Westboro curling club taking its rock to a new place
Granite Curling Club of West Ottawa members voted 92% in favour of moving
The Granite Curling Club of West Ottawa says its aging building, rising property taxes and failed redevelopment attempts means it's the right time to move the club.
About 92 per cent of members participating in a special meeting Sunday OK'ed the plan to buy a new property on Queensview Drive east of Pinecrest Avenue.
Greg Mathieu, chair of the club's redevelopment committee, said the decision comes after making efforts to keep the club in Westboro, but having no viable option.
"This is us saying that in order for this club to have a long-term future, it obviously can't be in Westboro because of the age of our building, because of the tax situation ... and because we want to have a choice of the property that we move to," Mathieu said.
"We had to move farther afield."
The move may take until 2023 to complete, since it also requires building a new curling facility.
Redevelopment proposal
The current Granite Curling Club building is 68 years old, but it sits on a valuable parcel of land on Scott Street, steps away from the Westboro Station — a future LRT station.
City taxes on the property have already gone up considerably in recent years. In October 2019, the club proposed to swap for some land for a portion of Lion's Park as part of a redevelopment proposal.
Mathieu said there was some "shortsightedness" on the part of the city that means the private, non-profit which hosts about 600 players in a regular year will be leaving the area.
More moves to come, says councillor
Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper said if there had been more flexibility about the club giving up a season or giving up some of the parking space it was trying to maintain in its proposal, there may have been a different outcome.
"It's a shame. I don't begrudge the decision by the club to leave," Leiper said.
Other private clubs that require specialized facilities may be confronted with a similar dilemma unless the city subsidizes them directly, according to the councillor.
"Neighbourhoods like Westboro, where the land values are going up so quickly, are going to see the loss of some of these sorts of institutions. It's not just going to be our ward," Leiper said.
"This is probably just the first of many such moves that we're going to see."
Leiper said he expects there will be a proposal for two 25-storey towers on the large property on Scott Street, once the curling club is on the move, given the zoning for the area and its proximity to LRT.
