Report to/Rapport au:

 

Council / et au Conseil

 

9 June 2010 / le 9 juin 2010

 

Submitted by/Soumis par: Kent Kirkpatrick, City Manager / Directeur municipal

 

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Gordon MacNair, Director, Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office/Directeur, Partenariats et Développement en immobilier

(613) 580-2424 x 21217, Gordon.MacNair@Ottawa.ca

 

City-wide

Ref N°: ACS2010-CMR-REP-0034

 

 

SUBJECT:

LANSDOWNE PARTNERSHIP PLAN AND IMPLEMENTATION

 

 

OBJET :

MISE EN ŚUVRE DU PLAN DE PARTENARIAT DU PARC LANSDOWNE

 

 

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

 

 

1.           That Council receive the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation  Report, including the following:

 

a)            The Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel’s Guiding Principles (Document 2);

b)            The Urban Park Design Competition Jury’s Selection Report and Recommendations for Modifications to the Design (Document 4);

c)             The Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel’s Review and Evaluation Report on the Stadium and Urban Mixed-use Design Plans (Document 6);

d)            The J.C. Williams Group Strategic Retail Planning Report Lansdowne Park Project (Document 10);

e)             The Malone Given Parsons Ltd. Peer Review Lansdowne Market Assessment Studies (Document 9);

f)             The McCormick Rankin Corporation Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Plan (Document 13);

g)            The Fehr & Peers and DKS Associates Transportation Peer Review Report (Document 14); and

h)            The Nanos Research Ottawa Website – Lansdowne Design Proposal Feedback Report (Urban Park Design) (Document 22); and

 

 

 

 

That the following supplementary reports be tabled at the Special Meeting:

 

a)            The Nanos Research Ottawa Website – Lansdowne Design Proposal Feedback Report (Stadium and Mixed-Use Design) on 17 June 2010 (Document 24);

b)            The Summary of 14 June 2010 Community Consultation on the Lansdowne Community Park (Sylvia Holden Park) on 17 June 2010 (Document 25);

c)             The further financial sensitivity analysis on 17 June 2010 (Document 26);

d)            The report on recommended integration directions for achieving a Master Plan for Lansdowne Park prior to final deliberations (Document 27); and

e)             Any other reports identified by the City Manager as supplementary to this report. 

 

And refer the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation Report to the Special Council Meeting on the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation and Related Reports for Council consideration of the following recommendations:

 

2.               That the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation Report be approved as described in this report and as follows:

 

Planning and Design (Lansdowne Park Master Plan)

 

3.               Approve the decision of the Jury for the Urban Park Design Competition that the selected Urban Park Design is the one prepared by the design team led by the landscape architectural firm of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg (Team “B”);

4.               Approve that the Master Plan for Lansdowne Park be comprised of the selected Urban Park Design Plan in conjunction with the Stadium and Mixed-Use Design Plans, incorporating any refinements as described in the supplementary report on integration directions from the City Manager (Document 27);

5.               Direct that the detailed design to provide for a fully integrated Master Plan be undertaken cooperatively by the City, the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use Architectural Team and the Urban Park Design Team through the Site Plan Approval process, under the guidance of the Design Review Panel;

6.               Authorize the Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee to adjust the composition of the Design Review Panel as circumstances warrant;

7.               Delegate the authority for consideration and approval of the site plan(s) for implementing the Lansdowne Park Master Plan to Council sitting as Committee of the Whole;

8.               Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute, on behalf of the City, an agreement with the landscape architectural firm of Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg  to undertake detailed design work related to the integration, phasing, and implementation of their design, including potential implementation supervision, as required to contribute to the creation and implementation of the Lansdowne Park Master Plan, based on using recognized Canadian competitive standards and rates for Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Specialty Design Consultants;

9.               Direct staff to consult with the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Parks Canada Agency (Parks Canada) with respect to coordinating the planning and phasing of potential improvements on NCC and Parks Canada lands with the planning and phasing for Urban Park development to be carried out by the City on its Lansdowne Park property.

Retail and Farmers’ Market

 

10.              Approve the Conceptual Layout and Marketing Plan for the Retail portion of the Urban Mixed-Use component of the proposed Lansdowne Park Master Plan, as outlined in this report and described in Document 11, and the Guiding Principles for the Lansdowne Transformation described in Document 2 and that this Conceptual Layout and Marketing Plan be incorporated into the proposed Site Plan and overall Master Plan requirements;

11.              Approve the principles for a permanent Farmers’ Market that have been developed in consultation with representatives of the Ottawa Farmers’ Market and J.C. Williams Group, as outlined in this report and described in Document 12, and direct that the Master Plan and Site Plans for the Lansdowne Transformation make provision to incorporate these principles;

12.              Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute, on behalf of the City, an agreement with the Ottawa Farmers’ Market Association for a permanent Farmers’ Market in accordance with the principles described in Document 12 and report back to Council in 2011 on implementation.

Transportation

 

13.              Approve the Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management report, prepared by McCormick Rankin Corporation, described in Document 13 of this report, as the basis for preparing the transportation portion of the Master Plan and Site Plan for Lansdowne Park and authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute, on behalf of the City, all required agreements related to transportation planning for events, including the following:

a)            Such further agreements as may be required to implement the Agreement in Principle with the NCC for use of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED) as outlined in this report and described in Document 15;

b)            Any formal agreements that may be necessary to implement the Memorandums of Understanding obtained for off-site parking as described in this report;

c)             Such agreements as are necessary for providing the required shuttle services for major events; and

d)            Requiring through the Project Agreements that event tickets provide funding to support the costs of off-site parking, shuttles, additional transit service, etc. in ticket prices; and  

14.              Direct that the transportation measures and initiatives set out in the Transportation Plan, as outlined in this report and described in Document  13 and including any modifications resulting from the Transportation Peer Review Study described in Document 14, be incorporated into the formal Site Plan for implementing the Lansdowne Park Master Plan.

The Financials

15.              Approve the Business Model and associated Financial Terms for implementing the Lansdowne Partnership Plan, as outlined in this report and described in Document 16, as a prerequisite to entering into the Project Agreements outlined in this report and described in Document 18; and

 

16.              Approve the schedule, the estimated costs and proposed cost-sharing provisions with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) as outlined in this report and described in Documents 20 and 21.

 

Project Agreements

 

17.              Approve the Project Agreement Framework, as outlined in this report and described in Document 18, and authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute, on behalf of the City, the Project Agreements, described in this report and in Document 18.

 

Implementation

 

18.              Direct City staff to prepare a report for consideration by the Planning and Environment Committee and Council at their respective meetings in July 2010 regarding the zoning changes deemed necessary to implement the proposed Master Plan for the Lansdowne Park transformation, as outlined in this report;

19.              Direct City staff to initiate the processes necessary to consult with the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) and obtain any required heritage approvals, as outlined in this report and described in Document 8, including the following:

a)            Approval from Parks Canada for the proposed uses for the Aberdeen Pavilion as may be designated in the proposed overall Lansdowne Park Master Plan in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Funding Agreement between Parks Canada and the City;

b)            Approval from the OHT for any modifications and/or exemptions required to the Heritage Easement Agreement for the Aberdeen Pavilion related to sight lines and buildings shown on the Lansdowne Park Master Plan,  including any potential matters related to the relocation of the Horticulture Building, for Lansdowne Park; and

c)             Approval pursuant to the provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act for the relocation, alteration and adaptive re-use of the Horticulture Building and any alterations that may be required to accommodate a new use in the Aberdeen Pavilion.

20.              Declare the parcel of land containing an area of 4.8 ha (11.86 acres), shown hatched and described as “Proposed Surplus Lands” on the attached Document 19, together with the salon areas of the Civic Centre building to be identified on a stratified legal survey, to be used for proposed retail purposes,  as surplus to the City’s needs to allow these surplus lands to be developed, as provided for in the Business Model and Financial Terms and Project Agreement Framework, and that the fair market value of this surplus property as set out in the report constitute part of the City’s deemed equity in the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and waive the policy requirements in By-Law No. 2002-38, as amended, regarding the circulation of City properties to internal City departments and agencies, the circulation of City properties to external parties and the public marketing of City properties;  

 

21.              Authorize staff to prepare the terms and conditions for a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for a City-initiated development of the residential and office components of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan Implementation, as provided for in the Business Model and Financial Terms and the Project Agreement Framework, with a report to the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) on the proposed RFP process in August 2010, and delegate the authority to the CSEDC to approve the Terms of Reference for the RFP process;  

 

22.              Waive the City’s Housing First Policy with respect to the dedication of 25% of the net proceeds from the disposal of the surplus lands, as shown on Document 19, to the Housing Branch and direct the proceeds from the disposal to be used as part the City funding provisions for the Lansdowne Partnership Plan Implementation as described in this report;

 

23.              Direct staff to pursue the option of providing a new facility for the Ottawa Art Gallery as part of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan Implementation as outlined in this report and to include this option in the report on the redevelopment of the Arts Court complex that is scheduled to be considered by Committee and Council in July 2010;    

 

24.              Direct staff to report back to Council during Stage 2 of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan Implementation regarding a potential structure for a Municipal Services Corporation;

 

25.              Direct staff to consult with the NCC and Parks Canada with respect to coordinating the implementation and construction phasing of potential improvements on NCC and Parks Canada lands with the implementation and construction phasing for the Urban Park development to be carried out by the City on its Lansdowne Park property;

 

26.              Direct staff to consult with the NCC and Parks Canada with respect to developing joint programming opportunities for the City’s Urban Park at Lansdowne;

 

27.              Declare the Stadium and Civic Centre as municipal capital facilities within the class of “municipal facilities for cultural, recreational or tourist activities” pursuant to the Municipal Act 2001 and the related regulations and enter into a municipal capital facility form of agreement or, if applicable, provision within the Project Agreements described in Document 18;

 

28.              Direct that the financial contributions of $2.5 million each by the City and by the OSEG toward the development of Phase 1 of the Urban Park  be deemed to satisfy the 2% and 5% cash-in-lieu of parkland requirements for the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use components of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan Implementation; and

 

29.              Direct staff to coordinate the Bank Street rehabilitation work with the modifications required to support the Lansdowne Park Master Plan implementation, including the proposed provisions for direct access from Bank Street.

 

 

RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT

 

1.               Que le Conseil municipal prenne connaissance du Rapport sur le Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne et sa mise en śuvre,  y compris ce qui suit :

a)            Lignes directrices du Groupe consultatif et de révision stratégique de la conception de Lansdowne (document 2);

b)            Rapport sur la sélection du jury relativement au concours de conception du parc urbain et Recommandations relatives aux modifications ŕ apporter ŕ la conception (document 4);

c)             Rapport d’examen et d’évaluation des plans de conception du stade et de l'utilisation mixte urbaine, réalisé par le Groupe consultatif et de révision stratégique de la conception de Lansdowne (document 6);

d)            Rapport sur la planification stratégique du commerce de détail intégré au projet du parc Lansdowne, préparé par J.C. Williams Group (document 10);

e)             Examen par des pairs des études d’évaluation pour le marché du commerce de détail ŕ Lansdowne, réalisé par Malone Given Parsons Ltd. (document 9);

f)             Étude d'évaluation et d’impact sur les transports et Plan de gestion de la demande en transport, réalisés par McCormick Rankin Corporation (document 13);

g)            Rapport sur l'examen des transports par des pairs, réalisé par Fehr & Peers et DKS Associates (document 14);

h)            Rapport des commentaires recueillis sur le site Web de la Ville d’Ottawa sur la conception du parc urbain de Lansdowne, réalisé par Nanos Research (document 22);

 

Que les rapports supplémentaires suivants soient déposés ŕ la réunion extraordinaire :

 

a)            Rapport sur les commentaires recueillis sur le site Web de la Ville d’Ottawa sur la conception de Lansdowne (conception du stade et de l’utilisation mixte) réalisé par Nanos Research, en date du 17 juin 2010 (document 24);

b)            Résumé daté du 14 juin 2010 de la consultation de la collectivité sur le parc communautaire de Lansdowne (parc Sylvia-Holden), en date du 17 juin 2010 (document 25);

c)             Analyse approfondie de la sensibilité financičre, en date du 17 juin 2010 (document 26);

d)            Rapport sur les directives d’intégration recommandées en vue de terminer l'élaboration d’un Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne, avant les délibérations finales (document 27);

e)             Et tout autre rapport que le directeur municipal a désigné comme étant supplémentaire dans le présent rapport;

 

et qu’il soumette le Rapport sur le Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne et sa mise en śuvre ŕ la réunion extraordinaire du Conseil municipal qui portera sur le Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne et sa mise en śuvre et les rapports connexes, aux fins d'examen des recommandations suivantes par le Conseil municipal :

 

2.    Que le rapport sur le Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne et sa mise en śuvre soit approuvé, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et ainsi :

 

Planification et conception  (Plan directeur du Parc Lansdowne)

 

3.    Approuve la décision du jury du concours de conception du parc urbain (le jury) selon laquelle la conception du parc urbain sélectionnée est celle préparée par l’équipe de concepteurs dirigée par la société d’architecture paysagčre de Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg (équipe « B »);

 

4.    Approuve que le Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne soit composé du plan de la conception du parc urbain sélectionnée, ainsi que des plans de conception du stade et de l’utilisation mixte, auxquels sera apportée toute amélioration décrite dans le rapport supplémentaire sur les directives d’intégration du directeur municipal (document 27);

 

5.    Ordonne que la conception détaillée pour arriver ŕ un Plan directeur entičrement intégré soit préparée de façon conjointe par la Ville, l’équipe d’architectes responsable des composantes du stade et de l’utilisation mixte urbaine, et l’équipe responsable de la conception du parc urbain par l'entremise d'un processus d'approbation du plan d'implantation, conformément aux directives du Groupe consultatif et de révision stratégique de la conception de Lansdowne;

 

6.    Autorise le président du Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement ŕ apporter, selon les circonstances, des ajustements ŕ la composition du Groupe consultatif et de révision stratégique de la conception de Lansdowne;

 

7.    Délčgue les pouvoirs d’examen et d’approbation des plans d’implantation pour la mise en śuvre du Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne au Conseil municipal en sa qualité de comité plénier;

 

8.    Autorise le directeur municipal ŕ négocier et ŕ signer, au nom de la Ville, un accord avec la société d’architecture paysagčre de Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg en vue d’entreprendre les travaux de conception détaillée liés ŕ l’intégration, ŕ la mise en place progressive et ŕ la mise en śuvre de sa conception, qui comprendra, le cas échéant, une éventuelle supervision de la mise en śuvre en vue de participer ŕ la création et ŕ la mise en śuvre du Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne, en se fondant sur les normes concurrentielles reconnues au Canada et les taux en vigueur pour les consultants en architecture, en architecture paysagčre et en aménagement spécialisé;

 

9.    Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville de consulter la Commission de la capitale nationale (CCN) et l’Agence Parcs Canada (Parcs Canada) pour les questions de coordination de la planification et de la mise en place progressive d’éventuelles améliorations ŕ apporter aux terrains de la CCN et de Parcs Canada avec la planification et la mise en place progressive de l’aménagement du parc urbain que la Ville réalisera ŕ la partie du parc Lansdowne qui lui appartient.

 

Commerce de détail et Marché des producteurs agricoles

 

10.     Approuve le Plan conceptuel et de marketing de la portion commerciale de la composante de l’utilisation mixte urbaine du Plan directeur proposé pour le parc Lansdowne, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le document 11, ainsi que les Principes directeurs pour la transformation du parc Lansdowne décrits dans le document 2, et que ce Plan conceptuel et de marketing soit intégré au Plan d’implantation proposé et aux exigences générales du Plan directeur;

 

11.     Approuve les principes relatifs ŕ un Marché des producteurs agricoles permanent, qui ont été élaborés en collaboration avec des représentants du Marché des producteurs agricoles d’Ottawa et J.C. Williams Group, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le document 12, et ordonne que le Plan directeur et les plans d’implantation destinés ŕ la transformation du parc Lansdowne comportent des dispositions en vue d’intégrer ces principes;

 

12.     Autorise le directeur municipal ŕ négocier et ŕ signer, au nom de la Ville, un accord avec l’Association du Marché des producteurs agricoles d’Ottawa pour l’instauration d’un Marché des producteurs agricoles permanent, conformément aux principes décrits dans le document 12, et qu’il fasse part de ses conclusions au Conseil municipal en 2011 en ce qui a trait ŕ sa mise en śuvre.

 

Transports

 

13.     Approuve le rapport sur l’Étude d’évaluation et d’impact sur les transports et celui du Plan de gestion de la demande de transport pour le parc Lansdowne, préparés par McCormick Rankin Corporation, décrits dans le document 13 du présent rapport, en tant que fondements qui serviront ŕ la préparation du volet sur les transports du Plan directeur et du plan d’implantation pour le parc Lansdowne, et autorise le directeur municipal ŕ négocier et ŕ conclure, au nom de la Ville, tous les accords connexes nécessaires ŕ la planification des transports pour les événements, y compris ce qui suit :

 

a)            toute autre entente nécessaire ŕ la mise en śuvre de l’entente de principe conclue avec la CCN pour l’utilisation de la promenade Reine‑Élizabeth, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le document 15,

b)            toute entente officielle nécessaire ŕ la mise en śuvre des protocoles d’entente obtenus pour le stationnement ŕ l’extérieur du site, comme décrit dans le présent rapport,

c)             toute entente nécessaire ŕ la prestation des services de navette nécessaires pour les événements de grande envergure,

d)            toute exigence inscrite dans les ententes relatives au projet, selon laquelle les billets d’admission ŕ un événement procurent les fonds nécessaires pour assumer le coűt du stationnement ŕ l’extérieur du site, des navettes, du service de transport en commun additionnel, etc., ŕ męme leur prix;

 

14.     Ordonne que les mesures et les initiatives en matičre de transports mentionnées dans le Plan de transports, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le document 13, et auquel est apportée toute modification qui découle de l’étude par des pairs des transports décrite dans le document 14, soient intégrées au plan d’implantation officiel pour la mise en śuvre du Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne.

 

Finances

15.     Approuve le modčle opérationnel et les conditions financičres qui y sont associées pour la mise en śuvre du Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le  document 16, en tant que condition préalable ŕ la conclusion d’ententes relatives au projet mentionnées dans le présent rapport et décrites au document 18;

 

16.     Approuve le calendrier, les coűts estimatifs et les dispositions proposées relativement au partage des coűts avec l’Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans les documents 20 et 21;

 

Ententes relatives au projet

 

17.     Approuve le cadre d’ententes relatives au projet, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le document 18, et autorise le directeur municipal ŕ négocier et ŕ conclure, au nom de la Ville, les ententes relatives au projet décrites dans le présent rapport et dans le document 18.

 

Mise en śuvre

 

18.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville de préparer un rapport aux fins d’examen par le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement et le Conseil municipal au cours de leur réunion respective du mois de juillet 2010, qui a trait aux modifications ŕ apporter au zonage jugées nécessaires ŕ la mise en śuvre du Plan directeur proposé pour la transformation du parc Lansdowne, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport;

 

19.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville d’amorcer les procédures nécessaires pour consulter la Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien et obtenir toute approbation obligatoire en matičre de patrimoine, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport et décrit dans le document 8, y compris ce qui suit :

 

a)            approbation de Parcs Canada pour les utilisations proposées pour le pavillon Aberdeen, telles qu’indiquées dans l’ensemble du Plan directeur proposé pour le parc Lansdowne, conformément aux dispositions pertinentes de l’accord de financement conclu entre Parcs Canada et la Ville,

b)            approbation de la Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien pour toute modification ou toute exemption nécessaire ŕ l’entente de servitude de conservation du patrimoine pour le pavillon Aberdeen liée aux lignes visuelles et aux édifices apparaissant dans le Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne, y compris toute question possible liée au déplacement de l’Édifice de l’horticulture, pour le parc Lansdowne,

c)             approbation en vertu des dispositions de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario qui s’appliquent au déplacement, ŕ la modification et ŕ la conservation intégrée de l’Édifice de l’horticulture, ainsi que toute modification qui se révélera nécessaire pour l’adaptation en vue d’une nouvelle utilisation du pavillon Aberdeen.

20.     Déclare la parcelle de terrain d’une superficie de 4,8 hectares (11,86 acres), montrée en hachuré et décrite comme étant des « terrains excédentaires proposés », dans le document 19 en pičce jointe, accompagnée des superficies réservées aux salons dans l’édifice du Centre municipal qui doivent ętre déterminées dans un plan d’arpentage cadastral stratifié et qui seront utilisées aux fins du commerce de détail proposé, excédentaire aux besoins de la Ville en vue d’en permettre l’aménagement, tel que prévu dans le Modčle opérationnel et les conditions financičres ainsi que le cadre d’ententes relatives au projet; déclare également que la juste valeur marchande de cette propriété excédentaire, telle que présentée dans le rapport, constitue une partie des capitaux propres présumés de la Ville dans le Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne et déroge aux exigences de la politique du rčglement no 2002-38, tel que modifié, en ce qui a trait ŕ la distribution de propriétés de la Ville ŕ des services et ŕ des organismes municipaux internes, ŕ la distribution des propriétés de la Ville ŕ des parties externes et ŕ la commercialisation publique de propriétés de la Ville;

 

21.     Autorise le personnel de la Ville ŕ préparer les modalités d’un processus de demande de propositions (DP) qui a trait ŕ l’aménagement des composantes résidentielles et de bureaux de la mise en śuvre du Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne, initié par la Ville, tel que prévu dans le Modčle opérationnel et les conditions financičres, ainsi que le cadre d’ententes relatives au projet, accompagné d’un rapport sur le processus de DP au Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique (CSODE) en aoűt 2010, et délčgue les pouvoirs quant ŕ l’approbation du cadre de référence du processus de DP au Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique;

 

22.     Déroge ŕ la Politique de priorité au logement de la Ville qui veut que 25 % du produit net de l’aliénation de terrains excédentaires soient réservés ŕ la Direction du logement, tel qu’indiqué dans le  document 19, et ordonne que le produit net de l’aliénation soit utilisé par la Ville dans le cadre des dispositions de financement de la mise en śuvre du Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne, comme décrit dans le présent rapport;

 

23.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville d’examiner la possibilité de prévoir une nouvelle installation ŕ la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa dans le cadre de la mise en śuvre du Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne, tel qu’indiqué dans le présent rapport, et d’insérer cette option dans le rapport sur le réaménagement du complexe de la Cour des Arts qui doit ętre examiné par le Comité et le Conseil municipal en juillet 2010;

 

24.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville de faire rapport au Conseil municipal, durant l’étape 2 de la mise en śuvre du Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne, sur ses conclusions concernant la structure possible d’une Société de services municipaux ;

 

25.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville de consulter la CCN et Parcs Canada en ce qui a trait ŕ la coordination de la mise en śuvre et de la mise en place progressives de la construction des améliorations possibles ŕ apporter aux terrains de la CCN et de Parcs Canada avec la mise en śuvre et la mise en place progressives de l’aménagement du parc urbain que réalisera la Ville sur la partie du parc Lansdowne qui lui appartient;

 

26.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville de consulter la CCN et Parcs Canada en ce qui a trait aux possibilités de programmation conjointe pour le parc urbain de la Ville dans le parc Lansdowne;

 

27.     Déclare que le stade et le Centre municipal deviennent des immobilisations municipales de la catégorie « installations municipales réservées aux activités liées ŕ la culture, aux loisirs ou au tourisme », conformément ŕ la Loi de 2001 sur les municipalités et le rčglement connexe, et conclue une forme d’accord relatif ŕ une immobilisation municipale ou, le cas échéant, insčre une clause dans les accords relatifs au projet, décrits dans le document 18;

 

28.     Ordonne que les apports financiers de 2,5 millions de dollars que doivent verser la Ville et l’OSEG pour l’aménagement de la phase 1 du parc urbain soient estimés satisfaire aux 2 % et 5 % du rčglement financier des frais relatifs aux terrains ŕ vocation de parc des composantes du stade et de l’utilisation mixte urbaine de la mise en śuvre du Plan de partenariat de Lansdowne;

 

29.     Enjoigne au personnel de la Ville de coordonner les travaux de réfection de la rue Bank en vue d’y apporter les modifications nécessaires afin d’appuyer la mise en śuvre du Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne, y compris les dispositions proposées relatives ŕ un accčs direct depuis la rue Bank.

 

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On 2 September 2009, City staff and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) presented City Council with a plan to redevelop and transform Lansdowne Park under a Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP). The LPP has three key components that need to be integrated: first, there is the Frank Clair Stadium - Civic Centre component; second, the urban park component beside the Rideau Canal; and finally, the mixed-use commercial development component near Bank Street.

The Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP) presents a vision for a new, vibrant and transformed Lansdowne as a world-class venue that would:

·         Embrace the Rideau Canal, with a new expanded green space

·         Revitalize the existing stadium and arena for sports and entertainment events  

·         Stand as the model of modern-day innovation in an urban form where people can go to walk, cycle, shop, enjoy a good meal, be entertained, work, live, and play in an environment respectful of our architectural heritage, and

·         Reflect the objectives and guidelines articulated in the City of Ottawa’s Official Plan

On 16 November 2009, following public consultation, Council approved the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and directed staff to negotiate a comprehensive project agreement framework with OSEG conditional upon a number of actions being taken as follows:

As described in this report, and itemized below, significant work has been undertaken to negotiate the project agreement framework and satisfy the conditions set out by Council on 16 November 2009.

·         On 4 June 2010, Nanos Research completed the “Lansdowne Design Proposal Feedback Report (Urban Park Design)”.

·         The Urban Park Design Competition Jury’s Selection Report and Recommendations for Modifications to the Design and, the DRP’s Review and Evaluation Report on the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use Design Plans are to be presented to Council at its Special Meeting on 17 June 2010.

·         A report on recommended integration directions for achieving a Master Plan for Lansdowne Park will be prepared by staff and submitted to Council prior to final deliberations on the LPP components.

·         Commonwealth Historic Resources Management has completed a report on Site History and continues to advise with respect to the impact new development of the LPP will have on heritage features.

·         The J.C. Williams Group has completed a “Strategic Retail Planning Report for the Lansdowne Park Project”.

·         Malone Given Parsons Ltd. has completed the “Peer Review Lansdowne Market Assessment Studies”.

·         McCormick Rankin Corporation has completed the “Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Plan”.

·         Fehr & Peers and DKS Associates have completed the “Transportation Peer Review Report”.

·         The City Manager has negotiated an Agreement in principle with the NCC for a pilot project to use the Queen Elizabeth Driveway for a shuttle bus route for major events at Lansdowne.

·         Staff have negotiated Memorandums of Understanding (MOU’s) for the use of various off-site parking lots to secure approximately 4,500 spaces for events at Lansdowne.

·         Staff have completed an RFP process for an Exposition Hall Facility and a resulting staff report “Lansdowne Results of the RFP Process - Exposition Hall Facility” (Ref.#: ACS2010-CMR-REP-0033), recommending that the City negotiate with the Shenkman Corporation to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new 218,0000 sq. ft. facility for trade and consumer shows, has been referred by the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) for the consideration of Council at its Special Meeting on 17 June 2010.

·         HLT Advisory Inc. has completed a report “New Trade and Consumer Show Facilities in Ottawa” which is the subject of a separate staff report entitled “Exposition Hall Facility - Economic and Social Benefits” (Ref.#: ACS2010-ICS-CSS-0005).  This report has been referred by the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) for the consideration of Council at its Special Meeting on 17 June 2010.

·         Staff have provided written confirmation to the CCEA that 2010 will be the last year that the Central Canada Exhibition can be held at Lansdowne Park and staff continue to work with representatives of the CCEA to assist in relocation of the exhibition as set out in staff reports (Ref.#’s: ACS2010-CMR-REP-0013 and ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0017) that are to be considered by Council on 9 June 2010.

·         Staff continue to meet with Coliseum Inc. regarding the relocation of its dome and operations from Lansdowne Park.

·         Staff are pursuing options for the Arts Court redevelopment project which includes the potential relocation of the Ottawa Art Gallery component to another site.  The OSEG is providing information to the City for consideration of a location at Lansdowne Park, which will be included in a report to be considered by Council in July 2010.

 

The directions given by Council on 16 November 2010 have resulted in more and better information being made available for decision-making on all aspects of the implementation of the LPP.

 

More importantly, the directions by Council to:

·       establish the DRP,

·      have the DRP set out Guiding Principles for developing a Master Plan for Lansdowne, and

·       hold an international design competition for the Urban Park component,

 

have resulted in a wonderful opportunity for the City to integrate the equally creative and thoughtful designs for the two major components, being the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use development and the Urban Park, into a Lansdowne Master Plan and, ultimately, a Site Plan that can be implemented under the LPP.

 

The Design Review Panel recommends that Council receive their report and “make the suggestions contained within it an active and required part of the approval of the Lansdowne Master Plan.

 

Going forward the process should also include:

 

1. The articulation of the process to address the details and further design refinements and redirections required to make a comprehensive development application.

 

2. The creation of a unified, integrated project team (with engineers and technical specialist consultants, etc.) with a full definition of the roles and responsibilities to the project.

 

3. The additional of a strategy and the associated personnel to advance the programming of the site to a level it can inform the design team.

 

4. A formalized method, procedures and conventions for an ongoing design review function with an expanded Panel to include sustainability, engineering, public art and public space program expertise.

 

5. A public consultation, information and outreach program, specifically with the BIA, on the integration of this site into the BIA and the associated changes to the design of Bank Street.

 

6. These steps should be completed before the submission of development applications.”

 

Based on the information and recommendations contained in the final reports regarding the Jury decision and the DRP evaluation, staff has set out a recommended strategy for achieving the design improvements to, and integration of, the designs for the Stadium and Mixed-Use components with those of the Urban Park in the following “Master Plan Implementation Strategy and Quality Control” section of this report and the Recommendations of the report with respect to Planning and Design (Master Plan) have been formulated accordingly.

 

As a result of fulfilling the conditions established by Council on 16 November 2009, and other actions described above, staff are now recommending that Council approve the Lansdowne Partnership Plan for implementation as detailed in this report.

 

 

SOMMAIRE ÉXECUTIF

Le 2 septembre 2009, le personnel de la Ville et l’Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) ont présenté au Conseil municipal un plan pour la revitalisation et la transformation du parc Lansdowne, dans le cadre du Plan de partenariat du parc Lansdowne (PPL). Le PPL comporte trois grandes composantes qui doivent ętre intégrées : il y a d’abord le stade Frank-Clair et le Centre municipal, puis le parc urbain prčs du canal Rideau et finalement l’aménagement commercial ŕ utilisation mixte, prčs de la rue Bank. 

Le Plan de partenariat du parc Lansdowne (PPL) présente une vision pour un parc Lansdowne nouveau, vivant et métamorphosé en un site de classe internationale qui : 

·         enlacera le canal Rideau grâce ŕ de nouveaux espaces verts plus grands;

·         revitalisera le stade et l’aréna existants pour les événements sportifs et les événements spéciaux;

·         constituera un modčle d’innovation urbaine oů les gens pourront marcher, faire de la bicyclette, magasiner, prendre un bon repas, se divertir, travailler, vivre et s’amuser dans un environnement respectueux de notre patrimoine architectural, et

·         sera le reflet des objectifs et des lignes directrices précisées dans le Plan officiel de la Ville d’Ottawa.   

Le 16 novembre 2009, ŕ la suite d’une consultation publique, le Conseil municipal a approuvé le Plan de partenariat du parc Lansdowne et a demandé au personnel de la Ville de négocier avec l’Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) un cadre de référence pour un accord de projet, accord qui serait conditionnel ŕ la mise en place d’un certain nombre de mesures, qui sont les suivantes :

Tel que décrit dans le présent rapport, et détaillé dans la liste qui suit, un travail considérable a été entrepris dans le but de négocier un cadre de référence pour l’Accord de projet et pour satisfaire aux conditions exigées par le Conseil municipal le 16 novembre 2009.

·         Le 4 juin 2010, la firme Nanos Research a terminé le rapport des commentaires reçus sur la conception du parc urbain de Lansdowne [(Lansdowne Design Proposal Feedback Report (Urban Park Design]);

·         Nanos Research continue de compiler les commentaires reçus des citoyens sur le stade et la composante ŕ utilisation mixte en vue de la préparation du rapport des commentaires reçus sur la conception pour le parc Lansdowne (stade et composante ŕ utilisation mixte); ces commentaires seront examinés par le Conseil municipal lors de sa réunion extraordinaire du 17 juin 2010.

·         Le rapport du jury concernant le choix de la firme gagnante au concours de conception du parc urbain, ses recommandations concernant les modifications ŕ apporter ŕ la conception et le rapport d’évaluation du Groupe consultatif sur les plans de conception du stade et de  la composante ŕ utilisation mixte seront présentés au Conseil municipal lors de sa réunion extraordinaire du 17 juin 2010.

·         Un rapport sur les directives recommandées d’intégration pour la réalisation du Plan directeur pour le parc Lansdowne sera préparé par le personnel de la Ville et soumis au Conseil municipal avant les délibérations finales sur les composantes du PPL. 

·         La firme Commonwealth Historic Resources Management a terminé un rapport sur l’historique du site et continue de conseiller la Ville sur les répercussions du nouvel aménagement dans le cadre du PPL sur les caractéristiques patrimoniales du site.

·         La firme J.C. Williams Group a terminé le Rapport sur la planification stratégique du commerce de détail ŕ Lansdowne (Strategic Retail Planning Report for the Lansdowne Park Project).

·         La firme Malone Given Parsons Ltd. a terminé l’examen par les pairs des études d’évaluation du marché de Lansdowne (Peer Review Lansdowne Market Assessment Studies).

·         La firme McCormick Rankin Corporation a terminé l’Étude d’évaluation et d’impact sur les transports et celle du Plan de gestion de la demande de transport pour le parc Lansdowne.

·         Les firmes Fehr & Peers et DKS Associates ont terminé le Rapport de l’examen par des pairs de l’étude sur les transports (Transportation Peer Review Report).

·         Le directeur municipal a négocié une entente de principe avec la CCN pour la réalisation d’un projet pilote sur l’utilisation de la promenade Reine-Élizabeth en tant qu’itinéraire de navette lors de grands événements ŕ Lansdowne.   

·         Le personnel de la Ville a négocié des protocoles d’entente pour l’utilisation de divers terrains de stationnement hors site afin d’assurer environ 4 500 places lors de grands événements au parc Lansdowne.

·         Le personnel de la Ville a terminé le processus de demande de propositions pour l’aménagement d’un espace d’exposition et le rapport intitulé Résultats de la demande de propositions pour Lansdowne – espace d’exposition qui en a découlé (Lansdowne Results of the RFP Process - Exposition Hall Facility - référence no ACS2010-CMR-REP-0033) qui recommande que la Ville négocie avec la Corporation en vue de la conception, de la construction, du financement, de l’exploitation et de l’entretien d’une nouvelle installation d’une superficie de 218 000 pieds carrés pour salons professionnels et d’exposition. Le rapport a été déposé par le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique (CSODE) au Conseil municipal aux fins d’étude lors de sa réunion extraordinaire du 17 juin 2010.

·         La firme HLT Advisory Inc. a terminé son rapport Nouvelles installations pour les salons professionnels et d’exposition ŕ Ottawa (New Trade and Consumer Show Facilities in Ottawa), lequel fait l’objet d’un rapport distinct des employés de la Ville intitulé Espace d’exposition – Retombées économiques et sociales (Exposition Hall Facility - Economic and Social Benefits - rapport no ACS2010-ICS-CSS-0005). Ce rapport a été déposé par le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique (CSODE) au Conseil municipal aux fins d’étude lors de sa réunion extraordinaire du 17 juin 2010.

·         Le personnel de la Ville a donné, ŕ l’AECC, la confirmation écrite que 2010 sera la derničre année oů son exposition pourra se tenir au parc Lansdowne. Le personnel de la Ville continue de travailler avec les représentants de l’AECC pour le déménagement de l’exposition, comme en témoignent les rapports préparés par le personnel (rapports nos ACS2010-CMR-REP-0013 et ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0017) qui seront étudiés par le Conseil le 9 juin 2010.

·         Le personnel de la Ville poursuit ses rencontres avec Coliseum Inc. pour le déménagement de son dôme et de ses activités ailleurs qu’au parc Lansdowne.

·         Le personnel de la Ville étudie les possibilités de réalisation du projet de revitalisation de la Cour des Arts, qui comprend notamment un possible déménagement de la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa vers un autre lieu; l’OSEG fournit de l’information ŕ la Ville pour l’étude d’un emplacement au parc Lansdowne. Cette information sera incluse dans un rapport qui sera fourni au Conseil, en juillet 2010, aux fins d’examen. 

 

Les directives énoncées par le Conseil, le 16 novembre 2009, ont permis d’obtenir plus d’information de meilleure qualité pour la prise de décision dans tous les aspects de la mise en śuvre du PPL.  

 

Surtout, les directives du Conseil :

·       de mettre sur pied un Groupe consultatif,

·      d’avoir le Groupe consultatif établir des principes directeurs pour la préparation d’un Plan directeur pour Lansdowne, et

·       de tenir un concours international pour la conception de la composante du parc urbain,  

 

ont donné lieu ŕ une merveilleuse occasion pour la Ville d’intégrer des projets ŕ la fois créatifs et réfléchis pour les deux principales composantes du projet, soit le stade et la composante urbaine ŕ utilisation mixte et le parc urbain dans un Plan directeur pour Lansdowne, et, en fin de compte, de réaliser un plan d’implantation qui peut réellement ętre mis en śuvre dans le cadre du PPL.

 

Le Groupe consultatif de l’examen de la conception recommande que le Conseil reçoive son rapport et « fasse des recommandations qu’il contient, un élément actif et obligatoire de l’approbation du Plan directeur de Lansdowne.

 

Ŕ partir de maintenant, le processus devrait également inclure :

 

1. L’articulation du processus afin de traiter les détails ainsi que les précisions et les changements d’orientation de la conception nécessaires ŕ la présentation d’une demande d’aménagement complčte.

 

2. La création d’une équipe de projet unifiée et intégrée (incluant des ingénieurs, des conseillers techniques spécialisés, etc.) et la définition précise des rôles et des responsabilités précises dans le projet.

 

3. L’ajout d’une stratégie et du personnel y étant associé afin de poursuivre la programmation du site de façon ŕ ce que le personnel puisse informer l’équipe de conception.

 

4. une méthode, de procédures et des conventions officielles assurant un examen continu de la conception, ainsi qu’un Groupe consultatif élargi incluant des experts en durabilité, en ingénierie, en art public et en programmation d’espaces publics.  

 

5. Un programme de consultation publique, d’information et de divulgation de l’information au public, particuličrement en ce qui concerne la zone d’amélioration commerciale (ZAC), portant sur l’intégration de ce site ŕ la ZAC et les changements associés ŕ la conception de la rue Bank.

 

6. Ces étapes devraient ętre terminées avant la soumission des demandes d’aménagement ».

 

Selon l’information et les recommandations contenues dans les rapports finals sur la décision du jury, ainsi que sur l’évaluation du Groupe consultatif et de révision stratégique de la conception de Lansdowne, le personnel a mis au point une stratégie qu’il recommande afin de mettre en śuvre les modifications ŕ la conception du stade urbain et des composantes ŕ utilisation mixte et de les intégrer ŕ la conception du parc urbain dans la section « Stratégie de mise en śuvre et de contrôle de la qualité du plan d’implantation directeur » de ce rapport. Les recommandations incluses dans ce rapport en matičre de planification et de conception (Plan directeur) ont été formulées dans le respect de cette mise en śuvre et de cette intégration.

 

Puisque les conditions édictées par le Conseil municipal le 16 novembre 2009 sont maintenant remplies, et que les autres mesures décrites ci-dessus ont été mises en place, le personnel de la Ville recommande maintenant que le Conseil approuve le Plan de partenariat pour le parc Lansdowne, tel qu’il est détaillé dans le présent rapport.

 

 

BACKGROUND

 

At a Special Meeting of Council held on 12, 13 and 16 November 2009, Council considered the Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP) Implementation report dated 12 November 2009 (Reference #: ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0009) regarding the implementation of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan report that was tabled with Council on 2 September 2009.

 

At the Special Meeting, Council considered:

 

·           The recommendations set out in the staff report

·           The motions and directions given by Council on September 2, 2009, by Standing Committees in October 2009, and

·           Other motions raised as part of the proceedings of the Special Meeting

 

As the first stage in moving forward towards implementing the LPP, Council carried various motions as outlined in Document 1 attached, which amended the staff recommendations.  The amended recommendations were approved on 16 November 2009 which resulted in the approval of the following:

 

Recommendations - As Amended by Council on 16 November 2009 (City Manager’s Report –

Reference #: ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0009)

 

1.      That Council receive the staff responses set out in Document 1 to the motions and directions given by Council on September 2, 2009, and by Standing Committees in October 2009, for their information.

 

2.   That Council approve the following recommendations:

 

a) That Council The Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP) tabled at the Council meeting of September 2, 2009, including the options presented for residential, office and hotel uses, and direct staff to negotiate a comprehensive project agreement framework with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) for the consideration of Council as described in this report, subject to the following: 

 

i)       That a final review of the financial projections of the LPP is completed and that the Office of the Auditor General provides Council with a supplementary report on the accuracy of these forecasts as well as the reasonableness of the assumptions used;

ii)      That transportation studies and supporting transportation demand management plans be completed to determine whether or not impacts on traffic circulation and on-street parking resulting from the implementation of the LPP can be reasonably accommodated and that the transportation strategy outlined in the LPP will work as anticipated;

 

That City Council delegate the authority to a joint Transit and Transportation Committee to approve the Terms of Reference for the transportation studies including an associated demand management plan for the LPP and for the additional Terms of Reference for the Traffic Impact Study for the relocation of the trade show space to the airport as referenced in Recommendation 2 a) ii);

 

iii)    That a third-party, independent peer review of the Lansdowne Retail Market Demand and Impact Analysis produced by Tate Economic Research Inc. and the Market Research Study: Glebe Business Improvement Area Ottawa, Ont. produced by the Market Research Corporation be undertaken to determine whether or not the commercial component of the LPP is viable, is compatible with the desire to have destination specific retail and is complementary and supportive of the existing Bank Street retail business community;

iv)    That staff be directed to commence the Request for Expressions of Interest to the Proposal process for the construction, operation and finance of a Trade and Consumer Show facility in Ottawa as soon as possible and that any proposal from the Shenkman Corporation be received through the RFEOI process and that a Request for Proposals process be immediately commenced upon the successful completion of the RFEOI process, to be completed prior to Council’s June 2010 consideration; and

 

That staff be directed to commission a study to assess the following:

 

1)    Social value to community residents of a new trade and consumer show facility,

2)    Indirect economic benefits and value to local business to promote and grow their business,

3)    Direct economic benefits to the community and broader region from visitor spending by (new money to the community, jobs/employment),

4)  Development spin-off potential (e.g. hotels and other facilities, improved airport services)

5)    Review municipal investments practices in Trade and Consumer Show facilities.

6)   Other Benefits

 

v)        That the City Manager be directed to initiate a design competition for the design of the New water front park/front yard including the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, Horticultural Building and the Aberdeen Pavilion through the issuance of a request for interest and qualifications from groups with expertise and demonstrated qualifications to design unique public spaces from which a minimum of three groups and maximum of five groups will be invited by the Chair, Planning and Environment Committee, the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Parks Canada, on the advice of the Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel (as provided in Motion 1), to develop and submit design proposals for public review/comment; and

 

That the design competition process include a public consultation process to be developed jointly by the City Manager, the Strategic Design and Review Panel, the NCC and Parks Canada in accordance with the letter of understanding between the City and the NCC related to the design and programming for the New water front park/front yard; and

 

That the winning proposal be selected by a jury comprised of the Chair, Planning and Environment Committee, the chair of the Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel and a representative from each of the NCC and Parks Canada;

 

vi)      That staff work with the Central Canada Exhibition Association (CCEA) to assist them in completing the business and logistical plans necessary for the CCEA’s move to their property on Albion Road following the exhibition in 2010; and

 

vii)    That the negotiated project agreement framework be specific regarding any conditions and costs under which either party could choose to terminate the agreement prior to the commencement of construction, including the option to terminate the agreement for convenience at a predetermined cost. 

 

viii) That the City Manager be directed to establish a Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel for the development of a Master Site Plan for the Lansdowne Revitalization to be chaired by George Dark of Urban Strategies, one of Canada’s pre-eminent award winning urban planners/designers and two other prominent nationally renowned Canadian design professionals with experience in the revitalization of unique urban places with such members to be selected by the City Manager in consultation with George Dark and approved by the Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee and the Chair of the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee; and

 

That this panel play a critical role as set out below to define the urban design objectives for the three primary components of the Lansdowne revitalization (New water front park/front yard, stadium and the new development – commercial, residential, hotel, office), to ensure that the Master Site Plan and architectural plans to be developed will meet the highest possible design standards so as to have Lansdowne transformed into a unique and dynamic urban place that is integrated with and works well with its heritage features and larger urban context; as follows: 

 

§  Working with staff to develop broad design principles and guidelines for the three primary elements of the Lansdowne Revitalization to be reflected in the master site plan and in architectural plans to be developed for the Lansdowne Revitalization Program; 

§  Developing key design elements and direction, based on the broad design principles and guidelines developed as set out above, in partnership with the City, NCC and Parks Canada for a competitive process to design the New water front park/front yard including the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, the Horticultural Building and the Aberdeen Pavilion that will provide for programming and staging of various activities and events by the NCC, the City and other groups;

§  Participating with the NCC and Parks Canada in the review of submitted proposals and in the selection of the winning proposal to be incorporated as part of the Master Site Plan for consideration by Council;

§  Liaising with OSEG, the City and the Retail Market consultant to be retained as set out in Motion 3, if approved, to maintain open communications related to achieving retail strategy needs and urban design objectives;

§  Providing on-going third-party review, direction and advice to staff and the OSEG design team in the development of the Master Site Plan and architectural designs related to the stadium and new development components of the Lansdowne revitalization to ensure that they are responsive to the broad based design principles and guidelines developed by the panel and that all three primary components for the Lansdowne revitalization are integrated and will work together from design, programming and functional perspectives;

§  Providing independent third-party peer review of the final master plan and architectural plans and advice to Council on the final master site plan and architectural plans when Council considers the final Partnership Plan in June 2010; and

§  Recommending to Council detailed design guidelines for the Lansdowne revitalization to be implemented through the formal planning approvals;

 

And that an additional $600,000 be approved to be cost shared on a 50/50 basis between the City and OSEG ($300,000 each) to cover the costs associated with establishing a Design Review and Advisory Panel, retaining a specialty retail/festival market consultant and for ensuring that the public will be kept informed as the development program is further developed with an additional $375,000 being approved for the City to undertake a design competition for the New water front park/front yard and that will include a maximum $75,000 honorarium to be provided to each group that will be selected to provide design proposals for the New water front park/front yard to compensate these groups in part for the design work that they will undertake.

 

ix)    That the City Manager, in consultation with the Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel, retain a consultant with expertise in developing unique and specialty retail/festival market retailing strategies for unique urban places to work with the City Manager, the Design Review and Advisory Panel and OSEG to develop a retailing/commercial strategy that will define and clarify the vision for the commercial aspects of the Lansdowne revitalization (retail, office, hotel), and illustrate the unique aspects of each program group; and that, specifically for the retail components, the strategy demonstrate a program that will:

 

§  add to the quality of the public realm;

§  increase the unique destination and tourism attributes of the site;

§  profile the civic culture, character and resources of the City of Ottawa;

§  participate in the rejuvenation of Bank Street as a Traditional Mainstreet;

§  provide services, shops and opportunities for arts, culture and environmental awareness;

§  profile the agricultural prominence of the Ottawa region;

§  provide venues and retailing opportunities not found in the common marketplace in Ottawa;

 

And that the third-party independent peer review of the market Studies as set out in Recommendation 2 a) iii) be initiated only upon the completion of the retailing commercial strategy;

 

And that the retailing commercial strategy be included as part of the comprehensive agreement framework with OSEG that will be considered by Council;

 

And that the consultant conducting the third-party independent peer review consult with both parties, the Glebe BIA and OSEG and their consultants during the course of his/her review.

 

b)       That the estimated cost to complete the further development of the LPP as identified in this report be cost-shared between the City and the OSEG in accordance with the conditions and funding sources outlined in this report.

c)       That staff be directed to table a report to Council on the results of the negotiations and studies identified in Recommendation 2(a) at the first meeting in June 2010, for discussion at the second meeting in June 2010, for a final decision on the negotiated project agreement framework to implement the LPP.

d)        That staff be directed to report to Council as soon as possible should it become apparent during the study and negotiation process that any one of the outcomes identified in Recommendation 2(a) cannot be met.”

 

The purpose of this report is to provide information and associated recommendations regarding the project activities and related outcomes of Stage 1 of the LPP Implementation in the context of Council approvals given on 16 November 2009.

 

DISCUSSION

As described in more detail further on in this report, and itemized below, significant work has been undertaken to negotiate the project agreement framework and satisfy the conditions set out by Council on 16 November 2009.

·         On 4 June 2010, Nanos Research completed the “Lansdowne Design Proposal Feedback Report (Urban Park Design)”.

·         Staff are pursuing options for the Arts Court redevelopment project which includes the potential relocation of the Ottawa Art Gallery component to another site.  The OSEG is providing information to the City for consideration of a location at Lansdowne Park which will be included in a report to be considered by Council in July 2010.

 

Staff have concluded that the directions given by Council on 16 November 2010 have resulted in more and better information being made available for decision-making on all aspects of the implementation of the LPP.

 

More importantly, the directions by Council to:

 

·       establish the DRP,

·       have the DRP set out Guiding Principles for developing a Master Plan for Lansdowne, and, 

·       hold an international design competition for the Urban Park component,

 

have resulted in a wonderful opportunity for the City to integrate the equally creative and thoughtful designs for the two major components, being the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use development and the Urban Park, into a Lansdowne Master Plan and, ultimately, a Site Plan that can be implemented under the LPP.

 

As a result of fulfilling the conditions established by Council on 16 November 2009, and other actions described above, staff are now recommending that Council approve the Lansdowne Partnership Plan for implementation as set out in the Recommendations of this report on the basis of the information provided below.

 

Design Review Panel & Guiding Principles

On 16 November 2009, Council approved the appointment of a Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel for the development of a Master Site Plan for the Lansdowne revitalization. The Lansdowne Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel (DRP) includes three nationally renowned design professionals with experience and expertise in the revitalization of unique urban places.

The members of the DRP were selected in consultation with George Dark and were approved by Councillor Peter Hume, Chair of the Planning and Environment Committee and Councillor Rob Jellett, Chair of the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee. The panel consists of:

The DRP plays a critical role in defining the urban design objectives for the three primary components of the Lansdowne revitalization:

1.        New urban park that includes the Aberdeen Pavilion, the historical Horticulture Building and the Ottawa Farmers’ Market

2.        Stadium and Civic Centre Complex

3.        New Urban Mixed-Use development (retail, office, hotel, and residential development)

The role of the Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel is to:

·      Develop in collaboration with the City, NCC, Parks Canada and OSEG, broad design principles and guidelines for the Lansdowne redevelopment

·      Develop in consultation with the City, NCC and Parks Canada, key design elements and directions for the design competition for the front yard (including the Farmers’ Market, the Horticulture Building and the Aberdeen Pavilion) as directed by Council

·      Participate with the City, NCC and Parks Canada in the review of responses to the Request for Expressions of Interest and Qualifications for the front yard design competition and in the selection of the winning design

·      Participate in the development of the retail strategy

·      Provide a third-party design review, direction and advice in the development of the Master Site Plan for the commercial and stadium elements of the revitalization as these are developed by OSEG

·      Provide independent third-party review of the final Master Site Plan and architectural plans to Council when it considers the final plan in June 2010, and

·      Develop detailed design guidelines to be implemented as part of the planning approvals that would be initiated after June 2010

 

In January 2010, The DRP prepared a set of Guiding Principles to provide an important frame of reference for the master plan development and its various components. These principles were developed in collaboration with the National Capital Commission, Parks Canada, the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), as directed by Ottawa Council.

 

The Guiding Principles are as follows:

 

A.         Capital and City Context

·      Design the site to be an authentic, integrated and unique element of the fabric of the city and capital region that reflects and embraces the site’s history as a significant gathering and meeting place. Lansdowne will accommodate a variety of ongoing activities and events on a year-round basis related to both capital and city events having a cultural, lifestyle and sport focus.

·      Design to create a place that will be part of the local and larger community and provide a unique urban experience for all users and a wide variety of visitors.

·      Design the site to capitalize on its unique location along the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site (capital experience) with opportunities for the public to freely access and experience the site and capitalize on its unique location along the Bank Street corridor (civic experience) as the gateway to the Glebe and Old Ottawa South.

·      Respect the 30-metre buffer zone as an area where great care and attention is to be given for any changes to ensure the universal values of the World Heritage site are not adversely impacted or diminished.

·      Design Lansdowne to become a landmark feature along the canal and QED corridor (like Dow’s lake and Confederation Park). Design the site to exhibit porosity and connectivity with its urban context (the canal, Holmwood and Bank) recognizing existing land-use patterns and circulation routes (pedestrians, cyclists and vehicular).

·      Establish an “address” on all its sides; and

·      Explore the possibility of a pedestrian bridge connection over the canal from the Lansdowne area, such as at Fifth Avenue to Old Ottawa East.

 

 

B.         The Overall Site

 

·       Design to showcase and increase public understanding of the significant places associated with this site, namely the Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Aberdeen Pavilion National Historic Site of Canada.

·       Design to reflect the site as a public urban park with various elements including the stadium, new mixed-use buildings and other elements (sculptures, bandshells, fountains, etc.) that create unique experiences and lasting memories of the place.

·       Design to reflect the site’s agrarian and festival roots.

·       Design the site to have a high quality public realm environment that is pedestrian focused.

·       Integrate the baseball park as part of the larger civic open space agenda for the site.

·       Design to be responsive to how users approaching the site (car, boat, walk, cycle) will perceive and be welcomed into the site.

·       Design for winter city considerations and celebration of the winter city.

·       Place a significant emphasis on architecture and materiality.

·       Place a significant emphasis on the landscape of the region.

·       Explore the use of a water element, either pastoral or urban, which can also accommodate storm water management requirements for the overall site.

·       Ensure that a significant area in the urban park allows for events and festivals and provides and integrates enough hard surface for marshalling and staging areas (trucks, vans, cars) for these events; and

·       Define the boundaries clearly but anticipate and allow for overlap between the urban park and OSEG in both landscape language and potential mix of program (i.e. similar landscape elements, bench lighting, as well as use “restaurant in the park” or fountains in the retail). Allow for variance between the below-grade boundary and the above to account for below-grade connections and infrastructure.

 

C.         Sustainability

 

·      Seek a high level of sustainable design

·      Pursue LEED requirements as a singular mandate (front lawn and OSEG combined)

·      Transformation offers a unique opportunity to showcase sustainable design principles, achieve LEED certification, for Ottawa

·      A comprehensive solution for the site with its wide variety of urban form and uses

·      Elements/components to be considered for site include:

o    Sustainable site design

o    Redevelopment of “brownfield”

o    Reduction/removal of parking

o    Stormwater conservation with innovation in quality (e.g. bio-swales) and quantity solutions

o    Conservation of materials, existing buildings, resources

o    Alternative energy and energy-efficient measures

o    Sustainable urban parks for year-round activities

o    Transportation solution, alternative to fuel-dependent vehicles

o    Locally produced foods and goods

o    Water conservation and water quality, and

o    Ensure intensity of mixed use

·      Opportunity to celebrate and educate residents, users, and visitors on water - a most precious resource.

 

D.      The Site Components

 

a) Front Lawn (including Heritage Buildings and Farmers’ Market)

i) Urban Park

·       Design a sustainable urban park with spaces for programming year-round activities and events and for impromptu community activities.

·       Acknowledge the QED as a heritage element and retain its soft landscape environment with this environment extending into the new open space.

·       Design the front lawn to work with and showcase the site’s built and functional heritage. Design the front lawn to be the door to the Rideau Canal and to be part of the Canal Capital experience. Introduce water features that will reflect the historical extension of the canal into the site and create dynamic places with water features also supporting recreational/use programming.

·       Work with Parks Canada towards meeting the UNESCO suggestions for improving the adjacent visual relationship to and from the canal.

·       Design to provide a porous entrance from the canal, extend the park experience to the canal edge, provide docking facilities within the canal and boat access to Lansdowne, and provide a pause point – a lobby to the canal from Lansdowne and from the canal to Lansdowne.

·       Reconsider the relationship of the QED to Lansdowne to better integrate the pedestrian realm with the canal environment and improve pedestrian links directly from the canal edge into Lansdowne, broadening opportunities for experiences along the canal.

·       Maintain the integrity of the existing alignment, shape and channel form of the Rideau Canal.

·       Provide for an interpretation element for the canal and for the Algonquin First Nation to reflect the history of the canal and the Algonquin culture and relationship with the Rideau waterway.

·       Acknowledge the QED as a heritage element and retain its pastoral landscaped environment with this environment extending into the open space; and

·       Define a program of infrastructure which will enable Lansdowne to be the logical focal point for Ottawa’s many festivals.

ii) Farmers’ Market

iii) Aberdeen and Horticulture

b) New Development

 

c) Stadium and Arena Revitalization

 

d) Integration of Components

 

E.       Programming

Urban Park Design Competition

A.      Overview of Process

Council voted on 16 November 2009, to initiate a design competition for the design of a new Urban Park at Lansdowne based on the Guiding Principles established by the DRP. The design competition includes the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, Horticulture Building and the Aberdeen Pavilion as components of the Urban Park. The City issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) inviting groups with expertise and demonstrated qualifications to design unique public spaces to respond.

The design competition includes a public consultation process developed by the City, the Strategic Design and Review Panel, the NCC and Parks Canada in accordance with the letter of understanding between the City and the NCC related to the design and programming for the new waterfront park and front lawn.

B.       The Design Firms

On 19 February 2010, the City released the names of five firms who were invited to compete for the design of Lansdowne Park’s open space.

After receiving 21 submissions, the short-listed firms are:

o    Michael Van Valkenburgh – Principal, Team Leader

o    Partnered with: Greenberg Consultants, Shim-Shutcliffe Architects, Harboe Architects, MMM Group (Ottawa), Uhlir Consulting, James Carpenter Design Associates, Applied Ecological Services, Golder Associates (Ottawa office)

o    Greg Smallberg – Principal in Charge, Team Leader

o    Partnered with: Julian Smith & Associates (Ottawa), Stantec Engineers (Ottawa office), Jill Anholt Studio

o    Cinda Gilliland – Principal, Team Leader

o    Partnered with: Corush Sunderland Wright (Ottawa), The ARCOP Group, J.L. Richards & Associates (Ottawa), WESA (Ottawa), BuildGreen Solutions, CMS Collaborative Inc., ETM Associates LLC, PHA Lighting Design, Ned Kahn

o    Adriaan Geuze – Principal, Design Director

o    Partnered with: Robertson Martin Architects Inc., The Municipal Infrastructure Group (TMIG), Halsall Associates (Ottawa office)

o    Malaka Ackaoui – Partner, Team Leader

o    Partnered with: Éclairage Public Inc., Michel Dallaire Design Industriel Inc., Les Architectes FABG, Vinci Consultants, Linda Covit

 

C.       The Design Symposium

On 24 February 2010, agencies and community groups with an interest in the design competition for a new Urban Park provided briefings to the design firms selected to compete for the right to plan the new park. The design firms also introduced themselves and made presentations on their backgrounds and similar projects elsewhere.

 

D.      The Proposed Urban Park Designs

On 19 May 2010, the five firms invited to compete for the design of the Urban Park submitted their designs. In keeping with the requirement for anonymity, the submissions have been labelled A, B, C, D and E. The five designs are posted on the City’s website (www.ottawa.ca) and were also on display at various locations across the city from May 20 to 30, 2010.

Residents were able to provide their comments on the proposed designs until May 31. The feedback received was reviewed, coded and grouped for statistical analysis purposes by Nanos Research and forwarded to the City for review by the DRP, City Council, NCC, Parks Canada Agency and the Jury for the Urban Park Design Competition. In keeping with the requirement for anonymity, the submissions have been labelled A, B, C, D and E.

E.   The Jury Decision

On 8 June 2010, after consideration of, and deliberations on, the five design proposals, the Jury selected the proposal by Team B as the winning proposal. This proposal was submitted by landscape architects Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg, in partnership with conservation architect Julian Smith. The jury unanimously endorsed this as a strong proposal but expressed the need for a number of changes.

The Jury has agreed that, with this landscape plan, Lansdowne can become a public park that brings an important meeting place to the historic Rideau Canal and that the plan brings the enormity of the site to a human scale and provides a multitude of people places that will support a wide variety of casual and ceremonial events.

The Jury particularly commends the Farmers’ Square and Great Lawn.

In keeping with the objective to protect the values of the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site, and to preserve unimpeded navigation, the Jury does not endorse an island in the Rideau Canal. However, the Jury admires the program proposed for the reversible island and the significant reference to First Nations culture and heritage. The Jury considers the program to be an important part of the scheme and should be incorporated elsewhere. In so doing, it would add to the complexity of a canal-side park through an important interpretive program of Canada’s First Nations.

The proposed floating docks are positive uses which the Jury feels could be larger and more expansive, for example, to include small boat launching and boat tie up and to maximize the availability of the docking and boardwalks, the facilities should be tight to the canal wall.  

The Jury highly commends the proposed cistern as an imaginative, contemporary and environmentally sustainable way of dealing with site stormwater, while maximizing greenspace.  

The Jury supports a pedestrian bridge as a necessary and desirable piece of infrastructure, which would allow a link from Ottawa East to Lansdowne Park. However, the location of the bridge shown in this concept is not endorsed by the Jury for several reasons including its impact on the experiential qualities of the Great Lawn and the Aberdeen Pavilion as seen from a number of viewpoints.  The Jury understands that an environmental assessment for a bridge crossing is being scoped in the vicinity of Lansdowne. The Jury recommends that any bridge spanning the Rideau Canal be the subject of a significant design process and technical review to ensure the same level of success as the Corkstown Bridge.

In recognition of the significant plantings that thrive along the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, the Jury notes the need for careful consideration of this existing plant material and the character of the plantings.  The Jury invites the analysis and rationalization of the existing plantings as part of the refinement of the Vision Plan.  This refinement should explore opportunities for retention and transplanting of the significant plant material throughout the site.

The Jury views the proposed public art as a thoughtful and exciting aspect of the proposal. The proposed art pieces will enhance the park experience and the concepts for each piece will be refined as the plan evolves.  The Jury notes the need to take into account existing art pieces and commemorations already within the grounds, and to incorporate them into the park.

The Jury also notes that the plan connects to and respects both the local neighbourhood and the wider community.  While all the elements of the existing community park are retained, the Jury is of the opinion that the design successfully adapts and expands these elements. The Jury appreciates and respects the community’s interest in and concern for its park; considers future involvement a valid and essential filter for the redesign, refinement or expansion of the public park; and recommends that this aspect of the proposal be subject to extensive community involvement and discussion.     

The Jury notes that driving surfaces that directly link the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to the stadium or mixed-use area have the potential to compromise the integrity of the park and the relationships created by the park design. The Jury cautions that all such connections be further considered.

The submission includes two options for the park design. The option chosen by the Jury leaves the Horticulture Building in situ and converts it into a commercial retail building including an addition to the north/east side for ground-floor retail. The scheme brings additional housing along Holmwood Avenue. The winning configuration includes the Farmers’ Square and a magnificent opportunity to view the north wall of the Aberdeen Pavilion. 

The Jury stresses the importance of the City, its partners, and OSEG quickly undertaking a dialogue with the winning team and working towards the implementation of the first three elements of the park’s program. The Passerelle and the island are not to be pursued.  The Jury also encourages, throughout the implementation process, that educational and other partnerships be sought to enhance the urban agriculture uses and vocation of the site.

The Jury recognizes that the scheme is significant in terms of matching resources to phasing.  This will require study. The Jury is unanimous in strongly recommending this plan as the founding concept to create and structure a valuable and important civic place.

Stadium, Arena and Urban Mixed-Use Components

 

OSEG appointed the architectural firm of Hobin, Brisbin, and Cannon (the HBC Team) to be the architectural team to undertake the design of the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use components of the LPP with the goal of creating a vibrant urban space that reflects Lansdowne’s long history as a city, regional and national meeting place as contemplated in the Guiding Principles established by the DRP for the development of a Master Park for Lansdowne Park.

 

In this regard, the HBC Team relied heavily upon the direction given in the DRP’s Guiding Principles, the heritage input provided by Commonwealth Heritage Management Resources Ltd., the retail marketing strategy input from the J.C. Williams Group, and the combined development expertise of, and direction from, the OSEG members.

HBC Team has completed the conceptual designs for the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use components of the LPP and these designs, as shown in Document 5 of this report, were made public on 27 May 2010.

The designs respect the 150-year history of the site creating a lively urban space which fits into its surrounding neighbourhood. The HBC Team has worked hard to create a design that respects the Guiding Principles established by the DRP and which creates a mixed-use destination where people can live, work and play and that will re-establish Lansdowne Park as a premier Ottawa gathering place.

The design includes:

·      A refurbished Frank Clair Stadium for CFL football, professional soccer, university and community sporting level events, or concerts, featuring a wooden veil that would reflect Ottawa’s history as a lumber town.

·      An expansion of the Glebe’s grid street system into Lansdowne to accommodate a mix of commercial space, residential development and public squares.

·      The Horticulture Building is given a prominent and historically significant location on the east side of the Aberdeen Pavilion, within Lansdowne’s new urban park, where it could become the site of the Ottawa Farmers’ Market and the location of a Parks Canada Agency interpretation centre for the Rideau Canal.

 

 

The Stadium

 

The design for the stadium enhances both the history and the identity of the site along the Rideau Canal. The result is a stadium in the park.

 

The south stands are conceived of as emerging from the park by using a landscaped berm from the current elevation at the Queen Elizabeth Driveway to align with Bank Street. The berm, or terraced park, forms the edge of the stadium and contains the lower seating of the new south stands. The berm reduces the total visible height of the stadium. Wooden frames rise from the top of the berm to create the cover for the stadium. These frames are designed to create a space that the public can walk through -- areas that are both in the park and in the stadium at the same time.

 

The concourse level begins with a plaza on Bank Street and continues east around the stadium, descending as it merges with the urban park or front lawn and returning along the north side stands of the stadium to Bank Street. The concourse is a public space, accessible at all times so that people can cycle, walk or jog from the Glebe through to the Rideau Canal.

 

On the north side, the structural frames are enhanced. The existing flat metal roof will be removed and replaced by a new translucent roof to match the south side.

 

Key elements:

 

The Civic Centre Arena Revitalization

 

Key elements:

·      Renovation includes structural, roof and exterior design

·      Anticipated construction start and completion dates: May 2011 - March 2012

·      No schedule disruptions to the Ottawa 67’s anticipated

·      Improved access with a new elevator and stair system, providing more direct access from the main concourse

·      Upgraded mechanical and electrical systems, including new low-flow plumbing fixtures to reduce water usage and the installation of energy-efficient lighting throughout the arena and stadium

 

The Commercial District: The Urban Mixed-Use Precinct

 

The design of the retail at Lansdowne is critical to its success. The design for the commercial area continues along the urban grid of the surrounding area as an organizational device. By creating laneways and courtyards to bring the feel of the neighbourhood into the site, the current design provides:

 

 

Key elements:

 

Residential

 

The integration of public amenities, meeting places, open spaces and residential will help create a unique urban village catering to local residents and visitors.

 

Key elements:

 

Onsite Parking

 

The proposed parking design for the Lansdowne site includes at minimum, about 1,230 on-site parking spots to support the planned commercial and dedicated parking for the residential.  This satisfies by-law requirements for day-to-day uses and activities associated with the development of Lansdowne Park.

 

Key elements:

Open Spaces

 

 

The HBC Team met with the DRP on several occasions through the development of the designs, and a final submission package regarding this design was forwarded to the DRP in June 2010 for review and evaluation.

The DRP evaluated the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use designs on 7 June 2010 and determined that the HBC Team designs are in keeping with the Guiding Principles established by the DRP.  The DRP is recommending that the designs be further advanced with careful attention to integrating these designs with those for the Urban Park and that particular attention be given to the “overlap area” between the existing site of the Horticulture Building and the area north of the Aberdeen Pavilion.  A copy of the DRP’s report to Council with the details of their evaluation of the HBC Team designs is attached as Document 6 of this report.

 

Based on the information and recommendations contained in the final reports from the Jury and the DRP, staff has set out a recommended strategy for achieving the design improvements to, and integration of, the designs for the Stadium and Mixed-Use components with those of the Urban Park in the following “Master Plan Implementation Strategy and Quality Control” section of this report

 

The Design Review Panel’s Report – “The Lansdowne Park Revitalization - June 7th 2010” is provided below:

 

“On June 4th, the Design Review Panel members received a bound document that presented the plans for the mixed use and stadium redevelopment at Lansdowne.

 

The Design Review Panel also understands that there were no landscape architects involved in the creation of the package submitted and understands it is the intention of the City to add the landscape architects from the successful park design scheme to the design team to develop concepts for the public realm portions of the mixed use, retail and stadium components of Lansdowne Park. The Panel understands that this is a future process that will add detail to the OSEG schemes as they are presented in the June 4th submission package. Flowing from the Guiding Principles for the Lansdowne Transformation, January 2010, the following development objectives were the focus of discussion between the OSEG project architects and the DRP for the Master Plan of Lansdowne Park:

 

1. Extend the neighbouring pattern of streets and blocks and the associated multiple building, mixed use context into the retail development site allowing for both pedestrian and vehicular access, and below-grade and on-street parking. The site should be walkable, pedestrian friendly and fully supportive of transit as a primary feature of site access.

 

2. Establish a minimum 2 storey retail podium to maintain an urban profile across the site. Where possible integrate retail, educational, cultural or other uses at grade or on the second floor or upper floors to create a lively mixed use program.

 

3. Integrate a revitalized stadium into the site with particular emphasis on creating: adjacent public spaces that accommodate and service the large numbers of spectators anticipated; include a pedestrian route from the urban park to Bank Street to allow public access through the stadium on non-event days. The stadium should become a part of the park able to accept a wide range of uses beyond the defined event days.

 

4. Intensify urban life along the east side of Bank Street with active bases of retail frontage, with hotel/residential and commercial office uses above to return this face of the site to an urban context. Bank Street is to be considered the most appropriate location for the tallest non stadium structures on the site.

 

5. Create a servicing and parking plan for the site that minimizes the conflict between pedestrians and vehicles and emphasizes the continuity and enhancement of the ‘public realm’ by providing significant parking and loading below grade and convenience and limited short term parking above grade.

 

6. Create the building framework for a retail plan for the development that serves both the local and the wider Ottawa community with a mix of smaller local shops and larger destination stores, with emphasis on the local farmers’ market and the service requirements of the sports venues

 

7. Maximize the effectiveness of and, if possible, improve on the view corridors to the existing heritage buildings and the Rideau Canal.

 

8. Develop a mid-rise residential concept with housing units at grade along Holmwood to both complement the existing residential, and to maintain the neighbourhood character of this street while demonstrating successful inner city urban intensification.

 

9. The public realm of the development site should be an extension of the winning Lansdowne Park design, in terms of the continuity and quality of exterior landscape spaces, street and building lighting, material quality of paving and curbs, and street furniture. Anticipate that the winner of the park competition will work closely with the OSEG team to develop the landscape plan and the public realm of the entire site.

 

The submission received June 4th, in concept, is greatly improved from the plans submitted to Council in the summer of 2009, issued as Lansdowne Live, and to the opening ideas first presented to the Design Review Panel by the present design team in early January of 2010. The concept presents the framework of an urban place that will be made stronger by the addition of the urban park concept and the public realm design and is worthy of further refinement and technical study. In consideration of moving forward with these refinements the Design Review Panel puts forward considerations and changes that must be undertaken by the project both in terms of conceptual development and  process.

1. Sustainability

 

A detailed and comprehensive sustainability strategy and review process, with specific references to the stadium and mixed-use area and the urban park, should be considered an absolute starting point for the detailed development of the plan and inform all aspects of the design.

 

2. Programming

 

While at one level the submission is for the physical dimension of the city, the Design Review Panel cautions that the programming of this site is equally important to the physical structures, and a better understanding of programming aspects must inform any further design development

 

3. Parking, loading, servicing, access to and function of below grade areas

 

The Design Review Panel supports the location of parking and service functions below grade to create an urban plan. The Design Review Panel also notes that detailed resolution of all underground spaces is critical to their proper functioning specifically as below grade areas will be accessed through the public realm; resolution of the underground areas is also critical to the success of the public realm and detailed understanding of the location, scale and operation of the ways to gain access to below grade facilities is critical. These access points if not carefully studied and reviewed can be very detrimental to the quality of the public space. The OSEG submission included a single conceptual plan A1-01, illustrating below grade areas. In that plan the OSEG proposal appears to have the following five access points to below grade parking:

 

1. Access via ramps built into the street within the central travel way of Bank Street. In the submission there is no detailed information or drawings of these ramps, nor a design proposal for Bank Street redesigned for transit purposes. This feature will be very prominent and visually dominant to the street and must be reviewed from a total design standpoint before concluding this feature should be part of the proposal and move to design development.

 

2. Access points internal to the site to underground parking servicing and loading. There appear to be several large and small ramps, loading and service areas on the various plans. There is no detailed description of the plan for access and servicing and, in particular, servicing of the stadium. As they will have a profound effect on the operation of the facilities and on an intense pedestrian environment, each of these servicing and loading areas will need a much higher level of detail to be certified.

 

3. Access from the QED, through the park to an underground entrance and then continuing into the mixed use site. The Design Review Panel notes that access to the below grade parking from the Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED) is subject to review and resolution with the design team of the urban park and the National Capital Commission.

 

4. Access from the QED adjacent to the Bank Street bridge through an extended driveway parallel to the QED to a service and drop off court. There are several depictions of this in the package including several renderings of the stadium with a large wall and service area in this location. The Design Review Panel does not support any of the various versions, in the package, of the parallel driveway along the length of the QED or a large exposed loading area in this location. These should be removed from the plans.

                                                                                                                                                       

5. Access from Holmwood Avenue. There is a ramp shown on Holmwood in the centre of the second building that does not show on the underground plan. The ramp shows up in the first building in the detailed sections of the Holmwood part of the package. This feature, its location and design will need confirmation and study.

 

4. Public Realm Design

 

The Design Review Panel notes that the public realm is notionally addressed in the OSEG package, although the distinction between public and private outdoor areas is often unclear. This public realm must be more fully considered and explained. The Panel also notes that the concept for the urban park design is to be extended into the stadium and mixed-use area. The Design Review Panel proposes that the winning design team from the urban park competition be charged with creating the design for public spaces, streetscape and intermediate spaces in the mixed-use and stadium areas of the plan.

 

The panel also advises that the park design team should detail the cross sections and conceptual design of the three primary east-west “streets” through the site; these are: Holmwood Avenue, the connection from Bank Street to the Horticulture Building and the connection from Bank Street to the Aberdeen Pavilion in the OHT defined easement and view line. The same design study is required of Bank Street with a special emphasis put on how the design can co-ordinate and reinforce the entire Bank Street retail zone, of which this site will be a part. Each of these streets needs to be detailed to reflect the nature of their function, how pedestrian systems work and the streetscape and landscape elements of the plan.

 

The Panel notes that the design of the Bank Street to Aberdeen connection, in particular, must take into consideration the appropriate visual and physical width and the OHT easements to achieve an attractive and functional pedestrian realm and the important views to the Aberdeen Pavilion.

 

The Panel notes that the development area will be on top of an underground parking structure and the extensive use of street trees in planters be exchanged for in ground street trees with proper technology and structural implications to support full street trees on a slab condition.

 

5. Heritage

 

The plan suggests encroachment into the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) easements and view corridors west of the Aberdeen Pavilion. The Panel understands that these changes will be discussed at length with the OHT, but feels the intent of these encroachments is not well communicated in the plan to illustrate how the Bank to Aberdeen space is supposed to feel and function. The Panel is aware this is a primary route to and from both the stadium and hockey facility and the main entry to the park from Bank Street. It is the crush space and outdoor lobby for the multi-use stadium complex. The Aberdeen Pavilion must also be allowed to maintain a strong presence on Bank Street. As such the Panel believes that the space north of the stadium, leading to the Aberdeen should be broader, that is to be more a plaza than a street. The panel feels specific and detailed design exploration of this space in concert with the OHT discussions is required to determine the ROW width and character of this main public space.

 

The Panel has reviewed the issue of the relocation of the Horticulture Building. From time to time in this process, the Horticulture Building has been proposed in- situ, moved to a completely different location in the park and angled and reduced to a smaller building. The Horticulture Building is a designated City of Ottawa asset and the Panel does not propose reduction of the building in any way. Through the evidence of Mr. John Stewart, the project’s heritage consultant, the Panel has been given an explanation that if the building is to move there is only one location possible, that being in the exact mirror location with relation to the Aberdeen Pavilion, preserving the existing 90 degree relationship and distance separation with the east wall. The heritage impact of this move must be assessed and certified by the appropriate process. The Design Review Panel only supports relocation to the exact specifications set out by Mr. Stewart upon successful completion of the heritage impact assessment.

 

The Panel, in very strong terms, suggests the Horticulture Building receive an allocation of resources significant to ensure its integrity and usefulness into the next century. The reworking, adaptive reuse, architectural modifications, restoration and programming of the Horticulture Building should be a separate design undertaking put in the hands of seasoned building restoration and adaptive reuse design professionals.

 

The Panel notes that while significant attention is paid to the east and west facades of the Aberdeen Pavilion, the north and south facades are visually much more grand in scale and complex architecturally. The plan for both the urban park and the mixed use area should consider how to take much more advantage of these building faces. The Panel is of the view that the relocation of the Horticulture Building opens possibilities for an open space on the north side of the Aberdeen Pavilion that would achieve this goal.

 

6. The Overlap Area

 

The Panel’s review of the ‘Overlap Area’ and specifically the parcels labelled D, E and F reveals that this portion of the site requires further thinking and a much stronger design concept. The Panel advises that the design of the Overlap Area be undertaken by the OSEG team and urban park design team working in concert. The design discussion must consider the location of the Horticulture Building and the importance of the location and position of the Farmers Market or similar large outdoor multi-function area in the Overlap Area.

 

The Panel has a concern that the single storey restaurants in Block F, the single story retail in Block E and the two floors of retail in Block D are too deep in the site, away from Bank Street and away from the retail core to sustain successful uses. The Panel feels that the single storey buildings crowd both the Aberdeen and the Horticulture buildings; these heritage buildings form such an important focal point in the plan. The generic nature of the development proposal seems weak and does not create a strong relationship between the two historic walls. The Panel also suggests that the cinema, both as a building and as a use play more significantly into the total concept for this area. The Panel suggests that the retail areas in Block F, Block E and Block D could be deployed within the retail core to strengthen the program and space in Block G or T to strengthen Bank Street.

 

The Panel recommends thought be given to the nature of the Holmwood streetscape right up to the relocated Horticulture Building and does not agree that retail should occur at the neighbourhood end of the street fronting onto Holmwood.

 

7. Architecture

 

The Panel endorses the use of signature buildings on Bank Street but notes these structures shown in the plan have not been designed to a landmark status at this time. As prominent visual markers in the city and as significant view items from the Rideau Canal and at the head of the Bank Street Bridge this would be an absolute requirement. Similarly, the complete concept of creating a mid rise residential street on the south side of Holmwood with an appropriate streetscape will require additional detail.

 

8. Stadium

 

The Panel has always supported the idea of a stadium in the park; this concept must be sustained as the plans evolve. The Panel highlights the value of the field space as programmable City event space and notes that public pedestrian access to and through the stadium should be part of the design and operation of the stadium.

 

The Panel notes that significant design integration between the urban park and the stadium will be required.

 

Servicing of and access to the stadium are critical components that require further analysis and resolution. The Panel notes that a major servicing function adjacent to/ under Bank Street Bridge, in the vicinity of the QED, should not occur.

 

The Panel endorses the addition of a base building to the north side of the stadium but suggests further study on the design of that building and the contribution that it would make to the street. The substantial encroachment into the view corridor is not endorsed and optional retail depths should be reviewed.

 

9. Relationship to the Lansdowne Urban Park

 

The Panel emphasizes the importance of a contiguous park area and stresses that the park is not to be used as a temporary parking lot for stadium events.

 

 

 

 

 

10. Additional Residential Development

 

The mixed-use portion of the site, in particular adjacent to Bank Street, could support additional residential development. This could, for example, take the form of a second tower well presented on Block H or additional height on the interior blocks.

 

The Panel did not undertake discussion on the form or tenure of the housing. This is an important program component that will affect the design of the buildings and the specific units. A housing statement is required.

 

11. Ottawa Art Gallery

 

The proposed location of the Ottawa Art Gallery included in the submission package is unclear. The Panel stresses that this function be in a highly visible and accessible location on site and not be located exclusively below grade or spread across multiple areas of the site. The Panel does not support the use of the Aberdeen Pavilion for the OAG, as building a fully functional gallery would greatly diminish the experience of the building and remove the ‘Great room of Ottawa’.

 

12. Retail uses

 

The submission package includes a ground floor and second floor plan which indicates a wide variety of spaces of all sizes can be made available in a wide variety of locations in the plan. Uses are indicated as generic and no specific users are identified at this time to access their character.

 

The Panel notes a cultural use on the second floor of Block B, but the use is unspecified. Details on this should be developed and it should not be removed from the plan. It would be beneficial for a cultural use, if intended for the upper level, to have a small footprint at the ground floor to provide access and identity.

 

The retail plan does not extend the full length of Bank Street and stops at the north stands of the stadium. The Panel suggests that a full retail plan of Bank Street and the entire mixed use area is required.

 

13. Public Art

 

Notional public art suggestions are included throughout the document. The Panel recommends a comprehensive public art strategy and proposal developed.

 

The Design Review Panel recommends that Council receive this report and make the suggestions contained within it an active and required part of the approval of the Lansdowne Master Plan.

 

Going forward the process should also include:

 

1. The articulation of the process to address the details and further design refinements and redirections required to make a comprehensive development application.

 

2. The creation of a unified, integrated project team (with engineers and technical specialist consultants, etc.) with a full definition of the roles and responsibilities to the project.

 

3. The additional of a strategy and the associated personnel to advance the programming of the site to a level it can inform the design team.

 

4. A formalized method, procedures and conventions for an ongoing design review function with an expanded Panel to include sustainability, engineering, public art and public space program expertise.

 

5. A public consultation, information and outreach program, specifically with the BIA, on the integration of this site into the BIA and the associated changes to the design of Bank Street.

 

6. These steps should be completed before the submission of development applications.”

 

Master Plan Implementation Strategy and Quality Control

 

The Master Plan includes the physical development program, retailing strategy, mix of uses, activity programming, transportation strategy, etc. There will be an initial implementation of the Master Plan through phased site plan approvals and consistent with the dynamic nature of urban environments, there will be a need to accommodate refinements, adjustments and changes to respond to new and changing conditions and requirements.  It is important that the initial implementation and future changes that will occur remain responsive to the overarching directions for Lansdowne to be a unique and dynamic place within the City and Capital region.  There is also a need to assess and review the overarching directions on a regular basis and to make adjustments if warranted, to ensure that they remain relevant in the context of broader changing conditions.  An implementation strategy, therefore, needs to be established that provides direction for the elements needed for the initial implementation and a framework and process for future changes and adjustments over time.

 

Elements of the Implementation Strategy and Quality Control

 

·      Guiding Principles – set overall framework and high-level directions that are reflected in the Master Plan and define the overarching directions and intent for the Lansdowne transformation that is to be sustained into the future.

·      Master Plan – integrates the park design and stadium and mixed-use plans and reflects overall design direction and intent consistent with the guiding principles to serve as the frame of reference for the more detailed design and programming to be reflected and accommodated through the site plans and architectural plans to be approved for the development.

·      Design Refinement Process/Guidelines – sets out more detailed directions for the process to be followed to further develop and refine the Master Plan through the formal site plan approval process for the initial implementation that will continue to build  on the Guiding Principles and through which more detailed determinations related to architecture, materials, public realm, built form, sustainability, etc. would be reflected on the site plans to achieve the initial implementation.

·      Supporting Strategy Documents – retail, programming, transportation, etc.

·      Formalized Urban Design Review: 

o   Continuation of DRP through the Site Plan approval process for initial implementation

o   Review by City Design Review Panel of future physical changes/adjustments

·      Governance body (MSC) that will provide overall project quality control related to all future changes and adjustments by:

o    Overseeing and ensuring that the framework and process for future changes and adjustments over time set out in the project agreements are respected – elements to be addressed include:

§  Design review function to ensure consistency with design principles

§  Use changes to ensure consistency with retail strategy

§  Programming of open spaces

§  Transportation system operations consistent with Transportation strategy and implementation of TDM

o   Ensuring that ongoing monitoring and assessments and five-year reviews are  undertaken

·      Ongoing monitoring/assessment of implementation and changes over time to facilitate regular five-year reviews to ensure guidelines, various strategies, etc. continue to be responsive to needs and changing conditions and provide for adjustments as required to ensure they remain relevant and continue to serve effectively for guiding decisions on changes/adjustments.

·      Project agreements that set out the framework and process for future changes and adjustments over time.

 

Initial Implementation Process

 

The initial implementation sets the overall framework for ensuring the intentions related to the Lansdowne revitalization will be realized.  The framework will also serve as the frame of reference for assessing future changes and adjustments. The following identifies the key elements of the Initial implementation:

 

·      Directions/recommendations by the DRP for Design Refinement Processes/Guidelines – to be approved by Council.

·      DRP is working with the Winning Park Design Team and Hobin, Brisbin and Cannon (HBC) to integrate Park Design and Mixed-Use and Stadium Plans into one Master Plan – Master Plan will serve as the basis along with the directions/guidelines for the more detailed design development to be determined through the formal site plan approval process that will provide for detailed design approval for the site and for the architectural plans.

·      Development of project agreement(s) setting out requirements and obligations to ensure that the Lansdowne revitalization in its initial implementation and over time, will remain responsive to the guiding principles and design framework established through the Master Plan.

·      Establishment of the Governance body (MSC) and obligations to provide overall project quality control over time (physical changes, programming, etc.).

·      DRP review of final Site Plan and architectural plans prior to approvals.

 

Framework and Process for Future Changes and Adjustments

 

The elements associated with the initial implementation process set the frame of reference for assessing future changes and for making adjustments over time. The process for dealing with these would be formalized as part of formal development approvals or through the governance body where the changes/adjustments are not captured through a formal planning approval.  The governance body would also be responsible for ongoing monitoring and regular review of the initial frame of reference and where modifications/adjustments are required; these would be subject to City Council approvals.

 

·    Future physical changes that reflect modifications to the initially-approved Site Plan and architectural plans will require formal approval through the revised Site Plan approval process.  These will be subject to design review through the City’s design review process prior to approval being given for the changes. 

 

·      Design review and assessment of future changes requiring revised site plan approvals will be informed by Guiding Principles, the design directions and intentions reflected in the Master Plan and the design guidelines.

 

·      Use changes and programming and changes/adjustments not subject to a formalized approval process, will be subject to review and acceptance by the governance body to ensure they are consistent with the Guiding Principles, Master Plan directions and intentions and strategic directions documents approved as part of the initial approval (Retail strategy, Transportation strategy, etc.) and as may be adjusted over time to respond to changes conditions/requirements through the five-year reviews that will be undertaken. 

 

·      Adjustments/modifications required to the overarching frame of reference that guides determinations on future changes determined through the regular five-year reviews will be subject to Council review and approval.

 

 

Heritage Studies and Impacts

 

The LPP provides the opportunity to maintain Lansdowne Park’s traditional function as a sports and public gathering place while at the same time focusing on the city’s architectural heritage through the continued preservation of the Aberdeen Pavilion and the restoration of the Horticulture Building.

 

As an integral part of the planning process for revitalizing Lansdowne Park, Commonwealth Historic Resources Management (CHRM) was retained to provide services to the City of Ottawa as a heritage expert in the Lansdowne Revitalization project.

 

Commonwealth prepared the background report, attached as Document 7 of this report, to provide participants in the redevelopment with a clear understanding of the history of the property and an assessment of the impact of new development being planned for Lansdowne Park. This report includes two sections.

 

The first section of that report consolidates research and develops a chronology of changes that have taken place over the history of the site and surrounding neighbourhood. The consolidation and analysis of historic information attempts to define a sense of place and will assist in making informed decisions as to the impact of development on the integrity of historic resources. The resources to be addressed include buildings, landscape, visual setting, sightlines, view-sheds, neighbourhood and the programming of buildings and site.

 

The second part of the report sets out notional directions for consideration in developing designs for the revitalization components (urban park, stadium, urban mixed use area) so as to respect/reflect the site’s integrity and implications, challenges and constraints placed on the project from a heritage perspective.

 

The information from this study was then utilized by the Design Review Panel to guide both the Urban Park Design Competition and the design for the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use components of the LPP.

 

Since the submission of the background report, CHRM has been advising the OSEG with respect to the impact new development has on heritage features. As part of this advisory role, CHRM has developed a code for heritage that supports the Design Panel’s review of the project.

 

The following summarizes heritage input presently underway, as detailed in Document 8 of this report, in support of the plans for the revitalization of Lansdowne Park. The work includes:

 

·           A Heritage Impact Assessment

·           Determination of commemorative significance

·           Assessment of the advantages/ disadvantages of moving the Horticulture Building

·           Technical feasibility of moving the Horticulture Building

·           Liaison with heritage agencies, and

·           Preparation of an interpretive strategy

The report that has been prepared on the history of Lansdowne Park, including important facts about the genesis of the site, its changing roles and its relationship to important neighbours, will serve as a key frame of reference for undertaking the Heritage Impact Assessments for any required heritage approvals.

This independent report makes it clear change has been a constant element in the evolution of Lansdowne since its inception as an agricultural fair. Over the years, buildings have been moved and re-purposed roads laid down and lifted up to meet the changing demands of the community and the city at large.

The report also verifies Lansdowne’s continuing importance as a regional and national meeting place over the last 150 years and emphasizes the importance of reflecting its past and building on its rich traditions if it is to once again become a destination of choice in the future.

CHRM’s report will help the City maintain Lansdowne’s historic authenticity as it continues with its planning efforts to revitalize the park.

The Aberdeen Pavilion – Centerpiece of the Redevelopment

 

The Lansdowne Partnership Plan’s proposed design would make the Aberdeen Pavilion the centerpiece of the redevelopment. Views from all directions would highlight this impressive and historic building.

 

·           With its immense column-free interior space and an elaborate ornamental façade, the Aberdeen Pavilion, built in 1898, is the last living Canadian example of a 19th-century fair building.

·           Currently, the Aberdeen Pavilion is severely under-used due to heating limitations inherent in the building’s design.

·           Mezzanine spaces open to the expansive structure will provide festival centre support spaces, meeting areas and assembly spaces suitable for informal live venue performances.

 

The Horticulture Building – Preserved and Relocated

 

Lansdowne’s proposed redesign would also preserve and relocate the Horticulture Building.

 

·           Completed in 1914, the Horticulture Building is a Canadian example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie-style architecture, designed by Francis C. Sullivan who worked with Wright in Chicago.

·           Its flat roof and overhanging eaves, strong corner piers, sparse stylized brick, stucco exterior, grouped casement windows and geometric glazing patterns emphasize the buildings simple, clean lines.

·           Despite its heritage designation, however, it has not been maintained and is currently boarded-up due to peeling lead-based paint.

 

The proposed design would preserve the building by relocating it to the site’s front yard and re-purposing it as the indoor component of the Ottawa Farmers’ Market, as well as a potential location for arts, culture, education and children’s programming.

 

·           Guiding Principles for the revitalization of Lansdowne, which were developed upon direction by Council and the Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel (the Panel), will serve as a basis for informing design decisions regarding the Horticulture building (i.e. relocation versus in situ) based on an analysis of the history of place, historical context and heritage objectives of the park. 

·           Consistent with this principle, the Urban Park Design competition RFP provided direction for the urban park design teams to examine both in situ and relocation scenarios and directed that determinations on which option to pursue be based on an assessment of how strongly each option reflected and supported the history of place and provided for optimal integration of the urban park with the remainder of the site.

·           The Hobin, Brisbin and Cannon (HBC) design team, which are developing the stadium and urban mixed use designs, were also directed to examine both retention and in situ scenarios for the Horticulture building under the same parameters as the park design teams.   

·           Through the assessments undertaken by the HBC team in collaboration with CHRM, a determination was made that relocating the building to the east of the Aberdeen Pavilion would be a compelling way to preserve the building and re-establish it as dynamic urban place grounded in, and reflecting its history, while at the same time achieving the overall revitalization objectives for Lansdowne Park as set out in the Guiding Principles.

 

Retaining the Horticulture Building in situ would mean:

·           It would need to meet the program objectives for a dynamic urban mixed-use precinct, which would require a more commercial focus rather than retaining a public one.

·           It would lose its character as a pavilion and ability to be animated on all sides, since new development will alter its relationship with, and the forecourt between, the Aberdeen Pavilion.

·           It would become overwhelmed by its new surroundings, diminishing its prominence and shielding all but a portion of its dramatic façade.

 

Relocating the building to the east of the Aberdeen Pavilion to mirror its current location would mean:

 

·           It retains its pavilion character, potential for animation on all four sides, and use as a public facility, potentially as the new home of the indoor component of the Ottawa Farmers’ Market. It, along with the Aberdeen Pavilion, would serve as a highly visible and defining edge of the urban park from the Rideau Canal.

·           The Aberdeen Pavilion, Horticulture Building and stadium complex would together create a stunning backdrop for a dynamic public place that provides a compelling reflection of the history of Lansdowne.

·           A unique urban square in front of both the Aberdeen Pavilion and Horticulture building would be re-established, enhancing the historic link between the two buildings, as well as its historic connection to the Canal.

The final decision about where to locate the Horticulture Building remains one for Council to make when they consider all elements of the Lansdowne proposal.

 

In the meantime, City staff continue to work with the Ontario Heritage Trust to prepare for a formal submission to request OHT approval to any modifications and encroachments to the Heritage Easement agreements protecting views to the Aberdeen Pavilion. After Council makes its decision on June 28, the City will proceed, as outlined in Document 8, with any required submission for heritage approvals under the Ontario Heritage Act.

 

Project Coordination - LPP and Bank Street Rehabilitation

 

Given the major changes to the Bank Street frontage of Lansdowne Park under the proposed Lansdowne Master Plan, there is a need for staff to ensure that the LPP project work is coordinated with the Bank Street rehabilitation work including any of the modifications required to the latter project, such as the proposed provisions for direct access from Bank Street to support the Lansdowne Master Plan implementation.

 

Consultation with NCC and Parks Canada

 

Given the adjacent land holdings of the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Parks Canada Agency (Parks Canada) and their involvement and co-operation in the creation of a Master Plan for Lansdowne Park, staff needs to continue to consult with the NCC and Parks Canada with respect to coordinating the planning and phasing of potential improvements on NCC and Parks Canada lands with the planning and phasing for Urban Park development to be carried out by the City on its Lansdowne Park property.

 

When the LPP Implementation moves forward, staff also needs to consult with the NCC and Parks Canada with respect to coordinating the implementation and construction phasing of potential improvements on NCC and Parks Canada lands with the implementation and construction phasing for the Urban Park development to be carried out by the City on its Lansdowne Park property as well with respect to developing joint programming opportunities for the City’s Urban Park at Lansdowne.

 

Zoning Requirements – Proposed Lansdowne Master Plan

 

The proposed Master Plan for Lansdowne Park, as set out in Recommendation 4 of this report,  establishes an overall framework for the revitalization of Lansdowne focused on three distinct but inter-related components:

 

  1. The renovation of the current Frank Clair Stadium and Civic Centre complex.
  2. The transformation of much of the site’s current asphalt surface parking area along the Rideau Canal corridor into a dynamic, Urban Park component for staging and programming of various activities and events, including the Ottawa Farmers Market.
  3. A new, Urban Mixed-Use area for the northwest sector of the site and along Bank Street, providing a  mix of commercial, cultural and residential uses reflective of an urban village and for animating and redefining the site’s relationship to Bank Street.

The stadium complex and urban park elements are permitted under current zoning by-laws.  However, the City will need to rezone the site in order to permit the additional elements proposed for the site, which include a variety of commercial and residential uses, within the urban mixed-use area. Furthermore, site-specific modifications are required to various performance standards and site-specific parking requirements, set out under the current exception provisions applying to the site, to allow the urban mixed-use area to have more urban edge conditions along Bank Street and Holmwood, thereby integrating the site with the urban fabric of adjacent areas.

 

The Official Plan (OP) designates Lansdowne “General Urban Area”. Bank Street is designated as a “Traditional Mainstreet”. Lansdowne is also recognized as an existing  Major Urban Facility, as it accommodates major city-wide facilities, including the stadium and Civic Centre complex and various pavilion buildings used for city-wide activities and events.    

 

The Lansdowne site is currently zoned L2[338] F(1.5), a Major Leisure Facility zone. 

 

The major leisure facility zone under the comprehensive zoning by-law applies to sites that accommodate major, urban, city-wide sports, recreation and cultural facilities addressed under the Major Urban Facilities policies of the City’s Official Plan.  The zone permits a broad range and intensity of leisure, recreational, cultural and related uses and allows a moderate density and scale of development. An amusement park, community-focused facilities such as a community centre, daycare, fairground, library, museum, place of assembly, sports arena or theatre are all permitted in this zone. 

 

The F(1.5) denotes a floor space index permitting the total cumulative gross floor area of buildings to be equal to but not greater than 1.5 times the site area.  For Lansdowne, with an area of approximately 40 acres, this would allow for a total gross floor area of approximately 1.75 million ft2.

 

The [338] denotes an exception provision that applies to Lansdowne, which specifies additional uses for the site than those under the standard L2 zone, including light industrial uses (limited to a household waste depot) and a retail store (limited to a farmers’ market).  Site-specific parking provisions are also set out under the [338] exception, stipulating a cumulative total of 2,200 parking spaces for all uses (which reflects the existing parking supply) and permits no parking is required when the site is used to accommodate the annual Central Canada Exhibition. 

 

To accommodate the proposed revitalization as outlined in the Lansdowne Master Plan, it is proposed that the City establish a new L2 subzone, known as the Lansdowne L2 Subzone, which would allow all the uses permitted by the current L2 parent zone, including the current Stadium complex, a theatre, park, community-type facilities and other similar public, community, leisure and recreational uses.  However, the new subzone would also allow for a range of additional uses located as part of the proposed urban mixed-use area, including retail uses, personal service uses, restaurants, office-type uses, a hotel and residential uses. 

 

In addition, the City would establish performance standards specific to Lansdowne to accommodate the development objectives reflected in the Master Plan, including setbacks, building heights and parking requirements.

 

Finally, the City would establish a holding provision to provide for certain requirements to be satisfied prior to development occurring.

 

As set out under Recommendation 18 of this report, it is recommended that staff prepare a separate report for consideration by the Planning and Environment Committee and Council regarding the zoning changes deemed necessary to implement the proposed overall Master Plan. In this regard, a staff report is currently being prepared for consideration at a public meeting to be held by the Planning and Environment Committee on 5 July 2010 and for subsequent consideration by Council on 14 July 2010 subject to Council approving the Master Plan for Lansdowne Park on 28 June 2010.

 

Transportation

 

The “Lansdowne Development Transportation Strategy”, dated 28 August 2009, included in the September 2, 2009 report (Report Ref. #ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0006), was developed to provide a high-level assessment of transportation requirements to support the LPP and to provide for a strategy that would be consistent with Official Plan (OP) and Transportation Master Plan (TMP) transportation objectives and directions. 

 

At a macro-level, the Transportation Strategy addressed two broad scenarios. One was the transportation-related impacts and requirements of the estimated “day-to-day” activity related to the proposed retail, office, residential and hotel land uses. The other was the transportation-related impacts and requirements of the periodic “activities/events” in the Civic Centre and/or Stadium, including any overlap with the ongoing daily activities. For both scenarios, the Transportation Strategy identified:

·      The preliminary impacts and requirements of the LPP for all travel modes in the context of previous Council direction and City policy;

·      A preliminary and innovative Transportation Demand Management Plan to address travel requirements; and

·      Transportation-related action items for further study, including the need for a comprehensive Transportation Study consistent with the City’s Transportation Impact and Assessment (TIA) Study Guidelines, but focussed on the specific impacts and requirements of the LPP.

The key determinations related to the Transportation Strategy, as reported to Transportation and Transit Committee were that:

·      The strategy embodies principles and directions of the Official Plan (OP) and Transportation Master Plan (TMP) in the context of City Council directions of April 22, 2009 which included:

§ Revitalizing the stadium and Civic Centre

§ Reducing the hard surface area and increasing green and public open space

§ Enhancing links to pedestrian and cycle systems

§ Advancing transit options

·      The strategy focuses on day-to-day activities and special events

·      The strategy builds on past experiences

·       The strategy is high-level – while a certain level of assessment had been done to confirm that it can be made to work, additional detailed work remains to be done, to develop a Transportation Management Plan for the LPP

·       The additional work would be undertaken through a more detailed Transportation Study;

·       Key areas where additional work is required as part of the study to develop the Plan include the following:

§ Confirm availability of on-street parking

§ Secure arrangements with off-site parking lot owners (Carleton University, Confederation Heights)

§ Continue discussions with the NCC to confirm opportunities/options related to Queen Elizabeth Driveway

§ Determine specifics of transit and shuttle bus operational requirements for various event sizes

§ Develop aggressive TDM promotional and communications initiatives that would be rolled out for events.

In considering the LPP Implementation on 16 November 2009, Council approved the following with respect to transportation studies and supporting transportation demand management plans:

 

“ That transportation studies and supporting transportation demand management plans be completed to determine whether or not impacts on traffic circulation and on-street parking resulting from the implementation of the LPP can be reasonably accommodated and that the transportation strategy outlined in the LPP will work as anticipated;

 

That City Council delegate the authority to a joint Transit and Transportation Committee to approve the Terms of Reference for the transportation studies including an associated demand management plan for the LPP and for the additional Terms of Reference for the Traffic Impact Study for the relocation of the trade show space to the airport as referenced in Recommendation 2 a) ii);”

 

The part of the Council approval which relates to the Traffic Impact Study for the airport trade show space, is responded to in a report entitled “RFP Process - Exposition Hall Facility” (Ref. # ACS2010-CMR-REP-0009) which was considered by the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on 2 February 2010 and by Council on 10 February 2010.

 

Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management Plan 

 

On 8 February 2010, the Joint Transportation and Transit Committee approved the terms of reference “Lansdowne Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management Plan” (Ref #: ACS2010-CMR-OCM-0001) and McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) was then retained by the City to conduct this study.

 

The study was developed in close consultation with City of Ottawa traffic, transportation and transit services staff and executed in accordance with City of Ottawa transportation impact assessment guidelines.

Based on feedback received at several meetings with councillors, City staff and key community representatives, a number of issues were identified and addressed in this study. Recognizing their concerns, the study looks at:

·           Pedestrians safety, including the separation of pedestrians and vehicles (cars, buses and trucks) wherever possible

·           Network connectivity around and through the redeveloped site

·           Additional canal crossings to link with other neighbourhoods

·           Promotion of pedestrian and cycling activities, and the use of public transit, to ensure sustainability by identifying modal share targets (i.e. targets for different transportation options like walking, cycling, driving and public transit)

·           Safe and secure bicycle storage on-site

·           Transit ridership levels and proposed transit operations including vehicles required, the frequency of service, storage requirements, and fleet and labour implications

·           Off-site parking requirements and the operation of a shuttle bus fleet including routings, service and frequencies

·           Traffic base conditions and determining an appropriate future condition, including intersection traffic volumes by time of day and day of the week, levels of service

·           Trip generation rates for the various proposed land uses

·           Potential effects of traffic volumes on the local community roads

·           Emergency vehicle response routes

·           Establishing the trips generated by the various events (with attendance of 10,000, 25,000 and 40,000)

·           Identifying the modes of travel to the various events

·           Parking requirements and on-site vehicle circulation to access parking, and

·           Identifying Transportation Demand Management measures and recommending those most appropriate for Lansdowne

 

The Transportation Study area extends well beyond the boundary of the existing site to include the Glebe neighbourhood as well as Ottawa South and a portion of Ottawa East. The main study area is bounded by:

·           Catherine Street to the north

·           Main Street to the east

·           Riverside Driveway to the south

·           Bronson Avenue to the west (with a slight westward extension along Carling Avenue to Preston Street).

 

Lansdowne Park Revitalization Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation

Demand Management Plan Findings

 

As set out in the Summary of the MRC report, attached as Document 13, the key findings of this detailed transportation study are as follows:

1. Day-to-day impact of the Lansdowne proposal

a) Traffic: projected traffic volumes could be accommodated.

An extensive review of existing traffic conditions was completed to establish the base-year traffic conditions for the study area. The assessment showed that future Bank Street levels of service would remain relatively good even with an increase in traffic. The most noteworthy change was for the Saturday peak hour, where six intersections out of 12 would be downgraded, meaning that while many vehicles would still progress through the intersection without having to stop, a significant number would have to stop. Similarly, for the weekday peak hours (AM and PM) three Bank Street intersections were downgraded, as were the intersections of Bronson at Fifth Avenue and Bronson at Sunnyside.

Secondary access to the site from Queen Elizabeth Driveway is highly desirable and would reduce cut-through traffic in the adjacent neighbourhood.

b) Transit: existing service could accommodate proposed development.

The transit service now operating on Bank Street could accommodate the extra trips associated with day-to-day activity at Lansdowne Park.

c) Parking: enough on-site parking spaces.

The proposed parking plan for the Lansdowne site includes at minimum about 1,230 on-site parking spots to support the planned commercial, with dedicated parking for the residential. This satisfies by-law requirements for day-to-day use and activities.

2. Impact of special events under the Lansdowne proposal

An important part of this strategy is to encourage those who choose to take transit, cycle or use off-site parking. This would be accomplished by making transit, off-site parking, shuttle services, and secure on-site bicycle parking corrals free and included in the cost of the ticket price. The price increase would range from $0.60 to $5 per ticket depending on the size of the event.

a) Special events with attendance of 10,000. 

Most intersections would continue to operate at good levels of service. For events of this size, there would be no need for off-site parking and the accompanying shuttle services since all parking could be accommodated on-site and on the streets within the study area. Transit frequency would be increased on regular bus routes to accommodate increased demand.

b) Special events with attendance of 25,000.

These types of special events would happen infrequently – approximately 12 to 15 times per year.   To support them, it is proposed that OC Transpo operate special direct routes that make use of their major suburban park-and-ride lots. Further, transit service increases on OC Transpo’s regular routes would supplement the areas not served by these special routes. In addition, off-site parking with frequent shuttle service at Carleton University and in the vicinity of Confederation Heights would bring people to the site. The preferred routing for the shuttles is via Bronson Avenue and Queen Elizabeth Driveway.

Bank Street intersections would be improved during 25,000-person events by using parking restrictions to create two traffic lanes for vehicles travelling toward Lansdowne, similar to restrictions during the afternoon commuter peak.

 

c) Special events with attendance of 40,000.

 

On-site parking will not be available and about 7,000 off-site parking spaces would be required. Except for those who park on the streets, all event-goers arriving by car would access the Lansdowne site by shuttle bus from off-site parking areas. Traffic police would be needed to direct key intersections. Bank Street and Queen Elizabeth Driveway would be closed around Lansdowne to facilitate the safe arrival and departure of event-goers.

 

d) It is anticipated that during the busiest time period, new traffic on:

 

§   Bank Street would be 100 to 120 vehicles per hour (vph) per direction, which is two “new” vehicles per minute.  (Existing two-way traffic on Bank Street is currently 1,700 vph during commuter peak hours.)

§   Queen Elizabeth Drive would be in the range of 20 to 25 vph per direction; one new vehicle every 2 to 3 minutes (Current two-way traffic on Queen Elizabeth Drive is 1,200 to 1,300 vph during commuter peak hours.)

 

Intersection capacity analysis indicates that study area intersections along Bank Street would continue to operate at levels of service within the City guidelines.

 

The City’s planned Bank Street reconstruction project includes a new southbound left-turn lane at the Lansdowne Park signalized intersection that would significantly improve traffic operations at this location.


3. Parking and traffic management

 

Lansdowne’s Transportation Strategy also suggests a number of supportive parking and traffic management provisions including:

 

·           Four vehicular access points to the site – two from Bank Street and two from the Queen Elizabeth Drive – to facilitate parking on site

·           Well-defined pedestrian/cycle connections, as well as easily accessible secure bike parking and support for bike rentals

·           Sufficient pedestrian gathering areas along Bank Street frontage to safely accommodate pedestrians as they enter and leave the site, cross Bank Street or wait for transit

·           At minimum of approximately 1,100 below-grade and 135 at-grade parking spaces to support the day-to-day activities associated with development of Lansdowne Park

·           Additional self-contained parking for the proposed residential and hotel

·           Visible and direct vehicular access to/from Bank Street for the proposed hotel/ residential component

·           A centralized loading area for commerce and a defined loading route that provides access from Bank Street that minimizes interference with pedestrians and regular traffic

·           A Stadium/Civic Centre loading area that will not interfere with pedestrian movement and a defined on-site truck route that provides efficient access to/from Bank Street

4. Transportation demand management

 

Lansdowne Park is in an area where residents walk, cycle and use transit more than the Ottawa average, and fostering this is an important part of the Lansdowne plans.

The report provides a comprehensive menu of transportation demand management measures for the individual land uses on the site that should be reviewed and incorporated into the development agreement.

These include:

·           Showers and bicycle parking for office users

·           Bike parking on-site for retail and cinema

·           Carpooling promotion through preferential parking spaces and carpooling programs

·           EcoPass transit payroll-deduction programs, preferably subsidized

·           Limiting the use of on-site parking by pre-selling on-site parking passes with event ticket purchases

·           Entering into an agreement with the National Capital Commission on a Special Event Shuttle Service Pilot Project that would permit limited use of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway as described in the Letter of Intent

 

Peer Review

 

The terms of reference for the Lansdowne Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan were approved at a joint Transportation and Transit Committee meeting on 8 February 2010. Staff were directed to retain two highly qualified transit and transportation planning professionals from outside Ottawa to undertake an independent peer review of the Lansdowne Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and TDM Plan.

 

A request for proposals for peer review services was issued at the beginning of April. The peer review focuses on the results of the transportation analysis undertaken by the McCormick Rankin Corporation (MRC) to confirm whether this work and the determinations being made are responding to Recommendation 2a ii) of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP) Implementation Plan report approved by City Council on 16 November 2009.

 

Fehr and Peers Transportation Consultants from San Diego, California and DKS Associates from Tampa, Florida were retained to complete the peer review work. Fehr and Peers Transportation Consultants and DKS Associates have undertaken the peer review study as outlined in the 8 February 2010 Lansdowne Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management Plan report (Ref. # ACS2010-CMR-OCM-0001).

 

Peer Review Findings

 

The Peer Review report, attached as Document 14, indicated the following:

 

Overall, the Peer Review found the Lansdowne revitalization Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and TDM Plan, as prepared by McCormick Rankin, to be a thorough and comprehensive document.

 

“The analyses and key conclusions of the MRC study are an accurate reflection and assessment of the transportation conditions that would result under both the day-to-day operation of the project and during the various special events planned to occur on-site.”

 

The Peer Review concluded that the study and various analytical techniques were conducted in a manner consistent with industry standards as well as the requirements of the City of Ottawa’s Traffic Impact Study Guidelines.

 

They found that MRC’s key analytical parameters were appropriately defined and applied based upon local conditions.

 

The Peer Review concludes that the MRC study conforms to the terms of reference for the project.  Specifically, the MRC conforms by:

 

·           Undertaking a thorough assessment of existing base conditions

·           Projecting traffic operations for key timeframes and event scenarios

·           Assessing the modal operations (auto, transit, bicycle, pedestrian)

·           Considering on-site and off-site parking requirements

·           Reviewing network circulation scenarios (use of Bank Street and Queen Elizabeth Driveway)

·           And, through the application of TDM measures

 

The Peer Review backed up the MRC conclusion that aggressive implementation of the specified TDM program and measures focused on the promotion of non-auto travel will be central to achieving the underlying mode share assumptions incorporated into the study.

 

The Peer Review also notes that the MRC report provides a full menu of TDM measures focused on the day-to-day activities associated with the projects. Examples include implementing an ECOPASS program in cooperation with the project’s commercial and office developments, and promotion of walking and cycling throughout the project.

 

The Peer Review makes a number of recommendations, including:

·           The preparation of an event transportation management plan to ensure that the transportation system operates efficiently prior to and following events of various sizes at Lansdowne Park.

·           An aggressive public information program should be introduced to promote TDM measures and to ensure effectiveness of the event transportation management plan.

·           A process should be established to monitor the event transportation management plan effectiveness and to modify the plan to address any issues promptly.

 

Arrangements for Off-Site Parking Lots and Shuttle Service

 

The Transportation Study undertaken by McCormick Rankin indicates that off-site parking with bus shuttle service to Lansdowne Park is required to handle vehicle parking for 25,000 and 40,000 person events. The Transportation Study calculated that 2,850 off-site spaces would be necessary to accommodate a 25,000 person event and identified parking facilities at Carleton University and Canada Post at Confederation Heights.

 

The frequency of a capacity event (approximately 25,000 people) at Lansdowne Park is estimated at seven to ten events per annum between the months of May and November.  Negotiations were held with Carleton University, given that the University has partnered with the City in past to provide parking for major events at Lansdowne Park. 

 

Discussions with the University to obtain access of up to 1,500 spaces are continuing with a view to entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the near future.  In the Confederation Heights area, the City has already entered into a MOU for event parking with Canada Post (1,500 spaces), Public Works Government Services Canada (600 spaces), the RA Centre (300 spaces) and the Ottawa Carleton District School Board for Brookfield High School (180 spaces).  Agreements with Vincent Massey Park (400 spaces) is pending final approval.

 

Portions of the Mooney’s Bay parking facility can also be used to accommodate staging. As a result, it is estimated that approximately 4,500 spaces can be secured in the identified area to accommodate the 2,850 spaces required for a 25,000 person event. 

 

A 40,000-person event, such as a Grey Cup, is infrequent.  The scheduling of such an event would typically provide for sufficient lead time to complete special parking agreements. The parking requirement for an event of this size requires an additional 3,100 spaces over the 2,850 spaces required for a 25,000-person event which results in a total requirement of 5,950 spaces for a 40,000-person event.

 

The Transportation Plan proposes the operation of a second shuttle service into the downtown core area along the eastern section of Queen Elizabeth Drive. Special event parking arrangements with downtown office buildings owners and managers would be arranged on an as needed basis depending on the size and timing of the event. For example, over 800 spaces can be accommodated at City Hall. In addition, there is the option to utilize parking facilities, over and above park and ride facilities, in or near existing transitway corridors such as the parking lots in the Woodroffe and Baseline district near Baseline Station so that the 4,500 off-site spaces arranged for 25,000-person events could be increased to 5,950 spaces for 40,000-person events with little or no apparent difficulty.

 

Retail Studies and Strategy

 

The Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP) has a key objective to transform Lansdowne Park into a unique, dynamic and integrated mixed-use urban area by including retail and commercial uses that will support and complement the economic vitality of the existing Bank Street commercial corridor and become a distinctive destination in the heart of Ottawa.

 

On November 16, 2009, Council directed a consultant with expertise in developing specialty retail market strategies for unique urban places be retained. The consultant, J.C. Williams Group Limited (JCW), worked with the City, the Design Review and Advisory Panel and OSEG to develop a strategy that defines and clarifies the vision for the commercial aspects of the Lansdowne revitalization, including retail, office and hotel.

 

Council also directed that the retail commercial strategy must:

·           Add to the quality of the public realm

·           Increase unique destination and tourism attributes of the site

·           Profile the civic culture, character and resources of Ottawa

·           Participate in the rejuvenation of Bank street as a Traditional Main Street

·           Provide services, shops and opportunities for arts, culture and environmental awareness

·           Profile the agricultural prominence of the Ottawa region

·           Provide venues and retailing opportunities not found in the common marketplace in Ottawa

 

The retail strategy was also to “add to the quality of the public realm,” profile the region’s rural character and be part of the revitalization of Bank Street.

The Retail Strategy

 

In their draft report released March 9, 2010, entitled Retail Real Estate Report, Lansdowne Park Project, JCW concluded it was essential that Lansdowne Park have “events that draw crowds in a disciplined and managed approach to the programming of the public space, an understanding that each component will be an anchor destination.” A copy of the 9 March 2010 report by JCW is available on Ottawa.ca.

 

The report did not, nor was it intended to be, a rigorous analysis of market demand and impact; rather, the JCW report provided the City with a vision and accompanying strategy to guide development, assess market support, recommend retail and service commercial components, provide tenanting options, and identify design considerations.

 

Among the report’s highlights:

·         The development should create a mix of commercial and public uses unique to Ottawa.

·         There should be entertainment and cultural activities, which would contribute to the vitality of the nightlife at Lansdowne and create additional opportunities for programmed events in public spaces.

·         The development should not be geared towards a traditional shopping centre, big-box centre, or a tourist or entertainment dependant design; rather, it should respect the historic neighbourhood by creating a mixed-use, pedestrian-focused “unique urban village”  that is an “extension of the local community,” complementing the well-established and specialized commercial areas of Bank Street, Ottawa South and the Glebe with a rich mixture of street-fronting, small-scale national and independent retailers and services and businesses, including speciality foods, sporting goods, cafes, theatres and health services.

·         Incorporating the Ottawa Farmers’ Market into the development would contribute to the revitalization of Lansdowne and would enhance its status as a unique destination shopping destination.

 

Retail Peer Review

 

On 16 November 2009, Council approved and directed:

 

“That a third-party, independent peer review of the Lansdowne Retail Market Demand and Impact Analysis produced by Tate Economic Research Inc. and the Market Research Study: Glebe Business Improvement Area Ottawa, Ont. produced by the Market Research Corporation be undertaken to determine whether or not the commercial component of the LPP is viable, is compatible with the desire to have destination specific retail and is complementary and supportive of the existing Bank Street retail business community;

And that the third-party independent peer review of the market Studies as set out in Recommendation 2 a) iii) be initiated only upon the completion of the retailing commercial strategy;

 

And that the retailing commercial strategy be included as part of the comprehensive agreement framework with OSEG that will be considered by Council;

 

And that the consultant conducting the third-party independent peer review consult with both parties, the Glebe BIA and OSEG and their consultants during the course of his/her review.”

 

On 6 April 2010, the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) approved the Terms of Reference (TOR) for a peer review of the Lansdowne retail market assessment studies.  CSEDC directed proposals be obtained from at least three firms with the expertise to undertake such a review and the firm deemed best able to respond to Council’s requirements as expressed in the approved TOR be retained within existing delegated authority. 

 

A request for expressions of interest for this work was issued on 9 April 2010 to five firms and closed on 16 April 2010. After evaluating and interviewing proponents from the four submissions received through this process, the City retained Malone Given Parsons (MGP) to complete the necessary work.

 

As directed in the TOR for the Retail Studies Peer Review, MGP also contacted the authors of the report “Lansdowne Retail Market Demand and Impact Analysis”, by Tate Economic Research Inc. (TER) conducted for the LPP; and the report “Market Research Study: Glebe Business Improvement Area Market Research Study: Glebe Business Improvement Area Ottawa, Ont.”, by Market Research Corporation (MRC) conducted for the Glebe Business Improvement Area.

 

Retail Studies Peer Review Findings and Opinions

 

The summary of MGP’s report on the findings and opinions from its peer review of the retail studies associated with the LPP is attached to this report as Document 9.  Key elements of this peer review by MGP are set out below.

 

Retail Strategy

 

With respect to the Retail Strategy report prepared by JCW, MGP concluded as follows:

·           The “unique urban village” proposed by JCW presents an excellent opportunity to create a unique, themed retail area and would create a specific commercial destination, while at the same time complementing and supporting local businesses.

·           The retail commercial strategy recommended addresses Council’s issues and satisfies the directives provided by Council on 16 November 2009.

·           It is “important to strategically locate the retail and commercial component of Lansdowne Park as suggested at the northwest area of the site, with access and connectivity to Bank Street, and clustered to create critical mass and a strong gateway area.”

·           The design and layout is critical to its success, noting:          

-  Retail clusters, critical mass, internal and external linkages, high quality design, public amenities, and a positive environment are all key components. Multi-storey buildings mixed in with smaller units, larger floor plates on upper and/or lower floors, ample parking, pedestrian linkages, and a village concept are suitable characteristics for the site and would appropriately integrate with the existing Bank Street and Glebe area.

-  The provision for a significant amount of small-floor plate retail units does not negate the need for larger format, appropriately designed conventional retail/commercial space which provides an anchor role and function to the retail area and helps create critical mass.

-  The integration of public amenities, meeting places, art, open spaces, etc., which add to aesthetics and encourage people to gather and linger, and can also profile the civic culture, character and resources of Ottawa. These design and place-making considerations are important to the success of the retail/commercial component of Lansdowne Park and will add to the quality of the public realm.

·           The Ottawa Farmers’ Market would serve as a complementary use for the site and would help increase the site’s place as a unique “experience”.

 

Market Research Corporation Report

 

With respect to the report “Market Research Study: Glebe Business Improvement Area Market Research Study: Glebe Business Improvement Area Ottawa, Ont.”, by Market Research Corporation (MRC) conducted for the Glebe Business Improvement Area, MGP concluded the following:

 

·           Market Research Corporation’s analysis does not account for, or recognize the Glebe market capture of spending, current level of service, opportunities to recapture spending, inflow trade to the Glebe today or in future years reflecting Lansdowne Park redevelopment; rather, it merely assesses the Glebe retail and commercial environment at a high-level, examining current conditions and a status quo scenario.

·           Market Research Corporation’s findings are not based on a conventional, comprehensive methodology to assess market demand, opportunity, and impact.

·           The surveys included in the report are not designed to address market shares, level of service, local capture and outflow spending today - nor are they, or could they be used as a basis for forecasting recapture of spending and market opportunity in future years.

·           The report’s customer intercept and point of sale survey findings are not employed in the market demand analysis tables to account for inflow trade from outside the Glebe trade area today - nor are they used as a basis for forecasting inflow trade in future years.

·           For these reasons and others identified in the peer review, the report’s market demand and opportunity findings available to the Glebe, including Lansdowne Park, are understated.

·           Market Research Corporation’s findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon with specific regard to market demand, opportunity, and support for the retail and commercial component of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project.

Tate Economic Research Report

 

With respect to the report “Lansdowne Retail Market Demand and Impact Analysis”, by Tate Economic Research Inc. (TER), MGP concluded the following:

·           The report’s findings provide a complete and comprehensive evaluation of market demand, opportunity and impact and are “standard and accepted methodologies, including an extensive number of surveys designed specifically to address the market and Lansdowne proposal, detailed analysis of market demand, opportunity and impact, as well as employing current baseline data upon which forecasts are generated, a measured inventory of the existing supply of space in the Glebe and the primary trade area, and a comprehensive demand forecast and impact evaluation for various retail components” .

·           The report assesses the retail/commercial environment based on both current conditions and future market opportunities, as well as addressing level of service, market capture of spending in the primary trade area, inflow trade, and forecasts opportunities accounting for the Lansdowne Park redevelopment in future years.

·           360,000 sq. ft. of combined retail and commercial space at Lansdowne Park is warranted on the basis of market demand and impact.

·           The proposed cinema at Lansdowne Park will not negatively impact and jeopardize the viability of the existing cinemas and that there is an opportunity to recapture the patronage and serve customers locally.

·           The sales performance of the supermarkets is forecasted to remain viable throughout the study period and is not forecasted to result in sales levels that would lead to closure.

·           The City can rely upon the report’s findings and conclusions with regard to market demand, opportunity, and support for the retail and commercial component of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment project.

 

Ottawa Farmers’ Market

 

Since its inception as a two-year pilot program in 2006, the Ottawa Farmers’ Market (OFM) has successfully proven itself to be a valued part of the Ottawa region to the extent that the City renewed the program in 2008 and again for another two years in 2010.

 

At the direction of Council, staff included provisions in its Request for Proposal for the Urban Park Design Competition to make the market an integral part of Lansdowne revitalization.

 

To that end, representatives from the OFM met with the five design firms at the recent design symposium to present their position and outline their vision for a permanent home for their market at the park. The resulting winning Urban Park design as selected by the Jury on 8 June 2010 includes a Farmers’ Market Square in the design.

 

As set out in Document 12 of this report, the City has worked together with the J.C. Williams Group and the OFM Association to refine and reach a consensus on the Market’s vision, product mix, rules and regulations, architectural design and a financial arrangement with the City with the objective of ensuring a vibrant future for the Farmers’ Market in the heart of Ottawa that reflects the unique characteristics of our local farming communities.

 

As a result, staff are now recommending that Council endorse the following principles to guide an agreement between the City and the OFM. Specifically, an agreement must ensure:

 

·         A more formalised reporting structure between the OFM and the City

·         The outdoor market become a permanent feature of Lansdowne’s Front Lawn, and that it operate at least two days per week (Sunday and Thursday), with the option of operating for more

·         150 stands measuring 3 metres by 6 metres, with a maximum of 3 stands per vendor

·         70% of vendor stands be local farmers verified through Savour~Savourez Ottawa

·         A maximum of 15% of vendor stands be producers of baked and value-added goods that contain locally produced ingredients as defined by  Savour~Savourez Ottawa

·         10% of vendor stands be local, juried arts and crafts

·         A maximum of 5% of vendors be refreshment providers that use local products (meeting the same ‘local’ criteria established by Savour~Savourez Ottawa for restaurants)

·         The market’s indoor component be gradually introduced in phases — commencing with it being used part-time, likely two days per week and increasing in frequency and size over time

·         The outdoor market’s rental agreement move it away from a market-value approach toward one that recovers the costs associated with the use of the space, better supporting local farmers

 

The City and the OFM Assocation still have work to do to finalize the arrangements for a permanent Farmers’ Market and, therefore, staff is also recommending that the City Manager continue negotiating the terms and conditions of the agreement between the City and the OFM, with specific emphasis on the phasing, vendor mix, governance, parking and loading zone arrangements and financial details. This agreement will be presented to Council for consideration in 2011.

 

Business Model

 

In recent years, public-private partnerships have garnered increasing support in Canada and internationally as a way to use private sector capital, innovation and efficiency to deliver public goods. The LPP proposes such a partnership between the City of Ottawa and OSEG.

 

 

The interface between the City and OSEG is key to the success of the Lansdowne transformation.  The City will enter into a minimum 30-year head lease with OSEG for the entire park and it will contract OSEG to undertake redevelopment and construction.  OSEG will assume the construction risk during the redevelopment period and the operations risk on revenues and expense once the site reopens. 

 

The plan and partnership framework that has been negotiated creates a closed financial system that sees cashflows from the operations of the entire site, other than the front lawn, distributed to the City and to the OSEG according to an agreed upon formula.  Under this closed system, OSEG is responsible for any deficits that may accrue from the operation of the site and for making mandatory contributions to a lifecycle reserve fund. The subsequent distribution of any additional net cashflows is as follows: provides for the City and OSEG to realize a modest return on equity of eight per cent, then a return of OSEG’s additional equity, then a return of equity to the City and OSEG, then, for the City, a return on deemed equity contributed, and, finally, for a fifty-fifty sharing of any residual net cashflow between the City and the OSEG.

 

Both parties will contribute capital to redevelop Lansdowne Park.  The City will contribute the capital required for the redevelopment of the stadium and the parking not required by the retail development. Independent residential and office developers will be retained to construct 280 new residential units and a 90,000 square foot office tower.  OSEG will contribute the capital to build the retail component with associated parking.   The City of Ottawa will receive tax levies from the retail, office and related parking components and both parties will share revenues from retail, office, stadium and arena, and parking in accordance with the aforementioned distribution.  Compared with historical operations of Lansdowne, the project is expected to generate positive cash flow to the City over the life of the proposed agreement with OSEG.

 

City of Ottawa Financing

 

The City’s shared capital contributions will be made up of cash and debt as per the table below.  Of the $129.3M, $10.2M will come from the proceeds from the sale of air rights to the residential developer.  The balance will be financed through a debenture of $119.1M.

 

City of Ottawa Capital Contribution

 

Stadium

($M)

Parking

($M)

Total

($M)

Capital Cost

106.2

23.1

129.3

Proceeds from the Sale of Air Rights to a Residential Developer

(10.2)

 

(10.2)

Debt Issue

(96.0)

(23.1)

(119.1)

 

Stadium and Arena

 

To fund the redevelopment of the stadium and the arena, the City will provide, $106.2M comprised of cash raised through the proceeds from the sale of air rights and debt. The City will contract OSEG to redevelop the stadium and arena. 

 

The OSEG assumes responsibility and risk for the redevelopment of the stadium and arena and will fund all operating costs for those facilities when completed. A lifecycle fund will be established from operating revenues with an annual transfer for lifecycle repairs.

 

Upon reopening, OSEG will be responsible for all stadium and arena operations and will cover any losses resulting from such operations.

 

Parking

 

The City of Ottawa and OSEG will partner to build approximately 1,370 new below-grade parking spaces at Lansdowne Park.  The City will contribute $23.1M and the OSEG will contribute $11.9M to construct the below-grade parking.  Project costs for the at-grade parking are contained in the construction cost estimates for the stadium and arena, and retail component.  Revenues, expenses and provisions for lifecycle will form part of the closed system and as such, will not require additional contributions from the City.

 

Retail

 

OSEG will invest $87M in construction costs to create approximately 339,000 square feet of retail and integrated office space.  Beginning in 2013, the retail complex is expected to generate $2.9 M in municipal tax revenues annually.  Rents from retail tenants will form part of the closed system waterfall.

 

Residential Space

 

The City will sell land to a residential developer to construct 44 new town homes on Holmwood Avenue, 176 new condominium units on Bank Street and a 60 unit condominium tower on Bank Street.  The City will receive proceeds from the sale of air rights for the townhomes and condominium units estimated at almost $10.2M (net of site servicing costs).  These revenues will be used to reduce the amount of the debt the City issues to fund the development.

 

Office Space

 

OSEG will lease land to a commercial developer to build 90,000 square feet of new office space in a five-storey building.  The office space is expected to generate approximately $382,000 in incremental property tax revenues annually and will contribute $198,000 per year in land rents to be shared by the City of Ottawa and the OSEG through the closed system.

 

Financial Summary and Revenue Neutrality Analysis

 

The transformation of Lansdowne Park presents an opportunity for the City of Ottawa to generate incremental tax revenues and enhance public space.  Over the first thirty years of the project agreement, the Lansdowne transformation will not create additional tax pressures rather, it will generate surpluses for the City.

 

In the current project agreement, payments have been balanced with priority and the size of the financial obligation to produce a proportionate business model for all parties over the first term of the project agreement.  Over the first term of the project period, total payments are as follows:

 

 

Under the proposed project agreement, the City and the MSC is expected to receive over 65% or $169M of the total payments made through the closed system waterfall.

 

Revenue Neutrality Analysis

 

Council directed that the City’s contribution to the revitalization of Lansdowne Park be limited to a dollar amount to be established during the negotiations, based on the principle of not increasing the overall cost to the taxpayer. In order to assess revenue neutrality, cash inflows to the City over the term of the agreement have been compared to the cash outflows to ensure that they are of equal or greater value.

 

The cash outflows of the City are the $7.274 million per year in debt servicing charges.

 

The cash inflows include:

 

The result of the analysis shows that the City has more than sufficient cash inflows over the 30-year period to pay the debt servicing costs, and by 2024, is in a cash positive situation.

 

Auditor General’s Report

 

In accordance with Recommendation 2.a.i of the LPP Implementation report approved by Council on November 2009;

 

“That a final review of the financial projections of the LPP is completed and that the Office of the Auditor General provides Council with a supplementary report on the accuracy of these forecasts as well as the reasonableness of the assumptions used”.

 

City staff and its financial consultant have cooperated with the Auditor General in providing information on the financial model and the inputs to the model on an ongoing basis.

 

The Auditor General and his third-party consultant are reviewing the inputs to the model with respect to their degree of reasonableness and are also reviewing the model from a logic and accuracy perspective.

 

The Auditor General is scheduled to provide an independent report on his finding in this matter for consideration by Council when it meets as Committee of the Whole on 17 June 2010 to consider the LPP Implementation report.

 

Negotiation of Project Agreement Framework

 

Commencing in the spring of 2010, extensive negotiations began between the principals of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) and the City and their respective legal and external consulting teams.  OSEG was led by Roger Greenberg of Minto while the City’s team was led by the City Manager.  The law firm of Soloway Wright provided legal advice to OSEG while the Toronto and Ottawa offices of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP provided support to the City’s team.

 

The core task of the above teams, as directed by Council on November 16, 2009, was to frame and reach consensus on the partnership agreements for the LPP.  These legal agreements were to outline the roles, responsibilities and obligations between the City and OSEG as contemplated by the LPP Memorandum of Understanding presented to Council on September 2, 2009 that highlighted the critical business terms at that time.

 

The above negotiations concluded on June 1, 2010 with the parties successfully reaching a strong consensus on the material business terms constituting the 80% completion level on the Tier 1 legal agreements for the LPP to allow Council to delegate the authority to the City Manager to finalize and execute, on behalf of the City, the required project agreements.  The above negotiations also recognized and incorporated into the draft legal agreements, all of the changes to the LPP resulting from the various Motions passed by Council on November 16, 2009.  The Tier 1 legal agreements are comprised of the Project Agreement, the Retail Lease (for the mixed-use development proposed by OSEG), the Stadium Lease (for the football stadium and the Civic Centre) and the Cost Sharing Agreement for Stage 2 of the LPP (following approval of the LPP by Council up until the execution of the Project Agreement).

 

The above Tier 1 legal agreements, together with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 legal agreements, cover the project development partnership, construction management, lease agreements and parking operations.  These agreements also incorporate provisions pertaining to third-party agreements that relate to operations such as the football and hockey franchises and mortgage agreements.

 

Termination Provisions for the LPP

 

It should be noted that, as directed by Council on November 16, 2009, there are termination provisions for the LPP contained in the Project Agreement. Rather than having these provisions set out in a separate agreement as originally contemplated, the parties were of the opinion that it was more appropriate and logical to set out all of these provisions together with other default provisions within the one legal agreement; that being the Project Agreement. 

 

The termination provisions set out the circumstances under which either the City or OSEG could choose to terminate the LPP for convenience prior to the commencement of construction at a predetermined cost.  This is viewed as a “no-fault” option.  The legal obligations of the party exercising the option to the recipient would be fulfilled upon payment of the predetermined cost.  The predetermined cost has been negotiated, subject to Council approval, and pursuant to the proposed formula agreed to between the parties, provides certainty and clarity on this issue.

 

The Project Agreement also contains provisions, certain of which are mutual and some of which are in favour of only the City or only OSEG, which are required to be fulfilled by closing (i.e. immediately before the commencement of construction of the LPP).  If these conditions are not fulfilled, the Project Agreement may be terminated by the party (i.e. the City) in whose favour the condition was inserted without having to pay damages or the costs of the other party (i.e. OSEG).

 

Moreover, although not directed by Council, City staff and OSEG have developed provisions that would permit the City to terminate for convenience the LPP post construction, although the cost to do so would potentially be quite significant.  A proposed formula for such an option is set out in the Project Agreement and can be found in Document 18.

 

Material Business Terms for the Tier 1 Legal Agreements

 

The material business terms for the Tier 1 legal agreements are set out in detail in Document 18 of this report.  Where there has been a change to what was originally set out in the September 2, 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between the City and OSEG, these have been noted.  The Project Agreements for the LPP expand upon and supplement the provisions set out in this MOU. City staff and lawyers from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP will be available to answer questions on any of these Agreements during the Special Meeting on June 17th and 28th.

 

Tier 2 and 3 Legal Agreements

 

Should Council approve the LPP, Tier 2 and 3 legal agreements will need to be prepared during Stage 2 of the LPP implementation (i.e., following Council approval of the LPP up to the commencement of construction).  The above noted agreements are complementary, but subordinate, to the Tier 1 legal agreements.  Consequently, these agreements would not impact the financial commitments of the City and OSEG as set out in the Tier 1 legal agreements.  An overview of the Tier 2 and 3 legal agreements is also set out in Document 18.  Subject to Council approval, the City Manager would be authorized to finalize and execute, on behalf of the City, the Tier 2 and 3 legal agreements, subject to the satisfaction of conditions in favour of the City and OSEG and the termination for convenience provisions in the Project Agreement during Stage 2 of the LPP.

 

Governance Model - Municipal Services Corporation (MSC)

 

It is important that an effective governance model for the LPP be established to ensure the long-term sustainability of Lansdowne Park, its infrastructure and the OSEG partnership.  Initially, governance oversight will be focused on the implementation of the redevelopment plan.  Once the site is redeveloped, the governance focus will shift to oversight of the ongoing operations and programming of Lansdowne Park.  The success and strength of the LPP rests on the commitment of the partners and their collective contribution to providing programming that suits Council’s objectives for the site and ensuring the site is effectively maintained over the short and long-term. 

  

The City has the option of establishing an MSC for the purpose of overseeing the operation and programming of Lansdowne Park pursuant to Section 203 of the Municipal Act, 2001.  An MSC is also subject to the provisions contained in Regulation 599/06.  Such a governance model would allow Council to create a corporate body that would possess the necessary expertise at an operational level to implement the plan and subsequently oversee the ongoing operations and programming of Lansdowne Park. 

 

Similar to the City’s relationships with Hydro Ottawa and the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation, the City would be the sole shareholder of the MSC.  Council would establish the criteria and competencies for the board of directors of the MSC and establish the broad policies to be followed by the board through a unanimous shareholder’s declaration.  Council could designate that the board membership include several councillors.  The remaining members of the board could be comprised of local business leaders, community stakeholders and programming specialists.

 

Document 17 of this report sets out additional information regarding an MSC as follows:

 

·           Advantages of the City establishing an MSC

·           Disadvantages of the City establishing an MSC

·           Process considerations in establishing an MSC

·           Mechanics of establishing an MSC

 

In summary, an MSC provides a governance model for the LPP with a number of practical advantages to facilitate the oversight by Council, of the ongoing operations and programming of Lansdowne Park.  Council has previous experience with similar corporate governance structures in Hydro Ottawa and the Ottawa Community Housing Corporation.  However, it is important to note as identified in the 2 September 2009, LPP report, the LPP is not conditional on the establishment of such a corporation.  Should Council decide not to establish an MSC the City, through Council and its staff, would deal directly with OSEG in overseeing the operations and programming for Lansdowne Park.

 

A decision, as to whether or not to establish an MSC, is not essential at this time for moving forward with the LPP Implementation. Therefore, as set out in Recommendation 24 of this report, it is recommended that staff report back to Council during Stage 2 of the LPP Implementation regarding a potential structure for a Municipal Services Corporation and the eligibility requirements for the Board of Directors.

 

Municipal Capital Facilities Agreement

 

As the LLP moves forward, issues will need to be addressed pertaining to the Stadium and Civic Centre components from a realty tax perspective. Presently, only a small portion of the complex is used by commercial groups – Aramark Sports and Entertainment and the Ottawa 67’s. These organizations remit realty taxes based on a percentage of the Lansdowne Park Property Tax Assessment. Under the LLP, the assets will remain City-owned but will be managed and operated by a private sector partner seeking profit. The use of the municipal facility in this manner will result in the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) reconsidering the “assessment exception” for the current City operated portions of the property.

 

A Municipal Capital Facilities Agreement will be constituted by the Stadium Lease, one of the Project Agreements.  In this respect, it will be necessary for the City to declare the Stadium and Civic Centre as municipal capital facilities within the class of “municipal facilities for cultural, recreational or tourist activities” pursuant to the Municipal Act.

 

Cash-in-lieu of Parkland

 

Under the LPP Project Agreements both the City and OSEG are each to contribute $2.5M from the project funding provisions for the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use components towards the cost of developing the Urban Park component.

 

The total contribution of $5M far exceeds the amount that would be collected under the City’s 2% and 5% cash-in-lieu of parkland requirements and therefore, staff is recommending that the financial contributions of $2.5M each by the City and by the OSEG toward the development of Phase 1 of the Urban Park be deemed to satisfy the 2% and 5% cash-in-lieu of parkland requirements for the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use components of the LPP Implementation.

 

Schedule and Costs for LPP Implementation

 

Stage 2 & 3 Implementation Schedule

 

Document 20 of this report, provides a project schedule for Stages 2 and 3 of the LPP.

 

July 2010 – July 2013 Milestone Schedule

 

A milestone summary of the project schedule is provided as follows:

 

Should Council approve the plan, Stage 2 will commence in July 2010 which initiates the development approvals process through the remainder of 2010 and early 2011. Stage 3 begins in Spring 2011 which initiates the construction and implementation phase so as to the completion of Lansdowne in the Summer of 2013.

 

Major milestones to be completed during Stage 2 include finalizing the existing Master Plan, legal agreements and integration elements between the mixed-use area and the Winning Urban Park Design. Zoning applications and site plan development are to be initiated during the summer and completed by March 2011. Additionally, the approvals process will be initiated for heritage and infrastructure which will allow for permits to be drawn by May 2011.

 

Stage 3 begins in late Spring 2011, with the initial construction focusing on the stadium and arena renovation and parking garage excavation. Timing has been scheduled in such a way that the summer months are when major arena renovation occurs, which allows for on-going use of the Civic Centre during peak months and minimizing blackout periods. Construction follows a logical progression by working on site servicing and infrastructure elements early on during 2011, which will allow for full construction on the commercial and mixed-use elements throughout 2012 and early 2013. Residential also ties into the mixed-use construction period, being initiated at the tail end of 2012.

 

A key strategy is to keep as much material on-site as possible to avoid unnecessary costly trucking to other locations; thereby the urban park area will be utilized as a staging area until development of the park occurs in late 2012 and is finished by Summer 2013 in conjunction with the stadium and mixed-use area.

 

Milestones

 

Fall 2010: Heritage Approvals Complete
Fall 2010: All Site Plan Control Completed

Winter 2011: Zoning By-law Amendment Approved

Spring 2011: Infrastructure Approvals Complete

Spring 2011: Site Plan Control Approved

Late Spring 2011: Tender Process Complete

Late Spring 2011: Construction Begins

Summer 2013: Construction Complete

 

Project Costs for LPP Implementation

 

The project costs for administration and consultants for the LPP Implementation are outlined in Document 21 of this report.

 

The actual and committed total costs for Stage 1 Implementation are $4.01M with the City’s share being $2.07M and OSEG’s share being $1.94M as detailed in Document 21.

 

The estimated costs for Stage 2 Implementation are $12.75M with the City’s share being $6.55M and OSEG’s share being $6.2M as detailed in Document 21.

 

The total estimated costs for implementation of Stages 1 and 2 are $16.76M with the City’s share being $8.62M and OSEG’s share being $8.14M, as detailed in Document 21.   

 

The Project Agreement contains provisions, certain of which are mutual and some of which are in favour of only the City or only OSEG, which are required to be fulfilled before the closing, being the commencement of construction of the LPP.  If these conditions are not fulfilled, the Project Agreements may be terminated by the party in whose favour the condition was inserted.

 

Each party pays its own costs in the event that closing does not occur and the Project Agreements are terminated, and does not pay damages or the costs of the other party.  In addition, certain termination for convenience rights will exist in favour of the parties.  In the event of a termination for convenience by a party prior to the closing, the terminating party will pay:  

(i)       all of the non-terminating party's Stage 1 and Stage 2 costs described under the applicable Cost-Sharing Agreement(s) (as described in  Document 18) to the date of termination, 

(ii)     the amounts of any Stage 1 and Stage 2 costs under the applicable Cost-Sharing Agreement(s) which the non-terminating party reimbursed the terminating party to the date of termination and, 

(iii)    the hard and soft costs of the non-terminating party pursuant to the Stage 2  budget after the execution date of the Project Agreement until the date of termination, if applicable.  In addition, the terminating party bears its own costs.

 

The construction costs for the project are comprehended within the Business Model described in this report and the Project Agreements. The City’s estimated costs for administration and consultants for Stage 3 LPP Implementation are estimated at $2.9M as set out in Document 21 and these costs are to be credited against the project cost for the Stadium component in accordance with the provisions of the Project Agreements outlined in Document 18.     

 

Trade and Consumer Show Facility 

 

On 16 November, Council amended and approved Recommendation 2.a.iv of the report regarding Implementation of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan (Ref. #ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0009) as follows: 

 

“That staff be directed to commence the Request for Expressions of Interest to the Proposal process for the construction, operation and finance of a Trade and Consumer Show facility in Ottawa as soon as possible and that any proposal from the Shenkman Corporation be received through the RFEOI process and that a Request for Proposals process be immediately commenced upon the successful completion of the RFEOI process, to be completed prior to Council’s June 2010 consideration; and

 

That staff be directed to commission a study to assess the following:

 

1)      Social value to community residents of a new trade and consumer show facility,

2)      Indirect economic benefits and value to local business to promote and grow their business,

3)      Direct economic benefits to the community and broader region from visitor spending by (new money to the community, jobs/employment),

4)     Development spin-off potential (e.g. hotels and other facilities, improved airport services)

5)      Review municipal investments practices in Trade and Consumer Show facilities.

6)     Other Benefits”

 

1. Request for Proposals for Exposition Hall Facility:

 

On 10 February 2010, Council considered a report prepared by the Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office (Ref.#: ACS2010-CMR-REP-0009) dealing with the first part of Recommendation 2.a.iv. Council approved resulting recommendations from the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC) that staff proceed directly to a Request For Proposals (RFP) process for the design, construction, operation and financing of an Exposition Hall facility in Ottawa based on the facility specifications, evaluation criteria, and evaluation team for the RFP set out in Document 9 attached to this report and utilizing a Fairness Commissioner to oversee the RFP process. The CSEDC recommendations also included direction that staff seek upper tier funding for the development of future trade show space in Ottawa.

 

The RFP document was then prepared on the basis of the Council approvals and directions given on 10 February 2010.  The RFP document clearly stated that:

“This Request for Proposal (“RFP”) will not result in a final contract or agreement for the development of the Exposition Hall Facility. Rather, the process is intended to identify a Preferred Proponent with whom the City could negotiate if it decides, in its sole and absolute discretion, to proceed with the creation of the Exhibition Hall Facility. The final decision will be contingent, at least in part, on the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park.”

The RFP was then issued on 2 March 2010 and closed on 6 May 2010 in accordance with the RFP document and other addenda.

 

There was significant interest in the RFP for the Exposition Hall Facility from service providers, with 39 companies downloading the Request for Proposal (RFP) document; however, only three of these companies subsequently met with City officials in “commercially confidential” meetings and in the end, when the RFP closed at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, 6 May 2010, only Shenkman Corporation submitted a proposal.

 

The proposal was subsequently evaluated in accordance with the process and provision approved by Council, and it was determined that the proposal met all of the mandatory criteria and well exceeded the minimum score of 75% (75 points out of 100 points) on the technical proposal requirements.

 

As a result, a report (Ref. #: ACS2010-CMR-REP-0033 – Lansdowne Results of the RFP Process – Exposition Hall Facility) was prepared and forwarded to the CSEDC for consideration on 1 June 2010 with the following recommendations:

 

“That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee receive this report for information and refer it to the Special Council Meeting for the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation and Related Reports for Council consideration of the following recommendations:

 

That Council:

1.        Accept the proposal from Shenkman Corporation, dated 6 May 2010, as meeting the City’s Request for Proposal process requirements to be considered the preferred proposal for negotiating an agreement for the design, construction, operation, and financing of an Exposition Hall facility;

2.        Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Shenkman Corporation for the design, construction, operation, and financing of an Exposition Hall facility as outlined in this report; and

 

3.        Subject to approval of Recommendation 2 above, authorize the City Manager to negotiate and enter into a Municipal Capital Facilities Agreement with Shenkman Corporation for the design, construction, operation, and financing of an Exposition Hall facility as outlined in this report”.

 

The CSEDC received and referred the report to the Special Council meeting, scheduled for 17 June 2010, regarding consideration of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation and Related Reports.

 

2. Exposition Hall Facility - Economic and Social Benefits Report:

 

As directed under the second part of Recommendation 2.a) i) the Economic Development Branch initiated a study undertaken by HLT Advisory Inc. to assess the economic and social benefits of an Exposition Hall Facility. The resulting HLT Advisory Inc. report “New Trade and Consumer Show Facilities in Ottawa” is the subject of a separate staff report entitled “Exposition Hall Facility - Economic and Social Benefits” (Ref.#: ACS2010-ICS-CSS-0005) that is being forwarded for information to Council when considering the results of the RFP process for an Exposition Hall Facility.

 

The report indicates that there will be a total annual economic benefit to the City of approximately $12.73M ($7.47M visitor spending, $5.26M operational spending). The region would also enjoy the short-term employment and direct spending generated from the one-time capital investment of approximately $39.2M to design, construct and fit-up the new facility, which will create 237 new direct jobs and a total of 346 direct, indirect and induced full-time equivalent jobs.

 

The CSEDC also received and referred this report to the Special Council meeting, scheduled for 17 June 2010, regarding consideration of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan and Implementation and Related Reports.

 

Relocation of Coliseum Inc. Dome and Operations

 

The Coliseum Inc. has an agreement with the City to utilize the field at Frank Clair Stadium and the Coliseum building at Lansdowne Park with provisions for Coliseum Inc. to construct a dome over the artificial turf surface and operate a recreational soccer business annually from 15 November to 15 May. In addition, they occupy the Coliseum building for similar uses including administration, change and washroom facilities. The agreement runs to 15 May 2015, with an option to renew for a further term of three years, on the mutual agreement of the parties.

 

Under the terms of the agreement, the City has the right, subject to certain conditions, to work with Coliseum Inc. to relocate its operations to an alternate location within a 10 kilometre radius of Lansdowne Park.  In anticipation of the Lansdowne Park Partnership proceeding, the City entered into negotiations with Coliseum Inc. regarding the relocation of their operations.

 

It should be noted that the City has not given notice of termination of the Coliseum Inc. Agreement at this time.  Rather, the above referenced negotiations have been a proactive step taken by the parties to try and give as much time as possible to Coliseum Inc. and the City to explore relocation options and to hopefully conclude a mutually agreeable relocation agreement, subject always to Council giving final approval to the LPP. Although several possible relocations sites have been discussed in detail by the parties during the last several months, as of the date of this report, the parties have not been able to conclude a relocation agreement.

 

Should Council give final approval of the LPP on 28 June 2010, Coliseum Inc. will still operate at Lansdowne for the 2010-2011 operating season as construction on the LPP is not currently scheduled to commence before the spring of 2011.  Thus, notice of termination of the Coliseum Inc. Agreement at Lansdowne Park would not have to be formally given until 14 November 2010, to be effective on 14 November 2011.  Consequently, the parties should have ample time to finalize a relocation agreement.

 

The Financial Implications section in the 2 September 2009, Council report on the LPP (ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0006) noted the anticipated maintenance and operating costs that would be avoided by the City during the construction of the LPP.  The report also noted that: “It is anticipated that the remaining $1M per year associated with the maintenance of Lansdowne Park will be spent on Lansdowne’s current contractual obligations and any custodial costs that may be incurred during the construction period.”  Consequently, City staff would look to this budget for any costs pertaining to Coliseum Inc.’s relocation.

 

Finally, should the City and Coliseum Inc. ultimately be unable to come to mutually agreeable terms for a new agreement, or any agreement, the matter can be referred to arbitration by either party and the factors to be taken into account by the arbitrator have been previously determined.  

 

Ottawa Art Gallery

 

The Realty Initiatives and Development branch, in cooperation with the Cultural and Heritage Services branch, is currently working towards finalizing the details of an implementation plan for revitalizing Arts Court and will be bringing forward a report for consideration by Committee and Council in July 2010.

 

A functional building program and associated demonstration floor plans were developed in early 2009 for a redeveloped Arts Court complex at 2 Daly Avenue that provides for an expanded Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG), new theatre facilities, renovated spaces for some of the other Arts group, and a private sector component (Arts Court Complex Demonstration Plan - Option 3).

 

However, further analysis has recently been carried out that provides additional, financial, architectural and programming information and indicates there may be both potential opportunities for, and advantages in, accommodating the OAG component in either a different manner at 2 Daly Avenue or at a different location.

 

In this regard, revised demonstration floor plans have been prepared to accommodate the OAG component at 2 Daly Avenue in a different way in order to provide for a more effective and economical overall Arts Court Development project at that location (Arts Court Complex Demonstration Plan - Option 4).

 

Demonstration Plan Option #4 includes the following major features:

 

1. Constructing a new 2-storey infill building on the footprint of the existing Arts Court Annex and the vacant Waller Street lands to accommodate the revised Arts Court Complex programs.

 

2. Creating significant through-block pedestrian linkages at the grade level (Agora/Foyer elevation ±67.0) giving access and visibility to the principal public spaces.

 

3. Locating the expanded Saw Gallery/ Club Saw at grade with a prominent entrance and courtyard off Nicholas Street.

 

4. Locating the Ottawa Art Gallery on the second level with its own prominent entrance and outdoor exhibit area at the intersection of Daly Avenue and Waller Street.

 

5. Locating Theatre A and Theatre B at grade with a prominent entrance off Waller Street and linkage to the Media Arts Hub and the Ottawa Art Gallery. The nature of the theatre performance spaces is still to be determined.

 

6. Accommodating all existing office tenants displaced from the Arts Court Annex and accommodating the Saw Video, IFCO and Art Engine expansion proposals by relocating them in the historic Arts Court building in spaces vacated by the OAG (7,100 sq. ft.), or into part of the new building basement (6,494 sq. ft.).

 

7. Providing the opportunity for an 18-storey private sector tower (130,000 sq. ft.) to be constructed above the Arts Court Complex with underground parking (62 spaces).

 

In addition, Arts Court Complex Demonstration Plan - Option 5 has been prepared to provide for an Arts Court Development project at 2 Daly Avenue on the basis that the OAG component would be located elsewhere in order to allow for additional cost-effective opportunities for the current users at Arts Court to have better facilities and a further ability to grow their programs.  

 

Demonstration Plan Option #5 includes the following major features:

 

1. The Ottawa Art Gallery is excluded from the redevelopment at 2 Daly Avenue.

 

2. The existing Arts Court Annex is renovated to accommodate expanded Media Arts Hub, Theatre B, and all existing office tenants. Approximately 7,100 sq. ft. of unassigned space becomes available for new tenants in locations previously occupied by the OAG.

 

3. A new 350 seat Theatre A and back-of-house spaces are introduced in a new building on the vacant Waller Street lands. The nature of Theatres A and B is still to be determined.

 

4. The private sector component is maximized and includes, a 19-storey private sector tower with ground floor commercial, two levels of offices, and 16-storey of residential uses (157,000 sq. ft.) over underground parking (62 spaces).

 

5. A significant through-block pedestrian linkage at the grade level (Agora/Foyer elevation ±67.0) is created giving access and visibility to the principal public spaces.

 

Based on recent discussions with the OAG representatives, staff are now exploring redevelopment options for Arts Court as follows:

 

Ř  A redevelopment at 2 Daly Avenue that includes for an expanded OAG component and is based on Arts Court Complex Demonstration Plan - Option 4.

 

Ř  A redevelopment at 2 Daly Avenue that excludes the OAG component and is based on Arts Court Complex Demonstration Plan - Option 5 with the OAG component then being accommodated potentially at one of the following locations:

·         Morguard Corporation’s proposed mixed-use building at 150 Elgin Street, or

·         A new facility within the proposed redevelopment of Lansdowne Park

 

An independent cost consultant has provided Class ‘D’ capital cost estimates for the Arts Court redevelopment components at 2 Daly Avenue for Demonstration Plan Options 3, 4 & 5 and staff made requests to both Morguard and OSEG to provide conceptual plans and costing for accommodating the OAG component within their proposed developments at 150 Elgin and Lansdowne Park respectively, before the end of May 2010. This information will then be used to complete the analysis of the options and finalizing the details of a recommended implementation plan for Arts Court in June 2010 so that a report can be considered by CSEDC and Council in July, as currently scheduled.

 

While Morguard has indicated an interest in having the OAG as part of the proposed development at150 Elgin, staff have, as of the time of preparing this report, not yet received the requested information.

 

The OSEG has determined that the OAG requirements could be accommodated in the portion of the Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use component at Lansdowne now occupied by the Salons A, B, and C. They have provided the City with conceptual floor plans to indicate how the OAG requirements could fit into that space as set out in Document 25 attached to this report. At the time of preparing this report, OSEG was still preparing information as to the costs for this space. However, they have provided a preliminary indication that the space could be made available on a “base building basis” under a long-term lease with a reduced net rent, reflective of the space renovation costs, and a lease inducement towards the “space fit-up” costs.

 

As set out in Recommendation 23 of this report, it is recommended that staff further pursue the option for providing a new facility for the Ottawa Art Gallery as part of the LPP Implementation, as outlined in this report and to include this option in the report on the redevelopment of the Arts Court complex that is scheduled to be considered by CSEDC and Council in July 2010. The conceptual plans for accommodating the OAG at Lansdowne are shown in Document 23 of this report.

 

Central Canada Exhibition Association (CCEA) - Relocation of Exhibition

 

The City Manager’s report regarding the Implementation of the LPP (Ref. #: ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0009) considered by Council at its special meeting on 12, 13 and 16 November 2009 provided information regarding the relocation of the Central Canada exhibition by the CCEA as follows:

 

“City staff will assist the CCEA in the completion of a business and logistical plan to move to their property on Albion and Rideau Roads.  Regardless of the LPP, the CCEA has been considering the move for some time but has identified a lack of funds to support a relocation project.  In consultation with the CCEA, it was ascertained that the delay is due in part to the cost to extend municipal servicing (water and sewer) to the 100-acre site. In response, staff commissioned a civil engineering review to identify the servicing constraints and potential remedy options. This information was shared in meetings with the CCEA. Staff has also identified important background information comprised of detailed engineering reports and studies beneficial to the CCEA development. Furthermore, Council Motion 71/32 from September 2, 2009, directs staff to complete a traffic study to assist in the development process of the CCEA lands. This study is moving ahead regardless of the LLP. The production of the final concept plan for the Albion Road remains the responsibility of the CCEA.

 

The site concept plan for the CCEA property must be developed concurrently with a supporting business plan. Internal staff support has been offered to the CCEA to assist in scoping out elements within the business plan. Staff are moving forward to transfer the adjacent City owned property of 59 acres to the CCEA primarily to be used for parking given the environmental challenges related to the site. The production of a business plan, with a supporting short and long-term financial plan, together with a relocation strategy will remain the responsibility of the CCEA.   

 

As part of the Implementation Plan, a Termination Notice to the CCEA for the Lansdowne Park location must be rendered before May 1, 2010 for vacant possession of the site for January 2011. The CCEA was made aware of this possibility during the discussion with City staff in July of this year.”

 

The Council approvals given on 16 November 2009 included, under Recommendation 2.a) vi) as follows:

 

“That staff work with the Central Canada Exhibition Association (CCEA) to assist them in completing the business and logistical plans necessary for the CCEA’s move to their property on Albion Road following the exhibition in 2010.”

 

Under the License Agreement between the City and the CCEA, the City has the right to terminate the License providing notice before May 1st of any given year with vacant possession the following February 1st.   On April 16, 2010, the City staff provided the required formal notice to the CCEA confirming that 2010 would be the last year that the CCEA’s annual Exhibition could be held at Lansdowne Park.

 

City staff have continued to work with representatives of the CCEA to assist the CCEA in moving to its Albion Road property. In this regard, staff forwarded two reports for consideration by the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and Council in June 2010 as follows:

 

·         ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0017 - CENTRAL CANADA EXHIBITION association Forgiveness of 2009 and 2010 License fee for lansdowne park

 

·         ACS2010-CMR-REP-0013 - SALE OF LAND – 4980 ALBION ROAD – CENTRAL CANADA EXHIBITION ASSOCIATION

 

The above-referenced reports were considered by the CSEDC on 1 June 2010 at which time the Committee amended the staff recommendations so that the CSEDC recommendations being submitted for consideration by Council at its meeting on 9 June 2010, are as follows.

 

ACS2010-CMR-CSE-0017

 

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend that Council:

 

1.  Approve that the elimination of the 2010 licensing fee payment of $310,000 by the CCEA to the City’s Lansdowne Park operating budget be funded from the One-time and Unforeseen account.   

 

 

ACS2010-CMR-REP-0013

 

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend that Council:

 

1.       Declare a parcel of vacant land containing an area of 23.62 ha (58.36 acres), described as part of Lot 25, Concession 3 (Rideau Front) geographic Township of Gloucester now City of Ottawa, shown hatched on the attached Document 1, as surplus to the City’s needs;

 

2.       Waive the City’s policy regarding the sale of property at market value and approve the sale of the land outlined in Recommendation 1, estimated to have a market value of $1,120,000 to Central Canada Exhibition Association for $1.00 plus GST and subject to any easements that may be required;

 

3.       Delegate authority to the Director of Real Estate Partnerships and Development Office to finalize negotiations and execute an Agreement of Purchase and Sale with the Central Canada Exhibition Association for the property described in Recommendation 1, substantially in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the attached Document 2, and to complete the sale of the property to the Central Canada Exhibition Association.

 

4.       Provide a maximum grant of $280,226 to the CCEA to offset applicable fees for planning applications, engineering, development charges and building permits to the end of 2018, payable at the time the various applications and charges are due.

 

5.    Direct Staff to ensure that the Traffic Impact Assessment for the CCE relocation specifically assess the transportation impacts of this relocation on Albion Road through the Blossom Park Community (Albion Road between Bank Street and Lester Road) and whether the traffic impacts warrant the consideration and implementation of interim measures as part of the relocation and,

 

Direct Staff to look into the long-term transportation solution such as an Albion Road By-Pass that will accommodate projected growth from other planned developments that will impact the area as part of the next Transportation Master Plan review, as well as other upgrades that may be warranted to the broader transit and transportation network.

 

6.    Approve that no action be taken on the reports on the Central Canada Exhibition until their Business Plan has been received and approved by the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee.

 

 

Housing  First Policy

 

The Housing First Policy, approved by Council on 13 July 2005, establishes priority consideration to the Housing Branch in the identification of potentially surplus City-owned property to be used in achieving the City’s affordable housing program targets. The policy also requires that the Official Plan target of 25% affordable housing be met on any City-owned property sold for residential development. Where viable residential properties are disposed of without a condition requiring an affordable housing component, 25% of the proceeds from the sale are to be credited to a housing fund to be used for the development of affordable housing elsewhere in the City.

 

As provided for in the LPP Business Model and the Project Agreements, the City will sell air rights to a residential developer to construct 44 new town homes on Holmwood Avenue, 176 new condominium units on Bank Street and a 60 unit condominium tower on Bank Street as part of the Lansdowne Park Master Plan that provides for an Urban Mixed-Use development.  The City will receive proceeds from the sale of air rights for the townhomes and condominium units estimated at almost $10.2M (net of site servicing costs).  These revenues are intended to be used to fund the City’s share of the LPP development costs.

 

As a result, staff are seeking an exemption from the Housing First Policy that stipulates that 25% of the funds from the sale of these parcels be directed to the Housing Branch, as set out in Recommendation 22 of this report.

 

Housing Branch continues to express concerns regarding waiving the Housing First Policy as follows:

 

“Funds collected from the Housing First Policy on the sale of City surplus lands help sustain the Affordable Housing Capital Building Fund, which is used to provide capital grants and fee relief to support and develop affordable supportive and rental housing under Action Ottawa and the Canada Ontario Affordable Housing Program (AHP).  Waiving the Housing First Policy may adversely affect Housing Services ability to support the development of future affordable housing.”

   

Should Council choose not to support Recommendation 22, the City’s cost for the LLP project will increase by approximately $2.5M being 25% of the $10.2M estimated value of the residential air rights.

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

 

The City's existing Old Landfill Management Strategy, finalized in October 2004, identified an old landfill site within the footprint of Lansdowne Park.  This former landfill was instigated between 1913 and 1925 in order to fill an inlet from the Rideau Canal.  This former landfill was investigated and assessed in 2003.  Soil and groundwater samples from the landfill site, surface water samples from the Rideau Canal, and landfill gas measurements from within various on-site structures demonstrated that there were no human health risks from the former landfill associated with the current use of Lansdowne Park. 

 

A further Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment of Lansdowne Park was undertaken as part of the Stage 1 LPP Implementation work.

The Phase II Environmental Site Assessment of Lansdowne Park confirmed and delineated the areas of suspected environmental concern.  Limited areas of soil impacts were delineated in the vicinity of the Horticulture Building and the former Coliseum Annex Boiler Rooms and the former East Lavatory.  In addition, the Phase II ESA confirmed the configuration of the former landfill area to be roughly coincident with the former shoreline of the inlet from the Rideau Canal.  This fill material includes wood, metal, ashes, cinders, coal, brick and decayed organic matter to a maximum depth of 5.49 metres below grade.

 

RURAL IMPLICATIONS

 

The LPP provides for establishing a permanent Farmers’ Market as set out in Recommendations 11 and 12 and described in Document 12 of this report to support the rural and farming communities.  

 

 

CONSULTATION

 

In November 2009, Council directed staff to provide the public with opportunities to provide feedback on the design for the urban park. Council further directed that the public be kept informed on other aspects of work related to the OSEG design development for the stadium, mixed-use and other planning matters.

 

In keeping with Council’s direction, the City has undertaken a number of communications initiatives to keep Council, the public and key community stakeholders informed and to provide opportunities for the public to comment on the various components of the Lansdowne redevelopment proposal. These initiatives include:

 

International Design Competition for the Urban Park Public Meetings

The international design competition for a new urban park at Lansdowne included a two-stage public comment process, drafted in partnership with the National Capital Commission (NCC) and Parks Canada Agency (Parks Canada). Citizens were asked in January and February of 2010 for their ideas on what they thought should be the form and function of the new urban park at Lansdowne.  In total, the City received 752 comments from the public via Ottawa.ca.

 

Information about the design symposium was distributed through news releases, print advertisements in the daily newspapers. It was also posted online at Ottawa.ca and distributed through a regular e-newsletter.

 

The City solicited public comment on the five proposed designs for the new park and provided a consolidated report on the feedback they received to the design competition’s jury, City Council, the NCC and Parks Canada. The urban park designs were on public display at several municipal locations across Ottawa.

 

A Design Symposium was held on 24 and 25 February 2010, featuring the five design teams that are competing to design the urban park. At various public sessions, attendees also received briefings from the project consultants, the City, the NCC and Parks Canada, as well as community groups. Presentations by the five teams, exploring their design ideas and approaches, were recorded and posted on Ottawa.ca, as were the briefing documents used for the symposium.

 

The five design teams selected to participate in the urban park design competition received formal presentations from representatives of the following organizations:

 

·           Friends of the Rideau

·           Heritage Ottawa

·           Glebe Community Association

·           Old Ottawa South Community Association

·           Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA)

·           Ottawa International Children’s Festival

·           Ottawa Environmental Advisory Committee

·           Centretown Citizens Community Association

·           The Stanley Cup Committee

·           Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association

·           Ottawa Forest and Greenspace Advisory Committee

·           Ottawa Farmers’ Market

·           The Algonquins of Pikwŕkanagŕn

 

Public Display of Designs

 

Display Schedule for the Lansdowne Urban Park Design Competition Proposals

Dates

Venue

Location

May 20 to 23

Ottawa City Hall, Jean Pigott Hall

110 Laurier Avenue West

May 24 to 26

Lansdowne Park, Main Concourse

1015 Bank Street

May 27 to 28

Ray Friel Recreation Centre, Lobby

1585 Tenth Line Road

May 29 to 30

Nepean Sportsplex, Concourse

1701 Woodroffe Avenue

May 29 to 30

Walter Baker Sports Centre, Concourse

100 Malvern Drive

Ongoing

Ottawa City Hall, Jean Pigott Hall

110 Laurier Avenue West

 

OSEG Stadium and Mixed-Use Design

The OSEG design for the stadium and mixed-use area of Lansdowne was released publicly on 27 May 2010. At that time, members of the public and the media had the opportunity to speak directly with members of the OSEG Brisbin, Hobin and Cannon design team.

The e-consultation for the OSEG stadium and mixed-use design commenced June 1 and continues through to 13 June 2010.

Public Input through On-line Consultations

The public was also encouraged to provide their feedback on the urban park designs through an ongoing e-consultation, held from 20 May through 31 May 2010. During these time, residents were able to share information and opinions, and pose questions on a 24/7 basis. E-consultation information was linked to LPP documents on Ottawa.ca (from the main page).

The public was also able to share opinions and information and ask questions through 311@ottawa.ca or by calling 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401).

Nanos Research compiled the feedback from these e-consultations and has submitted an interim accounting of them, the details of which can be found in Document 22 of this report.

The consolidated results of public input from the urban park design competition proposals and the OSEG stadium and mixed-use design will be tabled at the Committee of the Whole for Council consideration on 17 June 2010.

Stakeholder Meetings

 

Additionally, City staff and/or consultants retained by the City met with the following groups and stakeholders:

 

·           The Central Canada Exhibition Association (CCEA)

·           The Ottawa Association of Exposition Managers (OAEM)

·           Coliseum Incorporated

·           The Glebe Community Association

·           The Old Ottawa South Community Association

·           The Old Ottawa East Community Association

·           The Centretown Citizens Community Association

·           Market Research Corporation

·           Tate Economic Research Incorporated

·           The Glebe Business Improvement Area (BIA)

·           The Ottawa Farmers’ Market (OFM)

·           The Algonquins of Pikwŕkanagŕn

 

Advisory Committees

 

City Staff met with members from eight of the City’s advisory committees in March to provide them with information and answer their questions, including:

 

·           Ottawa Built Heritage Advisory Committee

·           Environmental Advisory Committee

·           Arts, Heritage and Culture Advisory Committee

·           Rural Issues Advisory Committee

·           Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee

·           Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee

·           A joint meeting of the Pedestrian and Transit, Roads and Cycling Advisory Committees

 

Standing Committees

 

The public and stakeholder groups were advised of the opportunities to attend and speak to standing committees at the 8 February 2010, Joint Transportation Committee and Transit Committee meeting, which dealt with the Lansdowne Transportation Impact and Assessment Study and Transportation Demand Management Plan report ACS2010-CMR-OCM-001 and the 6 April 2010, CSEDC meeting, which dealt with the Lansdowne Park Revitalization – Terms of Reference: Retail Studies Peer Review report ACS2010-CMR-OCM-0004.

 

Ongoing Activity

 

·           At least one e-newsletter per month was sent to over 5,000 to citizens who had expressed interest in receiving project updates.

 

·           Press conferences were held and news releases issued for the following key components of the work undertaken on the project:

o    The announcement of the Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel

o    The shortlist of design firms for the urban park competition

o    Details on the design symposium

o    Release of the historical and retail reports

 

·           The following information was available through Ottawa.ca:

o    The Guiding Principles for the Lansdowne Transformation, prepared by the Lansdowne Strategic Design Review and Advisory Panel

o    Historical pictures and design renderings as they became available

o    The major project reports, news releases, backgrounder documents, a series of questions and answers, and timelines for the progress of the key work components on the project.

o    Reports posted include:

§  All of the reports received by standing committees and Council

§  The heritage studies

§  The Lansdowne Partnership Plan

§  Engineering reports

§  Public consultation findings

§  A number of reports on transportation, including the extensive terms of reference for a new transportation study

§  Retail studies, the request for proposals (RFP) for the retail study and market impact analysis peer review

§  The RFP for a new trade and consumer show facility

§  The RFP for the urban park competition

 

·           The City Manager also regularly issued memorandums to City Council to keep Council members informed about the City’s work on the project and to notify them about upcoming events, news releases and press conferences.

 

Current and Planned Consultation

 

The public’s opportunity to provide feedback on OSEG’s proposal for the stadium and mixed-use design commenced on 1 June 2010 and runs through to 13 June 2010. Copies of the designs were put on public display at City Hall on 27 May 2010, and will remain available until June 13, 2010.  Council will then be provided with a consolidated report of this feedback for its information and consideration on 17 June 2010.

 

A public meeting organized by Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services staff on the Lansdowne Community Park is being held on 14 June 201, at 6:30 p.m. at the Glebe Community Centre. Committee of the Whole of Council will be provided with a consolidated report of the feedback received from this meeting on 17 June 2010.

 

 

COMMENTS BY THE WARD COUNCILLOR(S)

 

The implications of this report are city-wide; however, the Councillor for the ward in which the proposed facility is to be located is being made aware of the recommendations of this report.

 

 

LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

 

For the reasons set out in this report there are no legal/risk management impediments to implementing any of the recommendations in the report.

 

Background

 

This Legal/Risk Management Implications comment in this report must be read in conjunction with the Legal/Risk Management Implications comment in the November 12, 2009 Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP) Implementation Report (ACS2009-CMR-OCM-0009) that was approved by Council, subject to certain conditions, on 16 November 2009.

 

Briefly, the previous comment dealt with the Sole-Sourcing Issue, the Bonusing Issue and Other Potential Liability ((a) Costs and (b) Litigation).  Borden Ladner Gervais, the City's external legal advisers for the LPP, provided a detailed discussion of each of the three issues and, in conclusion, essentially opined that there were no legal impediments to Council moving forward with the LPP at that time.

 

Nothing materially has changed since November 16, 2009 that would cause Borden Ladner Gervais LPP to change or retract its previous opinions.

 

 

Negotiation of Project Agreement Framework

 

Commencing in the spring of 2010, extensive negotiations began between the principals of the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) and the City and their respective legal and external consulting teams.  OSEG was led by Roger Greenberg of Minto while the City’s team was led by the City Manager.  The law firm of Soloway Wright provided legal advice to OSEG while the Toronto and Ottawa offices of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP provided support to the City’s team.

 

The core task of the above teams, as directed by Council on 16 November 2009, was to frame and reach consensus on the partnership agreements for the LPP.  These legal agreements were to outline the roles, responsibilities and obligations between the City and OSEG as contemplated by the LPP Memorandum of Understanding presented to Council on 2 September 2009, that highlighted the critical business terms at that time.

 

The above negotiations concluded on 1 June 2010, with the parties successfully reaching a strong consensus on the material business terms constituting the 80% completion level on the Tier 1 legal agreements for the LPP to allow Council to delegate the authority to the City Manager to finalize and execute, on behalf of the City, the required project agreements.  The above negotiations also recognized and incorporated into the draft legal agreements, all of the changes to the LPP resulting from the various Motions passed by Council on 16 November 2009.  The Tier 1 legal agreements are comprised of the Project Agreement, the Retail Lease (for the mixed-use development proposed by OSEG), the Stadium Lease (for the football stadium and the Civic Centre) and the Cost Sharing Agreement for Stage 2 of the LPP (following approval of the LPP by Council up until the execution of the Project Agreement).

 

The above Tier 1 legal agreements, together with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 legal agreements, cover the project development partnership, construction management, lease agreements and parking operations.  These agreements also incorporate provisions pertaining to third-party agreements that relate to operations such as the football and hockey franchises and mortgage agreements.

 

Termination Provisions for the LPP

 

It should be noted that, as directed by Council on 16 November 2009, there are termination provisions for the LPP contained in the Project Agreement. Rather than having these provisions set out in a separate agreement as originally contemplated, the parties were of the opinion that it was more appropriate and logical to set out all of these provisions together with other default provisions within the one legal agreement, that being the Project Agreement. 

 

The termination provisions set out the circumstances under which either the City or OSEG could choose to terminate the LPP for convenience prior to the commencement of construction at a predetermined cost.  This is viewed as a “no-fault” option.  The legal obligations of the party exercising the option to the recipient would be fulfilled upon payment of the predetermined cost.  The predetermined cost has been negotiated, subject to Council approval, and pursuant to the proposed formula agreed to between the parties, provides certainty and clarity on this issue.

 

The Project Agreement also contains provisions, certain of which are mutual and some of which are in favour of only the City or only OSEG, which are required to be fulfilled by closing (i.e. immediately before the commencement of construction of the LPP).  If these conditions are not fulfilled, the Project Agreement may be terminated by the party (i.e., the City) in whose favour the condition was inserted without having to pay damages or the costs of the other party (i.e. OSEG).

 

Moreover, although not directed by Council, City staff and OSEG have developed provisions that would permit the City to terminate for convenience the LPP post construction, although the cost to do so would potentially be quite significant.  A proposed formula for such an option is set out in the Project Agreement and can be found in the Document 18.

 

Material Business Terms for the Tier 1 Legal Agreements

 

The material business terms for the Tier 1 legal agreements are set out in detail in Document 18 of this report.  Where there has been a material change to what was originally set out in the 2 September 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between the City and OSEG, these have been noted.  The Project Agreements for the LPP expand upon and supplement the provisions set out in the MOU.  City staff and lawyers from Borden Ladner Gervais LLP will be available to answer questions on any of these Agreements at Special Council Meeting on June 17th and 28th.

 

Tier 2 and 3 Legal Agreements

 

Should Council approve the LPP, Tier 2 and 3 legal agreements will need to be prepared during Stage 2 of the LPP implementation (i.e., following Council approval of the LPP up to the commencement of construction).  The above-noted agreements are complementary, but subordinate, to the Tier 1 legal agreements.  Consequently, these agreements would not impact the financial commitments of the City and OSEG as set out in the Tier 1 legal agreements.  An overview of the Tier 2 and 3 legal agreements is also set out in Document 18.  Subject to Council approval, the City Manager would be authorized to finalize and execute, on behalf of the City, the Tier 2 and 3 legal agreements, subject to the satisfaction of conditions in favour of the City and OSEG and the termination for convenience provisions in the Project Agreement during Stage 2 of the LPP.

 

Labour Transition

 

City staff have been consulting with CUPE 503 on the LPP to develop an agreed upon go forward plan for labour transition should Council approve the LPP.  The goal is to ensure that the rights of City employees are protected.  City staff have provided to OSEG the relevant collective agreements for City staff at Lansdowne Park.  OSEG has retained the local law firm of Emond Harnden LPP to provide it with advice on the labour issues.

 

TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS

 

There are no technical implications to implementing the recommendations in this report.

 

 

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

In order to provide a comprehensive assessment of the financial implications to the City of approving the Lansdowne Partnership Plan, the capital costs identified in the body of this report and in report ACS2010-CMR-REP-0033 Lansdowne – Results of the RFP Process – Exposition Hall Facility have been assessed.

 

The following table identifies the various elements the City is responsible to fund, the cost and source of funding.  Each of these items will be discussed in greater detail following the table.

 

Item

Total City Cost

($M)

Source: Amount

($M)

Stadium renovation and parking

129.3

Debt:  119.1

Revenue from air rights: 10.2

Urban Park (estimated envelope)

35.0

Debt:   35.0

Trade Show and Exposition Hall

8.5

Debt: 8.5

TOTAL

$172.8

 

 

Stadium Renovation and Parking

 

The Lansdowne Partnership Plan requires the City to fund $106.2M for the stadium renovations and $23.1M to construct 660 of the approximate 1370 below-grade parking spaces.  The City’s financial exposure is limited, as OSEG is assuming the risk for any potential cost escalations.

 

The source of funding for the stadium has been amended to reflect the inclusion of revenues from the sale of air rights for the residential component of the plan. These revenues are estimated to be $10.2 million and will be used towards the stadium renovation costs.  The net effect is that the amount of debt to be issued is $119.M.

 

The debt to be issued was modeled as a 40-year term (reflecting the life of the asset) at 5.35 per cent (0.36 per cent more than the current posed 40-year rate at which the City could borrow from Infrastructure Ontario) and would require fixed yearly debt servicing of $7. 274M per year.  The debt would be issued in 2012 with debt repayments commencing in 2013.

 

The year that the debt payments start, the Lansdowne operating budget will be eliminated and the contribution to capital will be reduced.  In total, these budgets will be reduced by $3.8 million, thereby reducing the impact of the increase to the debt-servicing budget.  In the same year, the general taxation budget will increase by approximately $2.60M (75 per cent of the total of $3.46M in taxes to be received as a result of the Lansdowne re-development) and in 2020, the City will receive the first of the series of distributions from the priority payment system.

 

While the funds identified above are sufficient to cover the debt servicing over the term of the debenture, the timing of the cash inflows results in the debt payments being greater than the cash inflows for the first seven years.  In order to avoid a tax impact, it is proposed that funds be borrowed with interest from the Parking Reserve to bridge the difference.  In total, $4.0M needs to be borrowed from the reserve, which would be refunded with interest by 2025.

 

During the period the stadium is under reconstruction, a budget for Lansdowne will need to be maintained in order meet current contractual obligations and any custodial costs that may be incurred.  A yearly budget of $1M is the estimated requirement and can be accommodated within the existing operating and capital budgets for Lansdowne.

 

Urban Park

 

The decision by Council to hold a design competition for the front-lawn portion of the previous plan has resulted in additional costs not included in the previous report.  The winning design, as selected by the Jury, is estimated to cost $46M.  The City’s share of the cost is estimated to be $35M, with the remainder the responsibility of the OSEG, the NCC and Parks Canada.  The costs for the urban park are not yet finalized, as negotiations still need to be held to further plan the overlap area. It is, therefore, proposed that a funding envelope of $35M be established. Staff will return to Council with the final costs at site plan approval.

 

It is recommended that the source of funds for this park be debt.  The debt would likely be issued in 2011 and would therefore impact the 2012 budget.  For a 30-year term at 5.25%, the cost of the debt servicing would be approximately $2.342M per year.

 

Trade Show and Exhibition Hall

 

Council’s decision to issue an RFP to provide trade show and exhibition space on a site other than Lansdowne, results in additional costs not contemplated as part of the original report.  While negotiations are still to take place with respect to the City’s financial involvement in the project, the current City position is to limit the financial exposure to a one-time capital contribution of $8.5M. 

 

The source of the $8.5M is recommended to be debt.  Given the aggressive timeframe to complete this project, the City will likely have to contribute its funds in late 2010 or early 2011.  This will create a budget pressure when debt service charges start in 2012.  The debt-servicing budget would increase by approximately $700,000, depending on the term and interest rate of the debt issued.

 

The only other funding alternative is the potential for upper-tier funding through Round 2 of the P3 Canada Fund. However, the submission requirements indicate that the timing and requirements for funding under this round are not likely compatible with those for the City’s project. Staff have initiated discussions with the local contact for the P3 Canada Fund to obtain more information on the potential eligibility of the City’s project before Council considers this report on 28 June 2010.

 

Impact of Debt Financing on the Fiscal Framework Principles

 

City Council has endorsed the use of debt financing for projects that are classified as being “legacy”.  Projects of this nature must be “one of a kind”, contribute towards the quality of life in the city and have “multi-generational benefit”.  The Lansdowne redevelopment project and the trade show and exhibition hall project fit these criteria and therefore can be classified as being “legacy” capital works.

 

The City’s Fiscal Framework sets a limit on the amount of debt that can be used to fund capital projects:  principal and interest payments for tax and rate supported debt must not exceed 7.5% of the City’s own source revenues.  In order to ensure that the increase in debt servicing required as a result of this project does not exceed that limit, a 10-year projection of debt servicing was prepared based on all the planned capital work to be undertaken by the City, that is to be repaid using taxation (both city-wide and transit).  The results show that debt servicing rises to 5.75% of own source revenues by 2019, well below the 7.5% limit.

 

The City’s Fiscal Framework also limits the amount taxes can be increased in a given year to service the debt on non-legacy projects to no greater than one-quarter of 1% of property taxes.  As the Lansdowne redevelopment is classified as legacy capital works, this limitation does not apply. 

Interest Rate Sensitivity Analysis

 

The rate of interest on the City of Ottawa’s debt, unlike commercial operations, is based on the interest rates that the Government of Canada will receive on its 10 or 30-year bonds plus a spread to account for the difference in risk associated with a Canadian government bond versus a City of Ottawa bond. The following graph shows the 30-year and 10-year Canadian bond yields since 1993 and the rate at which the City has been able to issue its debt. The City debt has been either for a 10 or 20-year term with the spread averaging 54 basis points higher than Canada’s.  As can be seen, there is a strong correlation between these long-term rates and the rate on the City’s debt.

 


 

Short-term interest rates are currently on the rise, but the impact of these increases are not forecasted to impact long-term rates significantly.  The following graph shows the long-term (30- year) Canadian bond yields compared to the short-term (overnight) rates since 1992.  As can be seen from the graph, there have been times when the two rates are almost the same and times when there has been a spread of at least 4%, such as there is today.  The spread between the two rates allows short-term rates to rise significantly without having a corresponding impact on long term rates. Most bank analysts are forecasting that in the next two years, the short-term rates will rise by at least 2.5%, but the interest rates for long-term bonds is only forecast to increase by 0.55%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In the model used to forecast the financial impact of the Lansdowne Partnership, an interest rate of 5.35% has been used for the debt to be issued for the stadium renovation.  This is the rate that Infrastructure Ontario was offering municipalities in August of 2009. While the rate has currently decreased to 4.99%, the assumption has not been changed.  The impact of a quarter percent rate increase or decrease on the yearly cost of debt servicing would be approximately $240,000.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Document 1: Background Summary - Council Approval / Motions November 2009

Document 2: Design Panel Process and Guiding Principles for Lansdowne Transformation

Document 3: Urban Park Design Competition

Document 4: Jury Decision Summary - Urban Park Design Competition

Document 5: OSEG Stadium and Urban Mixed-Use Plan

Document 6: Design Review Panel - OSEG Evaluation & Integration Criteria

Document 7: Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd. Report on Site History

Document 8: Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd. Report – Heritage Input for   Lansdowne Park Master Planning

Document 9: Retail Peer Review Summary

Document 10: J.C. Williams Group Retail Strategy Report

Document 11: OSEG Marketing Plan Summary and Conceptual Layout

Document 12: Farmers’ Market Report Summary

Document 13: Transportation Report Summary

Document 14: Transportation Peer Review Report

Document 15: MOU with the NCC re: Special Event Shuttle Service Pilot Project

Document 16: LPP Business Model

Document 17: Governance Model - Municipal Services Corporation

Document 18: LPP Project Agreement Framework

Document 19: Lansdowne Park Proposed Surplus Lands Related to Project Agreements

Document 20: Project Schedule

Document 21: Phase 2 & 3 Costs

Document 22: Public Consultation Summary (Nanos)

Document 23: Preliminary Assessment of Potential to Accommodate Ottawa Art Gallery

 

To be tabled at the Special Meeting, 17 June 2010:

 

Document 24: Nanos Research Ottawa Website – Lansdowne Design Proposal Feedback Report (Stadium and Mixed-Use Design)

Document 25: Summary of Community Consultation on the Lansdowne Community Park (Sylvia Holden Park)

Document 26: Financial Sensitivity Analysis

Document 27: Recommended Integration Directions for Achieving a Master Plan for Lansdowne Park Prior to Final Deliberations

                       

 

DISPOSITION

 

Subject to Council approval, staff will implement the recommendations as outlined in the report.