[eternallyme]

Here is my thought:

1) The Ogilvy building should become an integral part of an expanded Rideau Centre. It could either be a department store (not sure who could fill that space though) or a part of the mall itself (that would be much more awkward).

2) The surface parking lot should be removed and redeveloped. That expansion could be either 2 or 3 storeys, with a number of stores facing Rideau Street (access to the mall itself would have to be through those stores).

3) The food court should be moved to Mackenzie King Bridge, using a portion of the existing Sears portion at the southwest entrance (let Nordstrom have the rest, including aerial rights to a potential 5th floor).

4) The existing food court should be converted into street-level retail. It would likely displace a few stores on the 2nd floor above the food court, which could easily relocate if a spot is open in the mall, or into the expansion.

5) As a heritage building, the City Registry Office should remain in its current location and setting. No other changes should be made to the southeast corner.

6) Once the DND moves, the building should be redesigned into a large hotel.

7) The connections to the LRT should be in the northeast corner of the Rideau Centre, with an additional connection at Dalhousie and at street level at William, unless the alignment is changed to Mackenzie King Bridge (above ground, after short tunnels of Albert and/or Slater and an elevated guideway over Laurier, which was my preference all along).

8) Finally, the Ottawa Convention Centre should have aerial rights to upper levels above the Rideau Centre (i.e. 4th to 6th floors or higher - 4th in the southwest part and 6th in the southeast part) if they want to expand, although the rooftop terrace needs to remain, even if on a higher level.

It should all be done concurrently IMO, so that by 2020, Rideau area would look like a true hub of Ottawa. An alternate possibility is to expand on the north side of Rideau Street, but it would displace The Bay and several other retailers.