgrades that will contribute to a more sustainable, greener campus.

The project will provide new facilities for the Faculty of Health Sciences and enhance pedestrian access between the campus and the Lees LRT station. The University will build state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities to support the faculty’s ongoing evolution and address long-standing scheduling issues. Shovels are expected to be in the ground by September of this year.

Another modernization project involves Roger Guindon Hall, located on Smyth Road at the Ottawa Hospital General campus, which will also undergo a complete mechanical and electrical upgrade, as well as architectural enhancements. This work is expected to begin in 2021.

For more information, contact: [email protected]

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Talk about secrecy. There are still no renderings of what this will look like. Plus the university has taken down any mention of this retrofit on their web site.

However!!!! The parking lot closest to the LRT trench is closed down and they are assembling construction materials in this area, so the project has started.

Also at the other end of the site , there appears to be some construction going on at Gee-Gees Field in the area between the highway and the field. I have seen no mention of what this is about.

Update --I am told that at Gee-Gees Field, new lighting and fencing is being installed, Will it be a sound dampening fence. I do not know.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Also at the other end of the site , there appears to be some construction going on at Gee-Gees Field in the area between the highway and the field. I have seen no mention of what this is about.

Update --I am told that at Gee-Gees Field, new lighting and fencing is being installed, Will it be a sound dampening fence. I do not know.

Saw that today riding by. I guess it’s a pipe dream that they would be putting up more stands in this environment.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by phil235

Saw that today riding by. I guess it’s a pipe dream that they would be putting up more stands in this environment.

It probably is a pipe dream.However,I only took a quick look ,but I think the new posts are set back a little farther from the field than the current ones. If so, it gives few more feet of clearance to eventually put some stands up. For some time it has been suggested that they would like to put up 1600 seats on the highway side bringing the total stadium seating to 5000. New field lighting and fencing is not cheap. They found the money for that, so maybe they can find the money for additional seating in a while.

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

It probably is a pipe dream.However,I only took a quick look ,but I think the new posts are set back a little farther from the field than the current ones. If so, it gives few more feet of clearance to eventually put some stands up. For some time it has been suggested that they would like to put up 1600 seats on the highway side bringing the total stadium seating to 5000. New field lighting and fencing is not cheap. They found the money for that, so maybe they can find the money for additional seating in a while.

The mesh fence is going up to stop footballs from killing people on the highway. Pretty basic job. Never understood why there was a fence to stop balls from going in the river, but not the highway.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

The mesh fence is going up to stop footballs from killing people on the highway. Pretty basic job. Never understood why there was a fence to stop balls from going in the river, but not the highway.

The netting is being hung high between the lighting poles. I have been told that soccer balls
being booted on to the highway has been the main hazard. Some of those soccer players, can really boot those round balls!

There are nine new lighting standards to replace the current four. A whole new system of lighting. The new poles are several feet farther from the field than the older ones. The steel mesh fence will replaced by a new one behind the new poles. Thus, there will be more space for bleachers on that side of the field when they get around to adding them.

The netting to stop balls going into the river is because the regulation balls cost money and the losses add up over the years. They apparently did not think that balls would be kicked cross field and reach the highway. They were wrong.

In my opinion, they still could use a sound dampening wall along the highway.
When uOttawa hosted the University Womens Rugby Championship in 2019 , the intention was to hold it at Gee-Gee Field. The Canadian Rugby Association said no--you can not do it because of the highway noise.Thus, uOttawa had to move the tournament to Matt Anthony Field with its smaller seating capacity.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

[c_speed3108]

From Mathieu Fleury on twitter
https://twitter.com/MathieuFleury/status/1363902539595476995

Want to learn about uOttawa’s latest expansion? Join our consultation on Feb 24 @ 6 pm

Registration:https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMucOCvqz4rHtR9KqJ0Q8XhP97FSF1iUUXF

---
Vous voulez en savoir plus sur la dernière expansion d’uOttawa? Participez à notre consultation le 24 fév à 18h

Inscription:https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMucOCvqz4rHtR9KqJ0Q8XhP97FSF1iUUXF

[J.OT13]

I guess I should have posted this one here back in December.

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I think I found a rendering of the new Lees Campus. Three of five buildings will be demolished. The new 5 storey building will be 220,000 square feet and house the Faculty of Health Sciences. Start date July 2021.


https://twitter.com/ConstructionOtt/status/1334135773457764356

Article on three upcoming uOttawa projects, including Lees, on page 30-31.

https://www.oca.ca/constructioncomment/archive/2020/2020-11/index.html

The higher quality rendering certainly improves the look. Some decent landscaping, some colour, solar panels. Certainly need some improvements to the pedestrian and cycling connections to Lees station. Once again, the City failed to allow for a new entrance across the street from the current one.

[Richard Eade]

I didn’t realize that the new building was slated to house the Health Sciences. WWAAAYYYY back, when the City was asked to sell ($1, I think) the land west of Woodroffe to Algonquin College, the College’s plan was to have a new construction trades building between Woodroffe and the future LRT station, and two, new, Health Science buildings on the west side of the LRT tracks, where the ‘Temporary’ Baseline Transitway Stations sits today.

My guess is that Algonquin College has decided that they are no longer going to wait for the City to vacate the Transitway station’s land. Understandable, in that their health science education facilities have been lagging and now there is an even greater demand. In hindsight, the College should have done this years ago. Having the Health Sciences facilities closer to the University of Ottawa (for collaborative studies) and The Ottawa Hospital – General Campus is, likely, a better idea than putting those facilities in the west-end.