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  #81  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2013, 1:19 AM
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Here's the tenor of the spaghetti-string streets and crescents response
http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/01/14/...-condo-project
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  #82  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2013, 6:26 AM
Uhuniau Uhuniau is offline
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Originally Posted by Cre47 View Post
Here's the tenor of the spaghetti-string streets and crescents response
http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/01/14/...-condo-project
And a great quote from one of the comments in the Reevely blog post:

I've lived in Kanata for 43 years and have always enjoyed the diversity and balance of housing, parks, and setbacks.

Ah, yes. The setbacks. People throng to Kanata to marvel at the fruqking SETBACKS.
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  #83  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2013, 5:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Uhuniau View Post
Why should suburban neighbourhoods be immune from infill and increasing densities? That's an artificial brake on natural economic evolution. It needs to be lifted.
Fair enough, but of all the places in Kanata that a condo could be put, this location is pretty dumb. For one, it doesn't help bulk up the Kanata Town Centre's density, which is apparently required now to justify a light rail extension. These condo dwellers will likely need a car for just about everything (unless they work downtown in which case they would have bus service). If they work in the Kanata North or South business parks they'll probably just drive, as they'll have to do for everything else. Nor is this condo in or near the Kanata North business park, which could frankly do with some extra density.

It's as if Ottawa's developers can't bring themselves to put condos where they might make sense and instead prefer to put them in existing lower rise residential areas just to get a rise out of people. Parking lots though - especially large ones measured in acres - are apparently sacred territory that can't be developed into condos.

Just think about it for a moment: where have all the recent suburban condo projects been built/proposed? This one is on a former post office. The Centrepointe Drive condo is on a vacant woodlot (the last one in Centrepointe). The one further along Baseline is to replace an existing housing development. There are a couple more under construction on vacant land in Kanata (at least they're in the Town Centre boundaries) and some low-rise condo projects exist in Barrhaven, again on vacant land. There's a project on Merivale across from the Experimental Farm, and this is about the closest we get to a suburban condo project replacing a parking lot, but there really is nothing on any of the vast acreages of parking lot that we have, which we continue to build more of, as well. The purpose of intensification in practice seems to be to enable vast surface parking lots to continue to exist.
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  #84  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2013, 6:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Dado View Post
Fair enough, but of all the places in Kanata that a condo could be put, this location is pretty dumb. For one, it doesn't help bulk up the Kanata Town Centre's density, which is apparently required now to justify a light rail extension. These condo dwellers will likely need a car for just about everything (unless they work downtown in which case they would have bus service). If they work in the Kanata North or South business parks they'll probably just drive, as they'll have to do for everything else. Nor is this condo in or near the Kanata North business park, which could frankly do with some extra density.

It's as if Ottawa's developers can't bring themselves to put condos where they might make sense and instead prefer to put them in existing lower rise residential areas just to get a rise out of people. Parking lots though - especially large ones measured in acres - are apparently sacred territory that can't be developed into condos.

Just think about it for a moment: where have all the recent suburban condo projects been built/proposed? This one is on a former post office. The Centrepointe Drive condo is on a vacant woodlot (the last one in Centrepointe). The one further along Baseline is to replace an existing housing development. There are a couple more under construction on vacant land in Kanata (at least they're in the Town Centre boundaries) and some low-rise condo projects exist in Barrhaven, again on vacant land. There's a project on Merivale across from the Experimental Farm, and this is about the closest we get to a suburban condo project replacing a parking lot, but there really is nothing on any of the vast acreages of parking lot that we have, which we continue to build more of, as well. The purpose of intensification in practice seems to be to enable vast surface parking lots to continue to exist.
Well, the location might seem dumb to you, but if I remember correctly, it's up to a developer to choose a site and decide to build there, not up to local residents or even the City (though the latter can influence it through bylaws). So why did this developer choose to build here? My guess is that they think they can sell units and make a profit. Simple.
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  #85  
Old Posted Jan 16, 2013, 4:15 PM
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Originally Posted by rocketphish View Post
Well, the location might seem dumb to you, but if I remember correctly, it's up to a developer to choose a site and decide to build there, not up to local residents or even the City (though the latter can influence it through bylaws). So why did this developer choose to build here? My guess is that they think they can sell units and make a profit. Simple.
Or it could also be that lots such as the retired post office and various aging residential lots are the only lots that developers can buy for redevelopment, no matter how dumb the location actually is vis-à-vis the City's own claimed goals for intensification.

Parking lots are pretty much sterilized for redevelopment because the ownership is tied to the rest of the property and an odd confluence of factors (entrenched car culture, including zoning requirements for parking, value-based property taxes, remote/non-local land ownership) basically ensures it stays that way.

And even when a parking lot does get redeveloped, such as Fairlawn opposite Carlingwood, it seems that a retail box mentality dominates the thinking such that they get redeveloped without any residential component.
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  #86  
Old Posted Jan 16, 2013, 11:42 PM
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^ good observations... Urbandale owns a good chunk of the Kanata Town Centre designated lands... they seem to be doing their own thing and have gone at a pretty slow pace until recently. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=170732&page=2
An American REIT owns the Kanata Centrum lands... the only thing they plan to redevelop the parking for is a couple more big box stores.

Last edited by waterloowarrior; Jan 17, 2013 at 12:06 AM.
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  #87  
Old Posted Jan 17, 2013, 12:16 AM
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This location probably won't help with light rail extensions, but as it sits now, it's directly next to the current 93 transit-way route (Teron Road), and maybe a 10 minute walk from Eagleson Station

So not everyone would need cars...

Also being that it's right next to a 10-storey apartment building at the corner of Campeau and Teron, and adjacent to the high school, it doesn't really creep up against anyone's house... doesn't seem half bad to me.
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  #88  
Old Posted Feb 22, 2013, 8:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Uhuniau View Post
And a great quote from one of the comments in the Reevely blog post:

I've lived in Kanata for 43 years and have always enjoyed the diversity and balance of housing, parks, and setbacks.

Ah, yes. The setbacks. People throng to Kanata to marvel at the fruqking SETBACKS.
You'll be pleased to know that the setbacks will be preserved for a little bit longer.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ka...465/story.html
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  #89  
Old Posted Feb 23, 2013, 3:02 AM
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What? It's going to the OMB? Totally didn't see that coming.
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  #90  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2013, 4:35 AM
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Maybe we should just send all applications to the OMB right off the bat to save time, trouble and arguments.
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  #91  
Old Posted Apr 10, 2013, 9:37 PM
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deal between community association and developer is close
http://bulldogottawa.com/deal-near-o...way-in-kanata/

Quote:
The City of Ottawa, Kanata Beaverbrook community association and developer Morley Hoppner are finalizing an agreement on the proposed redevelopment of #2 Parkway.


The agreement will result in increased protection for forest and greenspace on Teron Road and tree screening of the 7-storey tower City Council approved at The Parkway and Teron Road, Kanata.

“This arrangement will increase the value of our investment and provide substantial benefits to local and community residents. We’re committed to this objective”, said Ken Hoppner of Morley-Hoppner.

“The developer’s desire to work with the community to ensure the best possible solution is also a positive consideration”, said Councilor Marianne Wilkinson. “I will be working extensively with property owners and residents to work out exact details.”

The KBCA has agreed to drop its appeal to the OMB based on the confirmation of the commitment of the developer and City to these arrangements.

“This is a first step to improve green space protection for the whole of Teron Road”, said Gary Sealey, President KBCA. “It will help foster Teron Road’s evolution as a true parkway, with respect guaranteed for its open spaces. Residents will get enhanced environmental security and the opportunity through site planning to make the #2 Parkway project as attractive as possible.”

Kanata Beaverbrook Community Association is one of Ottawa’s oldest citizen associations. It was founded with the assistance of Bill Teron, O.C., recent recipient of the prestigious Jane Jacobs Lifetime Achievement Award. Over a thousand person-nights of meetings contributed to KBCA consultation on the developer’s proposal.
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  #92  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 4:56 AM
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Bringing condos to Beaverbrook

by Sheila Brady Oct 17, 2013 in Homes | 0 comments

Intensification has leapfrogged over the Greenbelt, landing with an elegant, silver splash on a green corner in Kanata’s original community of Beaverbrook.

Two The Parkway is a suburban edition of condo living that is substantially cheaper, promising larger living space than the urban variation that has seen glass and steel towers spring up on Bank and Rideau streets and forever change Richmond Road in Westboro.

“The prices are $80,000 to $90,000 to $100,00 less than buying the same amount of space in a downtown condo,” says Ken Hoppner, vice-president of Morley Hoppner and the spark plug behind a sophisticated brick and glass condo planned for the leafy corner of Teron Road and The Parkway in the heart of Beaverbrook.

Prices start at $289,000 for a 675-square-foot condo on the second floor, going up to $699,000 for a 1,633-square-foot penthouse. In between, there are eight different designs, besides unique layouts on the ground level and four spectacular penthouse designs.

There are plans for guest suites, a fitness room, outdoor terraces, underground parking and top security.

The $40-million building was designed by Barry Hobin and bears a decidedly modern edge, similar to the trio of award-winning condos the architect designed for the Morley Hoppner Group at Westboro Station in 2007.

This will be the first modern condo in Beaverbrook, sitting close to the taller Atrium condos built more than two decades ago and next to Earl of March Secondary School and the John Mlacak Community Centre. The library next door is being expanded and the shopping complex at Terry Fox Drive and the Queensway is a short walk to the west.

The slick sales centre, set up in a former Canada Post sorting office, officially opens Saturday, but there were already seven sales by early October, including two penthouses in the appealing seven-storey condo.

Theresa and Doug Norris were early buyers, reserving one of the penthouses. It’s a corner affair, with 1,663 square feet, two bedrooms, a den and a huge terrace that faces west, providing a view over the trees and the Beaverbrook community where they raised two daughters.

The couple, both well into their 60s, sat through the public sessions when neighbours blasted early plans for a 16-storey building and grumbled when Morley Hoppner trimmed the building back to seven floors.

“I wrote letters to the editor. I think it is a fantastic idea, but at one point I thought we were going to be stoned,” says Theresa, who has deep roots in the community designed by Bill Teron in the early ’60s. They downsized 11 years ago from their large home, moving a few kilometres west to Kanata’s Tweedsmuir on the Park and an attached bungalow in an adult-lifestyle community.

Now they’re ready to downsize again.

“How could I leave my five grandchildren, my children and 92-year-old-mother?” asks Theresa, who visits her mother every day in her nursing home on nearby Campeau Drive. Her girls are also close. One lives in Beaverbrook and the other in Morgan’s Grant to the west.

“In many ways we are urbanites because many amenities of urban living are in suburbia,” says Doug Norris, a leading expert on the census, retiring after almost three decades with Statistics Canada. From an office tucked into the basement of his townhome, he now works four days a week as a senior vice-president and chief demographer for Environics Analytics.

“We are not giving up that much and being close to family is really very important to us.

“The extra savings are extra neat and we are getting a parking spot in the price,” adds Norris, who jokes that negotiations for his new office space “are up for discussions” when moving day arrives in April 2016.

It’s also good, he says, that there are housing options for the older population in Beaverbrook and other suburban communities. “I want to live in an active community and not have to go off somewhere.”

Ken Hoppner expects almost two-thirds of the 91 condos at Two The Parkway will be bought by baby boomers living in Beaverbrook or within a two- to three-kilometre range.

“The same thing happened in Westboro,” he says. “People want to downsize, but they want to stay in their communities. They buy the building, but they also buy the community.”

The next key is to give them modern conveniences, he says, including a leading-edge kitchen. At Westboro, this meant adding granite. At Two The Parkway, it’s designing a large island with a waterfall feature or a granite edge that falls to the floor. Hoppner added hardwood and ceramic flooring, lots of windows for natural light, a fireplace and a barbecue.

Hoppner did his own amateur demographic study before buying the site from Canada Post for $900,000.

“Location is everything,” he says, adding there is a large group of boomers who want to downsize and community is key.

Theresa Norris calls it a commitment.

“We love our bungalow and will stay if this does not go ahead. There is nowhere else I want to live.”

Two The Parkway

What: Seven-storey condo with 91 units designed by Barry Hobin

Builder: Morley Hoppner

Prices: Starting at $289,000 for a 675-square-foot unit, going up to $699,000 for a penthouse with two bedrooms plus den. Parking and locker included. Condo fees are 42 cents a square foot.

Sales office: Parkway at Teron Road

Hours: Monday to Wednesday, noon to 7 p.m., weekends, noon to 5 p.m.
http://www.ottawacitizenstyle.com/ca...rook/?pid=4285





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  #93  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 2:24 PM
S-Man S-Man is offline
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The couple, both well into their 60s, sat through the public sessions when neighbours blasted early plans for a 16-storey building and grumbled when Morley Hoppner trimmed the building back to seven floors.

“I wrote letters to the editor. I think it is a fantastic idea, but at one point I thought we were going to be stoned,” says Theresa, who has deep roots in the community designed by Bill Teron in the early ’60s.
Yikes! Hard to imagine such a scenario occuring!

Given the square footage listed here, does the price bear out the claim that units are $80-100K less than comparative units in the city?
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  #94  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 2:39 PM
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It's a pretty sharp-looking mid-rise, especially for such an un-urban setting. The large ground floor terraces are particularly appealing. I'd like to see more of that at the rear of main-street type midrises, (e.g., on West-Welli-Richmond) to soften the interface with the neighbourhoods behind the condo building, and to enable the same kinds of "over-the-fence how do you dos" that the neighbours two doors down from the apartment building have. You can't do it just anywhere because of needs of the parking and commercial uses at grade on the street-front side, but if there's a large rise in the grade from front to back -- like along parts of the south side of that corridor -- it should be possible to have 2nd floor units with at-grade patios at the rear in some instances.
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  #95  
Old Posted Oct 18, 2013, 5:25 PM
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Nice. Kanata needs more of these.
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  #96  
Old Posted Nov 11, 2013, 10:38 PM
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Now that the Kanata North BRT is going ahead, this building will be well connected to the rapid transit network. It's only a 5-10 minute walk away from the future station at March & Corkstown.
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  #97  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2013, 1:37 AM
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Disappointed though it will be just 7 floors considering there are taller ones in the vicinity and also not that very far from the triplets further west on Campeau and that god awful building by Castlefrank and the 417 (and its eventual twins as well)
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  #98  
Old Posted Dec 6, 2013, 12:39 AM
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Finally!!!

2 The Parkway is one of the best things that has happened in old Kanata. Finally, people will have a choice to remain in their community if they're thinking of downsizing and not have to worry about moving downtown or to the cold cement buildings that have become the Kanata Town Centre.
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  #99  
Old Posted Jan 18, 2015, 8:20 PM
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  #100  
Old Posted May 27, 2015, 11:03 PM
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