[kevinbottawa]

Community works with Regional, Domicile on development of Main Street Oblate lands

A deeply green urban community is set to rise on land where young Oblate brothers played outdoor hockey in the 1930s and collected sap from maple trees to sweeten morning porridge in the dining room of their religious home, the Edifice Deschâtelets.

Next door, Les Soeurs du Sacré Coeur de Jésus (Sisters of the Sacred Heart) toiled to clean after and care for the brothers, cultivating vegetable gardens off Main Street in what is now Old Ottawa East, a blended community of modest homes built 50 years ago and a rising number of new, infill homes.

The Oblates have deep roots in Ottawa East, buying a large chunk of land along the Rideau River in the early 1860s, building Deschâtelets in 1885 and, along the way, establishing schools and churches, the University of Ottawa and Saint Paul University. The Sisters set their own agenda, training young novitiates for their order, then opening a residential school on the Main Street lands in 1911. A number of Sisters taught in schools and across the province.

Together, the Sisters, Oblates and Saint Paul controlled almost 30 acres of green space, the largest chunk of inner urban development land after LeBreton Flats and the Rockcliffe Air Base. Developers have lusted after the land for years, keenly aware that both religious groups were shrinking in numbers and aging.

Domicile was first off the mark last year, buying 3.5 acres of land from the Sisters. Working with architect Rod Lahey, they came up with two six-storey condos with a French flair that gently mimic the Sisters’ convent. The condos are in the final approval stages at the city and should be on the market shortly.

The Sisters, about 79 who are now mostly in their 80s, will continue to live in the convent.

Selling the Oblate land was more complicated.

Initially, the Oblates entertained an offer by Monarch Homes and Walton Development and Management, a large North American landholding company, but talks faltered a year ago. Insiders say Walton was put off by restrictions of the comprehensive Community Development Plan (CDP) and a secondary plan developed by members of the Old Ottawa East Community Association.

Then a bit of serendipity materialized late last year. David Kardish, vice-president of land development for one of the city’s largest real estate companies, the Regional Group, sat beside the Oblates’ lawyer at a dinner and repeated his interest in the site.

“I was disappointed we didn’t win the first time,” says Kardish, a veteran developer, who says he lives and understands the urban lifestyle, owning an older home in Old Ottawa South. “We did our due diligence and I am comfortable with the numbers.”

Kardish actually reduced the number of condos and units planned for the site, introducing in their place a mix of townhomes, modest singles and larger custom homes that will be near the Rideau River.

“What we are building is the heart of the community,” Kardish said earlier this month, while Gord Lorimer of Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects presented the master plan for the 26-acre parcel.

Called Greystone Village, it’s designed in close collaboration with the community association, which spent five years holding public meetings and drafting a CDP that stresses green initiatives, promotes walking and respects history and the community roots. They also wanted more retail shops.

Earlier this fall, Regional presented its revised plan to the community and met loud applause.

Hobin and his team are designing the homes, which will likely come to market next fall. They’ll be built by Regional’s home building arm, eQ Homes.

Within a few weeks, Regional will file a formal application for subdivision approval with the city for 900 or so condos, townhomes and singles facing narrow streets where pedestrians will pull rank over cars. Parking will be tucked to the back of most homes or, for a trio of nine-storey condos to be located behind the university, set underground.

“My guess is it will take nine months for subdivision approval,” says Michael Mizzi, chief of development review services for the city. Staff will work on needed zoning bylaw changes at the same time. “It looks pretty positive.

“It is an exciting proposal, actually,” says the former city of Toronto planning manager, who arrived in Ottawa a year ago. “I commend the Regional Group. Long before they submitted an application, they have been openly discussing the plans with the community and the city.”

The community association and Capital Ward Councillor David Chernushenko are also supportive.

“It matches the scale of the adjoining neighbourhood,” says association executive Stephen Pope, who helped develop the CDP and has worked with Regional and Domicile to develop their plans. He says the development will bring more shops and services to Old Ottawa East, turning it into a community more closely resembling Bank Street in the Glebe and a quieter version of Westboro.

“Regional’s current proposal is better than what was originally proposed in the CDP development plan,” adds association president John Dance.

And says Chernushenko, “Domicile and Regional read the community design plan and understood what the community wanted with sustainable living and came forward with proposals that were compatible. We will be getting intensity without going high. That is very good.”

It’s a huge project that will likely take a decade to finish, says Kardish, who paid $32 million for the land and estimates the project, when finished, will be worth $300 million. The Deschâtelets will be home to the remaining Oblates and will eventually be turned into housing, possibly for seniors.

Greystone Village will transform Old Ottawa East, almost doubling the population and co-ordinating with the city’s multi-million-dollar construction project to rebuild Main Street with wider sidewalks and public art.

A widened green strip of trees and bike and walking paths will stretch along the Rideau River, and a large driveway or grande allée will link Main Street to the front portico of the grey stone Deschâtelets, setting up a linear park that will run between mid-rise condos by Regional on the north and similar housing forms to be built by Saint Paul on land it owns on the south.

Retail shops and likely a grocery store will be located at ground level, cars will be restricted, a farmers’ market will set up shop on weekends and the existing community will be invited to shop.

“This is not Barrhaven. It is going to be a new urban community,” says Lorimer.

Greystone Village

What: Nine hundred homes, starting with modest singles and townhomes in a green community, with a grand allée or linear park leading to the Edifice Deschâtelets. Retail shops will anchor the lower level of condos set back from the grand driveway. There will be narrow streets, rear parking, walking and bike paths along the Rideau River.

What it will look like: “It is our intention to have small, smart, efficient singles to attract buyers at the entry level,” says architect Barry Hobin. “Designs will vary depending on where you are on the site.” Towns close to the Deschâtelets will be more traditional in the use of stone. Closer to the river and the park, the houses will be freer to be more contemporary, but not stark modern.

“If successful, we will be creating a modern version of the cottage-like houses of Old Ottawa South and Brighton Beach: smaller in scale and modest in materials, including brick and wood siding,” Hobin says. “Almost all of the houses will have the garage removed to a lane access so the house is designed to engage with the street.”

There will be some larger, modern homes near the south end of the site and close to the river. Some single homes will feature lower-level apartments, to generate revenue.

Pricing: “We are not there yet,” says Regional’s David Kardish. However, back-to-back condos, slim, three-storey towns and modest singles under 1,500 square feet will be aimed at younger buyers, while single homes on 35-foot lots will top $1 million.

When: The application for subdivision approval goes to City Hall in the middle of December. Sales will start in the fall of 2015.

Who: eQ Homes, the building arm of Regional, will build the homes. “Not everyone wants to live in a condo, so we have a range of housing types to suit all ages,” says eQ president Denis Laporte.

Information: greystonevillage.ca

Domicile Developments

What: Two, six-storey condos designed by Ottawa architect Rod Lahey. The condos will sit on 3.5 acres formerly owned by Les Souers du Sacré Cours de Jésus at 141 Main St. near Oblate and Springhurst avenues in Old Ottawa East.

What it will look like: The condos will have a French flair, with a traditional masonry exterior, picking up an influence from the neighbouring convent. There will be large windows and balconies. A park will sit between the condos, which will feature rooftop terraces and ground-floor retail shops.

Domicile has commissioned art pieces to be placed on wide sidewalks. A reconstructed Main Street will also feature bike lanes.

There will be 76 units in the first building and 72 in the second, ranging up to 1,600 square feet and $700,000. There will also be a few micro-condos of 345 square feet targeted at young professionals and priced under $200,000, says David Renfroe, Domicile’s director of business development and planning. Forty-four per cent of the condos will range between 550 and 700 square feet, targeted at older residents who have lived in Old Ottawa East and want to stay in the community. Location is vital in this economy, with slower condo sales, says Renfroe.

Who: Domicile Developments is a boutique firm owned by John Doran, an Ottawa entrepreneur with a long track record of designing and selling condos on urban infill sites.

When: Domicile is working on a third revision with the city on the condos, with sales expected to start early in 2015.

Information: domicile.ca