1299 Richmond Rd | 99+107m | 28+30f | Approved

[OTSkyline]

Not sure how to start a new thread or follow the same format, so feel free to clean-up but.. this was just announced on Bay ward Councillor's weekly bulletin;

My office was notified that on June 13, 2023, the City of Ottawa received Major Zoning by-law Amendment and Site Plan Control applications for 1299 Richmond Road.

The subject site is 0.41 hectares in size and is located to the northeast of the intersection of Richmond Road with Assaly Road. The applicants will be seeking approval to redevelop the site with two high-rise towers on a mixed-use podium. The towers are proposed at 28 and 32 storeys and the podium would be 4 storeys. A total of 590 dwelling units are proposed, and 248 underground parking spaces accessed from Starflower Lane. The development also provides for 305 enclosed bicycle parking spaces. The proposal provides for a new public park along the Assaly Road frontage.

This application proposes to amend this zoning as follows:

Add “Apartment dwelling, high-rise” as a permitted use
Permit building heights up to 112 metres
Reduce required residential automobile parking to 0.38/unit parking ratio
Reduce rear yard setback from a tower to 7.24 metres
Please note that these applications have been received prior to the adoption of Bill 109 process changes and will be reviewed accordingly.

The documents for this file are expected to be posted on the City’s Development Application website July 17th, 2023, and residents will be invited to read the documents and send their comments to staff assigned to the file.

[skyscraperaccount]

Good location, glad to see mixed use, hope commercial rents allow current or similar businesses to stay in place instead of becoming generic chain stores. Rubber stamp this yesterday and add 10 floors while you at it. Bold of the developer to include shadows in the concept drawing.

[Corey1981]

Am probably crazy but the top half of the one on the left gives me vibes of the RH Coats building at Tunney's Pasture 🤔

[skyscraperaccount]

Originally Posted by Corey1981

Am probably crazy but the top half of the one on the left gives me vibes of the RH Coats building at Tunney's Pasture 🤔

Agreed, when I saw it I thought build this at Tunneys too lol

[Harley613]

[Marcus CLS]

I have been waiting for this one. Another project by Brigil as reported as property purchaser by a past juteau Johnson comba inc. newsletter. Councilllor makes interesting comment about Bill 109 process is N/A. In other words Kavanaugh intends to drag this out as long as possible similar to 1047 Richmond Road going to OLT. Housing emergency? What Emergency?

[Ottawacurious]

Dreaming of course....but buy out those 5 duplex houses on Regina. Double up (back to back) 3 storey townhouses plus rooftop patio similar to the houses in greywater village on Jeremiah Kealey/Telmon.

[Harley613]

These compliment each other nicely. The future is bright for the western skyline.

[originalmuffins]

Originally Posted by Marcus CLS

I have been waiting for this one. Another project by Brigil as reported as property purchaser by a past juteau Johnson comba inc. newsletter. Councilllor makes interesting comment about Bill 109 process is N/A. In other words Kavanaugh intends to drag this out as long as possible similar to 1047 Richmond Road going to OLT. Housing emergency? What Emergency?

The dumbest part about Kavanaugh is that these are all directly beside an LRT station, yet he's trying to drag this one and 1047 for zero reason except NIMBY or BANANA.

I can't wait for the new provincial rulings to go into effect. Kavanaugh can shove it. Can't wait to see this one and 1047 go up, both are great designs and add well needed height as well as density. Pretty sure they are behind the delays to approvals in the 4 towers near Bayshore too. What an idiotic stance to take considering how much needed these developments are to further growth in the ward.

Once the new ruling kicks in provincially, I expect all these developments being held back in their ward will start as soon as possible before anything gets rescinded. It's crazy how we are in a housing crisis, but these developments can be dragged on because they want to keep their single family homes in a fairly core ward. Even if all the ones that are proposed are built right now, we are still way behind the amount of housing we need lol.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Marcus CLS

I have been waiting for this one. Another project by Brigil as reported as property purchaser by a past juteau Johnson comba inc. newsletter. Councilllor makes interesting comment about Bill 109 process is N/A. In other words Kavanaugh intends to drag this out as long as possible similar to 1047 Richmond Road going to OLT. Housing emergency? What Emergency?

In other words, these applications have been received prior to the adoption of Bill 109 process changes and will be reviewed accordingly. Whether Kavanaugh intends to drag things out is a different matter.

[originalmuffins]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

In other words, these applications have been received prior to the adoption of Bill 109 process changes and will be reviewed accordingly. Whether Kavanaugh intends to drag things out is a different matter.

Discussed this on the rail fans discord, but the tribunal has been very pro transit development and bill 109 coming through will make appealing people like Kavanaugh looking to reject it easier. They'll get their approval one way or another, as 1047 Richmond will because of Kavanaugh dragging it out. There was another development that passed through the tribunal recently. If I remember correcyl, the example is the Steacie development rejection being overturned.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by originalmuffins

Discussed this on the rail fans discord, but the tribunal has been very pro transit development and bill 109 coming through will make appealing people like Kavanaugh looking to reject it easier. They'll get their approval one way or another, as 1047 Richmond did because of Kavanaugh dragging it out. There was another development that passed through the tribunal recently. If I remember correcyl, the example is the Steacie development rejection being overturned.

Yep, no planner would touch Stacie, yet the nimby head of the paining committee swears of they could have found one they would have won...

"Had the City been able to find an expert witness - a credible professional planner willing to defend Council’s refusal - it would have gone the distance. But no witness was forthcoming and our legal team appropriately asked for Council's permission to drop the case under the circumstances."

Ottawa planning system is terrible and unfortunately with Leiper at the lead the new ZB will be a mess.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by originalmuffins

Discussed this on the rail fans discord, but the tribunal has been very pro transit development and bill 109 coming through will make appealing people like Kavanaugh looking to reject it easier. They'll get their approval one way or another, as 1047 Richmond did because of Kavanaugh dragging it out. There was another development that passed through the tribunal recently. If I remember correcyl, the example is the Steacie development rejection being overturned.

In all likelihood.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

Yep, no planner would touch Stacie, yet the nimby head of the paining committee swears of they could have found one they would have won...

"Had the City been able to find an expert witness - a credible professional planner willing to defend Council’s refusal - it would have gone the distance. But no witness was forthcoming and our legal team appropriately asked for Council's permission to drop the case under the circumstances."

Ottawa planning system is terrible and unfortunately with Leiper at the lead the new ZB will be a mess.

Totally agree and I deal with it day in day out. If given the choice of having a project in Ottawa or outside of Ottawa, I will pick the one outside of Ottawa every time. Planning staff working from home, ignoring requests for communication, churning files around and around, imposing 'guidelines' that are not 'requirements' and rarely if ever having feet on the ground (i.e actually going to the property in question as many planners are not physically located in Ottawa).

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Corey1981

Am probably crazy but the top half of the one on the left gives me vibes of the RH Coats building at Tunney's Pasture 🤔

Originally Posted by skyscraperaccount

Agreed, when I saw it I thought build this at Tunneys too lol

I didn't think Tunney's but I did think mid-century office towers. Or well, mid-century. Mid-rise on Bank and the Riverside Hospital have that exact green.

1047 Richmond also has very Downtown-ish vibe. I have nothing against the proposal's heights or density, but the buildings and podiums are a bit too large (more so for 1047) and boring for Richmond.

Since these towers mostly stand on their own (unlike downtown where it's wall to wall towers), I'd like them taller, slimmer with a architectural top.

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

Yep, no planner would touch Stacie, yet the nimby head of the paining committee swears of they could have found one they would have won...

"Had the City been able to find an expert witness - a credible professional planner willing to defend Council’s refusal - it would have gone the distance. But no witness was forthcoming and our legal team appropriately asked for Council's permission to drop the case under the circumstances."

Ottawa planning system is terrible and unfortunately with Leiper at the lead the new ZB will be a mess.

Yeah. Barrhaven Jan with serious conflicts of interests or Moffatt who had no densification, and barely any proposals in his Ward, and thus had no clue about the volumes or pressures urban Councillors face, were far better. I had no issues with Gower.

That said, I do agree that Leiper's comment Stacie was a bit bewildering. There were no expert witnesses/credible professional planners willing to defend Council’s refusal because it's not defensible.

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Totally agree and I deal with it day in day out. If given the choice of having a project in Ottawa or outside of Ottawa, I will pick the one outside of Ottawa every time. Planning staff working from home, ignoring requests for communication, churning files around and around, imposing 'guidelines' that are not 'requirements' and rarely if ever having feet on the ground (i.e actually going to the property in question as many planners are not physically located in Ottawa).

Planning staff should not work from home. They should have to go in the office to experience the day to day commutes and vibes of the city in order to be better planners. It should be part of the job. It's like a transit planner who works from home and never takes transit (which is probably a lot of them), or a Transit Chair who never takes transit, for that matter (a-Hubley!)

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Yeah. Barrhaven Jan with serious conflicts of interests or Moffatt who had no densification, and barely any proposals in his Ward, and thus had no clue about the volumes or pressures urban Councillors face, were far better. I had no issues with Gower.

That said, I do agree that Leiper's comment Stacie was a bit bewildering. There were no expert witnesses/credible professional planners willing to defend Council’s refusal because it's not defensible.

At least Jan tried to get housing built, and was more or less advocating for Barhaven to densify. Leiper balks at 6 story buildings within walking distance of Mass transit.

As for Moffat....Do you or do you not agree that the city should not be expanding the urban boundary? if thats a yes, why are you holding no rural development against said councillor. He also happens to be one of the few that not only suggested but promoted the removal of R1 zoning in ottawa (mind you at the end)....while again Leiper balks at density in exactly the place he is advocating for it to exist.

So again, I state Nimby Leiper will be a disaster of a chair for Ottawa when it comes to the new ZB because hes going to insist that local concerns take precedence over the needs of the city. Lastly, the only reason he has do deal with so many ZBA is because his ward zoning does not match the official plan.

[passwordisnt123]

Ah yes, Jan Harden. That noted urbanist and do-gooder.

I honestly can't tell whether this is satire, trolling or just truly sad delusion.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

At least Jan tried to get housing built, and was more or less advocating for Barhaven to densify. Leiper balks at 6 story buildings within walking distance of Mass transit.

As for Moffat....Do you or do you not agree that the city should not be expanding the urban boundary? if thats a yes, why are you holding no rural development against said councillor. He also happens to be one of the few that not only suggested but promoted the removal of R1 zoning in ottawa (mind you at the end)....while again Leiper balks at density in exactly the place he is advocating for it to exist.

So again, I state Nimby Leiper will be a disaster of a chair for Ottawa when it comes to the new ZB because hes going to insist that local concerns take precedence over the needs of the city. Lastly, the only reason he has do deal with so many ZBA is because his ward zoning does not match the official plan.

I'm not holding the lack of rural development against Moffatt. I'm saying he didn't know the pressures of receiving dozens of large applications each month in his own Ward. Planning should be made up of Councillors who understand the balance between the need for development and listening to their constituents. Just like people on Transit Committee should take transit, people on Planning should have experience dealing with development applications in their Ward.

And you want to talk about sprawl? Richmond and Manotick saw record numbers of cheaply built suburban sfhs and McMansions over Moffatt's tenure.

McKenney ran on a platform to remove R1. Leiper supported McKenney. Do you know who supported Sutcliffe, who was against removing R1? Harder. Moffatt didn't officially support anyone as far as I know, but safe to say he didn't vote McKenney.

[Harley613]

Docs are up. Pretty impressive heights for the floor counts.
115m
99m

[Ottawacurious]

I really like the 5th floor 'glass box' with the pool and combined amenities. The 'skylounge' also sounds interesting and looks to be a pretty sizeable room with a view! I also like they will be incorporating a green roof in some areas of the design.

I like how they know the complaints and are addressing them:
"The proposed slender tower floor plate of 750 sm generates shadows
that are fast-moving throughout the day. In June, the shadows no longer impact
the subdivision to the north after 11:00 am, and by 1:00 pm the houses along
Starflower Lane are also no longer impacted. In September the shadows no
longer impact the subdivision to the north after 1:00 pm."

I don't like "The proposed towers will have reduced window-to-wall ratio to provide more fully insulated walls." ...overall, I like it.

Are these going to be rentals?