Wabano Centre | ?m | 2fl |Approved

Ottawan · #1 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 1:52 PM**

New building for Wabano Centre will be 'jewel' on Montreal Road
Maria Cook, Ottawa Citizen
December 17, 2009
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/buildin...472/story.html

Quote:

OTTAWA — A striking new building for the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health promises to invigorate Montreal Road, says John Baird, federal minister of transport and infrastructure.

The federal and provincial governments on Thursday announced $4.7 million in funding. The Wabano Centre will raise the balance for the $6.2 million project.

A model of the 25,000-square foot structure, designed by renowned architect Douglas Cardinal and his son Bret, was unveiled at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Special features include a domed gathering space with a ceremonial fire pit in the centre, and an exterior curving glass facade meant to evoke water.

“It will be the heart and identity and expression of aboriginal people in this community,” said Allison Fisher, the centre’s executive director.

Construction is to start next March and will take up to 16 months. The federal share comes from the infrastructure stimulus fund.

“It’s a great day for our community,” said, Baird, noting that 6,700 infrastructure projects have been announced across the country. “Ottawa has done very well.”

Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario’s minister of community and social services, said the building will be a “jewel” on Montreal Road.

“The work you do on a daily basis can sometimes be tough but I can assure you you are all heroes in our community,” she told Wabano staff. “You have made a difference in the lives of so many people.”

The centre has a waiting list of more than 200 families. “The existing facility is so cramped,” said Bret Cardinal.

The new building will be an addition to the existing 10,000-square-foot centre.

It will provide two levels of underground parking and two levels of space for after-school programs, crisis intervention, meetings, training and workshops.

Douglas Cardinal, based in Ottawa, is best known in the national capital region for the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.

“My vision was to capture the power of the women and the healing of their community,” he said.

Thirteen cedar pillars inside the building represent 13 lunar cycles, and a green roof will be used to grow medicinal plants.

Gardens and a solarium will provide a natural environment for consultations and healing sessions.

The domed room will hold 200 people and have an oculus to vent smoke from the fire. A dream-catcher motif on the ceiling symbolically captures the dreams and aspirations of the community,

The new structure will be built in what is now a parking lot. An adjacent dental office and two houses will be demolished.

A shop will sell arts and crafts made by clients. A solar spar on the roof will generate heat and electricity for the building.

“We want people to experience the First Nations perspective,” said Cardinal. “And also have the First Nations make a contribution to Ottawa because they have so much to teach all of us.”

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

(Photos on the Ottawa Citizen Website, posted there courtesy of Douglas Cardinal architect inc)

Personally, I think this will look great on Montreal Rd!

harls · #2 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 1:54 PM**

Wow.. that looks great.

AuxTown · #3 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 2:40 PM**

Awesome project!

They had to put a guy in a beater in Vanier

c_speed3108 · #4 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 2:51 PM**

Sweet!!!!

I love what has been happening in Vanier and the area lately. Amazing to watch. The area is starting to become awesome in short order!!

It is close to downtown with easy access to everything! Same pattern as Westboro, but better located with more amenities.

danny the dog · #5 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 3:54 PM**

Great project both for Montreal road and for the aboriginal community.

rakerman · #6 Posted **Dec 18, 2009, 5:45 PM**

that is quite the thing

Jamaican-Phoenix · #7 Posted **Dec 20, 2009, 1:43 AM**

Now THAT is modern, sexy and inspiring architecture that Ottawa desperately needs.

blackjagger · #8 Posted **May 12, 2010, 4:36 PM**

Zoning and Site Plan Applications are up including new renderings. It is quite the work of art IMHO.

http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__728XMW

Deez · #9 Posted **May 12, 2010, 5:02 PM**

Nice. Very reminiscent of the AGO reno here in hogtown.

waterloowarrior · #10 Posted **Jun 15, 2010, 7:07 PM**

rezoning staff report (recommended for approval)
http://ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/cit...%20Bradley.htm

Uhuniau · #11 Posted **Jun 27, 2010, 11:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_speed3108

Sweet!!!!

I love what has been happening in Vanier and the area lately. Amazing to watch. The area is starting to become awesome in short order!!

It is close to downtown with easy access to everything! Same pattern as Westboro, but better located with more amenities.

But without any current or planned rapid transit access, and the intermediate transit study (the Montreal Road bit) was unceremoniously scrapped by the visionless idiots on Laurier St.

waterloowarrior · #12 Posted **Aug 22, 2010, 2:42 AM**

appealed to the OMB
http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/ecs/CaseDetail.aspx?n=PL100816

Jamaican-Phoenix · #13 Posted **Aug 22, 2010, 3:12 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

appealed to the OMB
http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/ecs/CaseDetail.aspx?n=PL100816

Oh, for the love of God. Why?

c_speed3108 · #14 Posted **Aug 23, 2010, 12:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

appealed to the OMB
http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/ecs/CaseDetail.aspx?n=PL100816

WTF!!!!!

Why!?! and by who?

Cre47 · #15 Posted **Aug 27, 2010, 3:15 AM**

Nothing in this article indicating that it is and why it is appealed to the OMB though so it might be awhile before an answer to the mystery question.

---------------------------------------------------

Aboriginal groups partner to bring community together

Grant funding will hire full-time staff person

By Sneh Duggal, The Ottawa Citizen August 26, 2010 10:01 PM

A new joint initiative between two Ottawa-area organizations is trying to get unemployed aboriginals more involved in the community through volunteer work.

“They arrive from the North, they’re willing to work, but they don’t have the resources or the network,” said Louise Logue of the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, adding that the program would help these individuals increase their potential for employment.

The Wabano Centre and the Tewegan Transition House are partnering to create a new volunteer program, funded through a $142,700 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The funding will allow the organizations to hire a full-time co-ordinator to manage the program.

Allison Fisher, Wabano’s executive director and a Tewegan board member, hopes the program will bring the community together.

“It’s difficult to engage the aboriginal community because it’s not just one area, but the entire city,” she said.

“Without a community supporting you, you can’t thrive and flourish,” Fisher said, adding that volunteers were major contributors to this support system.

For homeless aboriginals, the program would provide an additional outlet, said Tony Cruickshank, who is the housing/homeless manager with Wabano and works with individuals on the streets.

“The whole idea is to get them out of their environments and away from the city temptations,” he said. “Anything that makes them feel like part of the community,” he said, adding that many of his clients have employable skills, but the problem is that they haven’t been working for a while.

This initiative comes about a week after Jennifer Leigh Stewart, thought to have aboriginal ties, was left to die in a Vanier parking lot with stab wounds to her head, legs and wrists. Stewart had been working the streets for more than 20 years and was said to be involved in the sex trade.

Cruickshank said the volunteer initiative would not prevent such tragedies, but it would help people realize the good that could be done within the community.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

c_speed3108 · #16 Posted **Dec 17, 2010, 7:43 PM**

Ready to build.

Quote:

Ottawa's Wabano Centre set to begin construction of major expansion

By Pauline Tam, Ottawa Citizen December 17, 2010 2:03 PM

OTTAWA - Construction is to begin in January on a $14.2-million expansion of the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health.

The 25,000-square-foot building is designed by acclaimed architect Douglas Cardinal, designer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and his son Bret.

In addition, the centre will spend about $4 million to renovate its existing 15,000-square-foot building.

The new building has received $4.6 million in federal and provincial stimulus money, which must be used by October 2011.

The centre has already raised $2 million of the $9.6 million needed to pay for the new building. Of that amount, $1 million is coming from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

The new structure, at the corner of Montreal Road and Bradley Avenue in Vanier, will be built on what is now a parking lot and adjacent land owned by the Wabano Centre.

The centre serves about 10,000 people a year, including the homeless. It offers health care, mental-health counselling, social services and cultural programs.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/...#ixzz18OrCJNUI

Jamaican-Phoenix · #17 Posted **Dec 17, 2010, 10:18 PM**

Good, this will be a good addition to Montreal Rd.

Cre47 · #18 Posted **Dec 17, 2010, 11:23 PM**

Yep the OMB site says that the hearing was cancelled, so good, move along with this.

c_speed3108 · #19 Posted **Apr 24, 2011, 4:28 PM**

This is now under construction.

The old houses are gone. Pile driving has begun.

c_speed3108 · #20 Posted **Aug 28, 2011, 1:46 PM**

The excavation is now complete and the crane base is in place.