Fotenn Planning + Design has drafted the following As We Heard It Report to summarize the feedback received at the second Public Consultation Meeting, held on March 9th, 2023. Members of the public are invited to comment on the draft Report and the application until May 1st, 2023 for comments to be included in the Final As We Heard It Report. To comment, please complete the form at the bottom of this page.
February 24, 2023
Taggart Realty Management and Councillor Troster’s office will be hosting the second virtual public consultation meeting on Thursday March 9th from 6:30pm to 8:30 pm. All attendees from the last meeting will receive an email invitation with the Zoom link; if you have not signed up previously, please submit your contact information in the form below to receive the invitation. This virtual meeting will include a presentation by the applicant of the revised development proposal which seeks to respond to all community and City feedback to date. Following the presentation, a question and answer period will be held to receive further feedback. For those unable to attend, the presentation will be posted on the project website and comments will be collected via the feedback form at the bottom of this page. All comments will be published in an As We Heard It Report, similar to the first public meeting. Sign up today to receive your meeting invite!
Sept 14 2022
Taggart Realty Management and the project team attended a pre-consultation with the Special Design Review Panel (SDRP) on March 25th 2022, at which we presented and received feedback on the original development application. Among other recommendations, the SDRP strongly recommended that we consider the retention of the Legion building at 359 Kent, and encouraged us to work on integration of the building (or some elements of it) into the proposed development. We responded by presenting an array of 5 different retention options at the first formal SDRP meeting held on August 15th 2022, with each retention option balanced against public and community stakeholder feedback. The attached document details the SDRP’s recommendations following this first formal meeting.
Special Design Review Panel Recommendations (PDF)
Sept 8th 2022
The online commenting period of July 26th to August 5th 2022 has closed, and the As We Heard It Report is now finalized. Please see the following attachment for the As We Heard It Report – Final.
As We Heard It Report (PDF)
July 26th 2022
Thank you to all participants of the Public Consultation Meeting held virtually on June 22nd, 2022. The attached As We Heard It Report summarizes the feedback received during the meeting and suggests potential directions on how the project team can work to incorporate the comments into the development. For those unable to attend the meeting, we invite you to provide your comments on the As We Heard It Report through the feedback form below. Comments will be collected until August 5th, 2022 and then incorporated into a final As We Heard It Report.
May 24th 2022
Taggart Realty Management and Councillor McKenney’s office will be hosting a public consultation meeting on Wednesday June 22nd from 6:30pm to 8:30 pm. To receive an invitation to this meeting, please submit your contact information in the form below. This virtual meeting will include a presentation of the proposed development and will be followed by a question and answer period to help inform the community on the proposal. Participants will then be sent into “breakout rooms” to discuss a set of questions regarding the development and will have the opportunity to provide feedback and to collaborate with the development team. Topics of these discussions will include the built form, public realm, and public use of the development. Following the meeting and a commenting period, all feedback will be compiled into a final report and worked into the next design submission. Sign up today to receive your meeting invite.
On the Development Design:
With the landmark nature of this site in mind – Hobin Architecture’s vision is to create a development that is truly iconic in the Centretown neighbourhood and the City of Ottawa. We would accomplish this on multiple fronts. Firstly, a pedestrian oriented corner plaza, emphasised by a dramatic four storey cantilever at the entrance on the corner of Kent Street and Gilmour. The new podium would require the demolition of the exiting five storey office building but will retain the two historic houses along MacLaren.
This large, mixed-use, podium would house offices, retail, and more importantly, a dedicated civic use. The intent is to give the inner-block house to a deserving community group and transform the corner house to a retail use. While the end use is not set, the developer is undertaking discussions with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, as community services is an established need in the Centretown district. The desired outcome of this development is to reinvigorate an important part of Kent Street by bringing in existing members of the community, new residents, and office workers to create a vibrant pedestrian-oriented space on three Centertown streets. Central to the site design is the concept of a social heart terrace which draws occupants of all uses to meet on the ground floor between the interior atrium and rear gardens, expanding the space that can bring together different users of this Centretown development.
Above the podium, a 34-storey tower acts as the beacon for this site with its dramatic shape not only acting as a guide to the downtown core and the parliament from the highway, but as a new iconic piece in the Ottawa skyline. The proposed development would bring additional density to the area with 405 new residential units including bachelors, ones and two bedroom apartments. This would hopefully promote new commercial activity in the area with new residents and attract locals and tourists alike to the amenities of the development. This whole development will provide five storeys of underground vehicular parking at a ratio of 0.65 spaces per unit and 0.1 spaces for visitors for a total of +/- 324 parking spaces.
The second development feature is the 4-storey angled podium cantilevered over the main entrance. This creates a dramatic overhang over the Kent and Gilmour plaza while making the building more dynamic while still respecting the built for of the Centretown fabric. Because of its orientation, parts of this podium overhang over the sidewalk terraces producing more protected spaces below. At the same time, other areas are recessed, allowing for large, landscaped patios above the third storey overlooking Gilmour Street. In keeping with the beacon theme, a large glass box will be carved out of the corner of this 4-storey podium which will shape some outdoor amenity space, as well as some interior amenity space visible from the street and giving the occupants beautiful views down Kent Street. The podium further breaks down the mass of the buildings and creates a visual transition to the tower above.
The final feature of this development is the tower itself which acts as the visual landmark. Its slender, dynamic shape creates visual interest from far and near. A large shroud crowns the building below and flows upwards to capture the top of the tower. It bisects the building mass to emphasize the verticality of the tower and creates possibilities for outdoor spaces on the upper floors. Furthermore, it encapsulates all the mechanical and service spaces on the roof into one clean building envelope. To the west, the tower is comprised of a central solid element with punches windows which connects to the ground plane. A glass façade with larger balconies reveals itself as the building form opens towards the podium. The same elements are used on the east side abutting the shroud to create light filled, pleasant residential units.
In conclusion, our team is presented with a great opportunity with this designated landmark site to create iconic architecture that will celebrate the importance of Centertown and its community, as well as its role as a way finder to the Parliament district. While enjoyed locally, this tower will be an incredible icon to visitors entering the City via the Kent Street corridor, a place to visit and live.