Richcraft's website is currently offline, there's a message saying they will be launching a new one October 3 (tomorrow). I wonder if it will include a sneak peak at the condo they're developing for this site.
I went by there yesterday and the lot looked like it had less trees, and a bit more cleaned up. Maybe it was just my imagination, though.
Location Somerset Ward
Floors 15
Unit Types condominium suites
Proposed No. of Units 204
Date Available To be determined
Overview The proposed condominium at 255 Bay Street is located at the corner of Nepean, Bay and Gloucester Street, fronting Bay Street in downtown Ottawa.
Current Status 255 Bay Street is at the application stage.
What does FFS mean in that context? For further study? 75m would suggest floor heights more typical in an office building than an apartment building. 50 would be more in line with a residential building.
Jeremy, I have seen FFS as shorthand meaning "for f*ck sakes", but I don't think that's what they were going for here
I figured that it was improbably that they would find the need to use that particular meaning in a site plan. Who knows though, maybe the drafter was a bit short tempered that day?
This is kind of a non-update update, but a backhoe was onsite this week and tore down an addition at the back of one of the abandoned buildings. It wasn't necessarily the start of demolition, though, as the roof over the addition had collapsed and there was probably a safety issue there. The backhoe has been parked for several days now. Richcraft also put up a sign telling people not to dump stuff there. I'll give it 48 hours before it's completely covered in graffiti.
I called the city guy responsible for this file and he said that Richcraft has approval to tear down these buildings any time it wants, but the timing is up to them. And that's about where we were last time. I wonder what calculations must be going on at Richcraft HQ.
A recent update was posted by amanfromnowhere in the Galleria II thread HERE.
The biggest problem with getting things started at this site is that now demolition permits and building permits are combined. Used to be you could get a permit to knock everything down, set up a sales center, obtain your 50% + pre-sales, then start the building but now you have to spend the $1000000 + bucks for the building permit just to clear the property. Richcraft has no where to put a sales centre in that area so it has not been marketed and hence... no pre-sales. They could renovate one of the former crack houses for a sales center but how good would that look surrounded by all the other abandoned homes? My understanding is that Richcraft has the best of intentions and desire for this site but nothing will be started until the building is mostly sold... and that won't happen until they actually start selling it.
Thanks ServiceGuy and amanfromnowhere. Not the best news, but it's nice to have some kind of update. I've been walking past those buildings for years now. Every once in a while it looks like Richcraft might be starting something, but then it fizzles out.
The annoying thing is that those buildings weren't so terrible before Richcraft bought them. One was a guesthouse and I believe the others were rented mostly to students. If they'd been left alone, they'd probably have been renovated and looking pretty good by now, like a lot of similar properties in the neighbourhood. Instead they just sit there abandoned, making the area look blighted.
If Richcraft waits long enough, those buildings will either collapse or catch fire on their own, but the company won't save any money if the collapse/fire takes out the neighbours as well. Hope they get it together soon.
Whatever the reasons, allowing properties to deteriorate should be illegal. They should be required to either fix up the buildings or demolish them and landscape/maintain the site.
I don't see how the lack of room for an on-site sales centre is a problem. Many sales centres are nowhere near the buildings they're selling (and in this case, they would probably sell more if people can't see the site).
It seems like an odd place to put a midrise condo. There isn't much room, compared to other sites in centretown it is quite far from stores/amenities and there would be stiff competition from the many townhouses within a block.
I've always had a soft spot for this location. For me it's the perfect blend of close and not too close. You really don't need a car for this location yet you're away from the hustle and bustle of the arterials. During the bus strike I parked here and walked. It was far from onerous. Plus one of the best unknown pizza places in town.
Richcraft has never sold anything here because they've never tried. No design or floor plans have ever surfaced at a sales level. For me this site has real potential that could be realized by someone with the creativity of Charlesfort or even those loathesome SOHO people. Alas, that's unlikely to happen unless Richcraft is forced to sell.
Yeah, the area is a little oasis. South of Laurier, Bay and Percy are sleepy little streets with mostly single detached homes. You're a stone's throw from Parliament, but you almost wouldn't know it.
I had a theory that Richcraft was waiting for the new location of the Central Library to be announced, since that promised to boost property values as well (had a hunch it would be at this end), but evidently that wasn't it. It would be nice if they had to pay some escalating penalty for leaving land undeveloped. If nothing else, it would encourage them to sell it to a company that does want to do something.
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I'd sooner have a beer mug that's three-quarters full, than a quarter empty.
I'll wait until someone can confirm.
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