Lansdowne green space plans unveiled
Prices on development projects range from $33M to $88M
The designs are on display at:
- City hall, May 20-23.
- Lansdowne Park, May 24-26.
- Ray Friel Recreation Centre, May 27-28.
- Nepean Sportsplex, May 27-28.
- Walter Baker Sports Centre, May 29-30.
- Kanata Recreation Centre, May 29-30.
The landscape architecture design firms that submitted the park designs, which are being shown anonymously, include:
- Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates of Cambridge, Mass.
- Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg of Vancouver.
- The SWA Group, of Sausalito, Calif.
- West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture of Rotterdam and Toronto.
- Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui & Associates of Montreal.
The presentation of the designs in the council chamber at city hall kicked off 12 days of public consultation on the proposals.
All five urban park designs included a farmers' market, four included a pedestrian bridge, three include inlets from the Rideau Canal that would bring the water right up to the Aberdeen Pavilion, while two feature ponds.
The competition deals with the section of the park bordering the Rideau Canal, mostly toward the southeast. The competition area does not include the northwest section of the park along Bank Street.
There were "some pretty neat ideas" among the designs, said John Smit, the city's manager of development review.
He added that there's "no question" that one will ultimately serve as the foundation to make Lansdowne Park "a very unique and distinct place."
Coun. Peter Hume said he likes the fact that all the designs make the park a people place.
"It makes you want to come to Lansdowne Park, which is what we want to achieve," he said. "It's really quite exciting — very un-Ottawa. We really don't do this kind of thing, we don't reach. We usually plan for the lowest common denominator and now we're seeing things that are exciting and expansive."
The price tags for the designs range from $33 million to $88 million. The city has only allocated $5 million for the first phase of the green space development. One team estimated that asphalt removal alone would cost $1.3 million.
Price not an issue: councillor
"If it's the right one, over time we'll be able to implement it," he said.
Rick MacEwan, an architect with the firm Watson MacEwan Teramura, was one of hundreds of people who came to Ottawa City Hall Thursday to be among the first to see the designs. He said all five were "really good schemes" that showed a huge variety of design options.
MacEwan called Design E, which allows part of the historic Aberdeen Pavilion to pull out, expanding it to twice its usual size, a "bold gesture," but wasn't sure about whether its technically possible or would upset heritage enthusiasts.
A seven-member jury led by urban designer George Dark will pick the winning concept on June 4 and will take public input into consideration when making their choice. The design will have to be approved by city council, the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada.
City councillors are expected to vote on the redevelopment plan at the end of June. Coun. Alex Cullen, who is running for mayor in this fall's municipal election, said he'd rather leave the decision to the new council and postpone the vote until after the election.
Council voted last November to start negotiating the terms of a private-public partnership with the OSEG to redevelop Landsdowne Park.
The controversial development plan includes the construction of a cluster of shops, cinemas, condominiums and townhouses and the revamping of the site's existing stadium.
There have also been recent rumblings about a new proposal to include space in the development for the Ottawa Art Gallery, which has been tucked away in a section of Arts Court.
Lansdowne Park is a former agricultural fairground just south of downtown, in the Glebe neighbourhood, where rows of boutique-style shops are flanked by tree-lined streets of single-family homes.
The property is bounded by busy Bank Street to the west and faces the Rideau Canal to the south.
