[eternallyme]

I know I have mentioned a few times on here in different places what my vision for the area is. Being a major transit hub (and the crossroads of Ottawa for transit), I think a high-density mixed-use area is necessary there.

Are there any plans to clean the site up? If so, I could see a mixture of condos, hotels and office towers there. The tallest of them I would go into uncharted territory for Ottawa, exceeding 50 storeys (perhaps more?) and making up a large proportion of the new office and condo space in the city. None would be government buildings.

I would actually like to see it have the tallest buildings in the Ottawa area, while making the height limit in the downtown area (defined as from the Rideau River to the O-Train line and south to Highway 417, plus the Island of Hull) stricter for new buildings not under construction or completed - none of which can exceed 20 storeys or 200 feet (although existing buildings obviously would be allowed to stay as they are). That rule would not apply outside that area, where all limits would be eliminated.

[Dundas]

Hurdam station is suppose to close in 2014 for lrt renos. In the future anything close to a lrt station is gonna be big bucks. So maybe when they know forsure the lrt will be built they will start building there. I think the ncc owns all that land so who knows.

[kevinbottawa]

Hurdam station is suppose to close in 2014 for lrt renos. In the future anything close to a lrt station is gonna be big bucks. So maybe when they know forsure the lrt will be built they will start building there. I think the ncc owns all that land so who knows.

I hope the NCC doesn't own in. That means it's gonna be developed at a snail's pace over decades. Why would they want to own that land anyway? Is it of national importance? Is it within the Greenbelt?

[m0nkyman]

I would actually like to see it have the tallest buildings in the Ottawa area, while making the height limit in the downtown area (defined as from the Rideau River to the O-Train line and south to Highway 417, plus the Island of Hull) stricter for new buildings not under construction or completed - none of which can exceed 20 storeys or 200 feet (although existing buildings obviously would be allowed to stay as they are). That rule would not apply outside that area, where all limits would be eliminated.

I would not.

[eternallyme]

I hope the NCC doesn't own in. That means it's gonna be developed at a snail's pace over decades. Why would they want to own that land anyway? Is it of national importance? Is it within the Greenbelt?

Seriously, the NCC needs to sell it. They should get out of the business of holding useless land anyway. They could make many millions in land sale, to pay down the deficit or debt.

[lrt's friend]

I hope the NCC doesn't own in. That means it's gonna be developed at a snail's pace over decades. Why would they want to own that land anyway? Is it of national importance? Is it within the Greenbelt?

The government expropriated all the riverside land on the east side of the Rideau River from Walkley Road to Rideau Falls in the early 1950s to preserve it as parkland and greenspace and also to protect the flood plain. Most people today do not realize that much of this land was subject to regular flooding. I have photos from our family showing it. Modern flood control measures has mostly eliminated it but there is still a risk of flooding in an exceptional year. I can recall some flooding in the spring of 1976. We have to be very careful before considering any development on flood plain land.

The following photo from the spring of 1947 in the area of Billings Bridge shows the tremendous degree of potential flooding that is possible. It also explains why there are no buildings west of Billings Bridge near the river and why Brewer Park exists. These areas are entirely flooded in the photo. Some of these areas were flooded in 1976 as well.

http://www.oldottawasouth.ca/images/stories/oshp/NAPL-A10903-069-Rideau-flood-of-1947.jpg

http://www.oldottawasouth.ca/images/stories/oshp/NAPL-A10903-069-Rideau-flood-of-1947.jpg

Despite the hill near Hurdman, which is an old garbage dump, the rest is all flood plain land.

[eternallyme]

The government expropriated all the riverside land on the east side of the Rideau River from Walkley Road to Rideau Falls in the early 1950s to preserve it as parkland and greenspace and also to protect the flood plain. Most people today do not realize that much of this land was subject to regular flooding. I have photos from our family showing it. Modern flood control measures has mostly eliminated it but there is still a risk of flooding in an exceptional year. I can recall some flooding in the spring of 1976. We have to be very careful before considering any development on flood plain land.

The following photo from the spring of 1947 in the area of Billings Bridge shows the tremendous degree of potential flooding that is possible. It also explains why there are no buildings west of Billings Bridge near the river and why Brewer Park exists. These areas are entirely flooded in the photo. Some of these areas were flooded in 1976 as well.

http://www.oldottawasouth.ca/images/stories/oshp/NAPL-A10903-069-Rideau-flood-of-1947.jpg

http://www.oldottawasouth.ca/images/stories/oshp/NAPL-A10903-069-Rideau-flood-of-1947.jpg

Despite the hill near Hurdman, which is an old garbage dump, the rest is all flood plain land.

Interesting, there would need to be land height increases, levees and greenways along there under any such intense project that stand up beyond the 500-year flood line (i.e. worse than 1947, up to about 225 feet elevation - which is about 30 feet above normal). An exceptional event, while extremely rare and with a low chance of happening in any given year, is certainly not impossible and has to be considered as well (think Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2008 and Nashville in 2010).

I do like the height increases/elevating for the LRT project there now knowing all that.

[lrt's friend]

Increasing the height of land substantially at Hurdman to prevent flooding there will just increase the potential of flooding along the rest of the river. We would need levees (on both sides of the river) from the Bronson Avenue bridge and Carleton University to Rideau Falls. What will be the impact on the remaining parkland and views of the river? I think it would be substantially negatively impacted.

[Uhuniau]

Increasing the height of land substantially at Hurdman to prevent flooding there will just increase the potential of flooding along the rest of the river. We would need levees (on both sides of the river) from the Bronson Avenue bridge and Carleton University to Rideau Falls. What will be the impact on the remaining parkland and views of the river? I think it would be substantially negatively impacted.

I'm sick of looking at Ottawa's rivers.

I'd like to start using them.

But looking is all that's allowed.