Laurentian High School redevelopment | Proposed
 

'Creative' $60M project for Baseline

Maria Cook
Ottawa Citizen

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

OTTAWA-The company that brought Ottawa the South Keys shopping mall says it is planning a very different kind of project on the former Laurentian High School site at Baseline Road and Clyde Avenue.

"We have a design and concept that has not been done here," SmartCentres vice-president Dennis Eberhard said Tuesday.

"It should be a drastic improvement and catalyst for redevelopment in an area of town in need of an injection of some interesting buildings and a place for people to shop and enjoy."

SmartCentres is proposing a $60-million mixed-use development. The 15.5-acre site would feature two- and three-storey buildings containing stores, offices and possibly condos, a big-box store, as well as a highrise tower.

The concept includes a pocket park, paved squares with seating and pedestrian and bicycle paths connected to the adjacent Central Park community. Shopfronts face Baseline Road and Clyde Avenue and surround an interior surface parking lot as well.

"I am delighted that SmartCentres is contemplating a mixed-use development," said River Councillor Maria McRae who got a preview Tuesday.

"One of the big concerns of the community is they did not want another big-box commercial wasteland. They listened to the community concerns and they're contemplating a design that is very transit-friendly, cycling and pedestrian-friendly."

"They're good urban design so it's functional but blends nicely in the residential area. Their plan contemplates a very creative bus space, not your usual glass walled space."

The company plans to submit its proposal to the city this week as part of an application for rezoning from institutional use to commercial and residential. They also plan to present a preliminary design to the public in three or four weeks.

I think it's very interesting and very promising looking," said Stuart Sykes, president of the Central Park Community Association. "It's evident that they have tried to respond to early input we provided: concern about shadow effects, pedestrian access, traffic at the intersection. Putting the tallest development closest to Baseline and Clyde, that's very positive because it addresses the shadow effects."

Items he flagged for later scrutiny were the size of the pocket park - two-tenths of an acre - and the presence of a big-box store after residents said they didn't want a big-box mall.

Ms. McRae said she was impressed the developer took the unusual step of soliciting feedback before submitting the application. "Instead of being saddled with an application thrown on our desks, I'm hearing a developer say they want to work with the community. They're working with the city's traffic and transit planners."

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board closed Laurentian High School in 2005 due to declining attendance. It sold the property last year for $21.26 million to SmartCentres, a Toronto-based real-estate developer that specializes in big-box developments anchored by Wal-Mart stores. Mr. Eberhard said they hope to demolish the school next year and begin construction next fall. The mall would include 15 to 35 stores. The big-box store could be 50,000 to 120,000 square feet. The company is not yet announcing what store it will be.

Shadow studies will be done for the tower. It's not known yet what height is envisioned. "It will be open to the interior so people can walk through into the site," said Mr. Eberhard. "It should be quite impressive. It is an important corner. We hope to take advantage of the profile and attention that corner gets because of all the people and traffic going by."

The company is planning a berm with grass and trees between the shopping centre and the neighbourhood. It is also conducting a traffic study. The intersection at Baseline and Clyde is busy and has a high collision rate. Options include extra turning lanes, built at the company's expense, and signals.

The city wants to encourage more intense development along Baseline, and to strengthen its role as a major east-west transit route and alternative for commuters who do not go downtown. It is planning a dedicated bus lane on Baseline Road, for which SmartCentres will give some land.

And, when light rail is implemented, the corner of Baseline and Woodroffe is envisioned as a transfer point between buses and light rail.

"Done right, the SmartCentre project could be a model for higher density development, says Ms. McRae. "If you drive there now, it is pretty scruffy looking," she says. "It is prime for intensification. They are contemplating a beautiful streetscape with sidewalks and stores as small as 1,000 square feet. Residents talked about having a place they could walk to for a coffee, a nice meal or a greeting card. There's nothing like that within walking distance of that area now."

© Ottawa Citizen 2008

CREDIT: Handout
shopping centre in Thornhill by Smartcentres
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465...2779f/shop.jpg

There IS a God.

While Smart Centres are definately a step up from bix box malls, it's still just one or two main streets with the sea of parking stuck in behind the buildings. ;)

If this is anything like the proposals for the Foundry district in Toronto, then I have no problem with it. (http://www.thefoundrydistrict.com)

From what I have been hearing, Councillor Chiarelli is going to try and introduce a motion at the next Pl'g Committee Mt'g to have this area subject to a Community Design Plan....obviously that would throw a spanner in the works in terms of timing.

Needless to say, Councillor McRae isn't too thrilled as the site is wholly within her ward.

beep beep
 

and you thought traffic was bad now...

You just wait until the residents of Central Park rip up Smartcentres during the next public consultation.

High income community + computer literate + anti Big Box = powerful force

Just check out their website: http://www.central-park.ottawa.on.ca/

Agreed on the traffic in that area.. it's atrocious.

the application is in

http://wwuploads.googlepages.com/lau...n_siteplan.jpg

*snicker*
Very New Urban indeed!

It reminds me of an old west town, on a Hollywood lot. Fake storefronts along the streets, with nothing behind (i.e. numerous parking stalls).

"Residential development was considered for this concept, and Smart Centres contacted residential developers about this idea. However, the response was either disinterest or an insistence on an unacceptable business arrangement due to highly differing land values. It is Smart Centres’ desire to include residential uses as part of the long-term potential for the site, but the immediate development program is for retail, service, and office uses."

To be fair, it's an honest effort to create a more positive streetscape while accomodating the typical suburban retail. I think it's a little unrealistic to expect developers to create the sort of street retail we love at a location like this. Even if they did decide to try to recreate that sort of streetscape, I can't see it facing the major roads, and then we're dealing with the problem of having the backs of buildings to the major thoroughfares again.

Until there is a fundamental shift in the policy for suburban districts as well change in the nature of development away from large blocks, I can't see something like the old style of streetscape returning.

http://www.laurentianredevelopment.com/

http://www.laurentianredevelopment.c...-header-01.jpg

I think it's worthwhile to read the Planning Rationale report from the application:
http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Im...02-08-0106.PDF

The big box store is at the back of the lot so that the building shields the backyards of the houses to the north from the noise and lighting of the parking lot.

It also specifically states that the buildings along Baseline and Clyde will have entrances from both the street and the parking lot:
From page 15 of the PDF:
"It is intended that the street side and interior side of these buildings will have full architectural treatment and full accesses."

Frankly I think this is the best bix-box type development this city has yet seen.

http://wwuploads.googlepages.com/sma...aurentian1.jpg

http://wwuploads.googlepages.com/sma...aurentian2.jpg

I've seen that tried before. The stores close off the street side entrance and basically ignore it.The parking lot entrance is the one everyone ends up having to use, and the street side looks like crap.

It's a nice idea, but bound to failure...

Well, it's a start. It's certainly one of the first examples I've seen of the "main street" being on, well, the main street rather than off some private thoroughfare through the development.

What's with all the pastel colours?

Yes, I like the traditional use of red brick or other darker colours.

Notice all the awnings in the design, a bit of a throwback to the old days before there was air conditioning. Will they actually be included when they are built? The nice thing about awnings in the old days is that they were rolled up during the colder months allowing sunlight in. Will these be permanent structures?

The large gap between Building E and F has been de-emphasized in all the drawings. Of course, the developer does not want to hide the big box store from the main street (Baseline), but the main street feel is destroyed in the process.

The design still also emphasizes convenience to the car driver, otherwise the sidewalk entering from the intersection would have been extended directly towards the main store.