re Residences [101 Queen St] | 17 fl | Completed

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The key, as always, and a lesson that Ottawa has either never learned or forgotten, is: what is on the ground level?

Looking at the renderings, I assume retail and hotel entrance on Sparks, hotel/café (with terrace on the side of tower) and condo entrances on Queen.









http://rehotelandresidences.com/architecture

From the Citizen to compare with current façade;

[rocketphish]

Planning committee approves Sparks Street demolition

By Michael Woods, OTTAWA CITIZEN February 25, 2014 8:14 PM



OTTAWA — An old, decrepit building on Sparks Street is one step closer to being demolished in favour of a luxury condo development, though its distinctive doors and windows will be preserved.

The city’s planning committee approved the plan by the National Capital Commission and Ashcroft for a development at 108-116 Sparks Street. It includes a hotel and luxury condos in an 18-storey tower facing Queen Street, to be built where a parking lot currently exists.

Construction involves tearing down the rear of the historic commercial property at 108-116 Sparks Street. But the façade of the building, which dates back to the 1870s and was once a theatre, will be restored and reconstructed, becoming the northern section of the Ashcroft project.

A newer building next door at 106 Sparks Street, which is a former bank, is also part of the project and will be torn down.

City council still needs to sign off on the project.

mwoods@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/michaelrwoods
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...625/story.html

[Urbanarchit]

An old, decrepit building on Sparks Street is one step closer to being demolished in favour of a luxury condo development, though its distinctive doors and windows will be preserved.

This makes it seem like the reason the building is being demolished is because of condo development, and not because the building was left until it was not salvageable. I worry that someone not stay concurrent with this project would assume new reason to oppose condos.

In any case, we're one step closer to getting this thing built.

[S-Man]

Build it! Fill the ugly gap!

[kevinbottawa]

Approved at the March 26th city council meeting. Can't wait to see this go up!

[OTSkyline]

Any updates since its approval? Units, floorplans, prices, sales center, anything?!

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Any updates since its approval? Units, floorplans, prices, sales center, anything?!

Along Sparks that covered walkway is now all boarded up like they've begun doing some work. That's all I have.

[mac_junkie1]

It's been boarded up like that for about a month now... They haven't started anything yet... Probably just worried as they think it'll fall on someone.

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Along Sparks that covered walkway is now all boarded up like they've begun doing some work. That's all I have.

[kevinbottawa]

Any news on this project? I thought they had the sales they needed to get started.

[lenderonabender]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Any news on this project? I thought they had the sales they needed to get started.

where did you hear that? there are no firm sales in this project according to a market research report i use.

my opinion - i don't think this project gets off the ground in its current form.

[J.OT13]

I'm surprised they haven't at least torn down the old theatre.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by lenderonabender

where did you hear that? there are no firm sales in this project according to a market research report i use.

my opinion - i don't think this project gets off the ground in its current form.

I few pages back there's an article that said they had enough sales. I think it was 75%.

[Fraser]

I have it on good authority that the "move-in date" has been pushed to mid-2018 (from 2016) and because the hotel portion of the building has been dropped, all documents need to be re-drafted. Once that's complete, there will be a period where buyers can get out of their deal.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by Fraser

I have it on good authority that the "move-in date" has been pushed to mid-2018 (from 2016) and because the hotel portion of the building has been dropped, all documents need to be re-drafted. Once that's complete, there will be a period where buyers can get out of their deal.

Do you know why the hotel was dropped?

[Skipper]

another failure by the NCC. Why is each of their project such a failure?

[Norman Bates]

Originally Posted by Skipper

another failure by the NCC. Why is each of their project such a failure?

Because pulling off a great project takes an investment of time, talent and soul.

Few with true talent were ever attracted to public service, unless as a fallback. What soul that did exist in public service has been siphoned away by the politicians and ideologues; vilifying the whole enterprise from anyone who would be interested in making a longstanding contribution. And time. Who has the time to rewrite briefing note draft version eight on why the architect chose red doors rather than blue doors, or better yet a lockset made in Finland rather than Israel.

The political leaders of grand vision and big ideas have been replaced by those driven to please microscopic interest groups and counting the cost of pens and pencils while accepting no accountability for themselves. If something ever goes awry, they had nothing to do with it - but functionary Jos will get dragged through the mud. Just ask Michael Sona.

Furthermore, this same approach is now growing in popularity with the senior leadership of the public service, who have learned it from the partisans above.

So if you were a hotshot architect, business grad, etc. would you wish to waste your efforts at the NCC or cast your lot somewhere else?

That is why, in my opinion, their projects are a failure.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Norman Bates

Because pulling off a great project takes an investment of time, talent and soul.

Few with true talent were ever attracted to public service, unless as a fallback. What soul that did exist in public service has been siphoned away by the politicians and ideologues; vilifying the whole enterprise from anyone who would be interested in making a longstanding contribution. And time. Who has the time to rewrite briefing note draft version eight on why the architect chose red doors rather than blue doors, or better yet a lockset made in Finland rather than Israel.

The political leaders of grand vision and big ideas have been replaced by those driven to please microscopic interest groups and counting the cost of pens and pencils while accepting no accountability for themselves. If something ever goes awry, they had nothing to do with it - but functionary Jos will get dragged through the mud. Just ask Michael Sona.

Furthermore, this same approach is now growing in popularity with the senior leadership of the public service, who have learned it from the partisans above.

So if you were a hotshot architect, business grad, etc. would you wish to waste your efforts at the NCC or cast your lot somewhere else?

That is why, in my opinion, their projects are a failure.

Maybe, but in this particular case it was a primarily suburban builder that doesn't seem to have any experience in hotel projects, whose business model was at the high end of a price scale at a site that couldn't really command that kind of price and was often in rebrand mode (reminds me of Lake Bowery project).

[S-Man]

Phew! I was worried I'd soon lose the ability to stand back and take in the beauty of that boarded-up Queen Street parking lot.

[Skipper]

hopefully there is a clause in the contract between the NCC and the builder that sets minimum standards in terms of the quality of the building. I'm not talking about the color of the brick here!

I don't understand why this builder has been picked!!!!

[waterloowarrior]

They had a national RFP, only two bids qualified, and the other ones was later disqualified because it was conditional. This was after they couldn't come to terms with another developer in 2006 who had won the previous process. Developers seem to be avoiding even bidding on NCC projects.