The Sky [845 Carling Ave] | 73/155/191m | 18/45/55f | Approved

[waterloowarrior]

dow honda preliminary proposal - 2x 48 fl...




https://twitter.com/davidreevely/sta...77973237452801

Graziani and Corazza Architects

http://www.gc-architects.com/

[Kitchissippi]

I was joking when I posted this!

[bartlebooth]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

dow honda preliminary proposal - 2x 48 fl...

I had heard a rumour not too long ago that Richcraft would be pushing for two towers at 55 fl for this site. Not far off.

[eemy]

I haven't kept too close track of what's going on, but it seems like there might be a bit of a tower cluster forming in that area.

[brentgaulois]

Is this real or am I dreaming? Not one, but two 48 story buildings! I'm skeptical that these will get approved, but I sincerely hope it happens. This will be a really great place to live within the next few years.

Anymore details on this project? Are both towers located on the same plot or across the street from each other? How is Richcraft for buildings? My mother and I were talking about the projects, and while we agree we don't like Claridge, she said she doesn't like Richcraft (I at least like La Galleria 1/2's exterior).

In any case, I'm happy with the height.

[kevinbottawa]

Some time last year I said to myself I'd never see a proposal over 40 floors in Ottawa in my life time. Now we have three. This is a big milestone.

[kevinbottawa]

Plan for Preston Street overtaken by 48-story condo proposals

By David Reevely, OTTAWA CITIZEN March 26, 2013 8:18 PM

OTTAWA — The city desperately needs to figure out how it’s going to ready Little Italy for an influx of thousands of residents, councillors heard Tuesday from the planning guru they hired to guide development in the area.

“This won’t be a question of ‘should you?’; it’s a question of ‘how?’, because you already are,” George Dark said in presenting a first version of a plan for which tall buildings on and near Preston Street should go where to city council’s planning committee. His job was to help the city get ahead of a condo boom that overwhelmed the planning department, which had no firm plan for what the area at the south end of Preston Street should look like.

Public space in the area is terrible, Dark said bluntly, showing a succession of slides of roads with no sidewalks, crummy pathways with bent fences and a dishevelled Ev Tremblay Park near the O-Train track.

Builders have hundreds of floors’ worth of condos in the planning pipeline for the area around the Carling O-Train station. “You don’t really yet have a plan of where they’re going to walk and where they’re going to go.”

The worst image: a sad path leading to that O-Train station from Carling Avenue’s narrow sidewalk, a few feet of pavement next to a massive road that’s eventually supposed to have thousands of people using it to walk to transit.

Tall buildings can work if they’re surrounded by rich public spaces, Dark said. Cities that don’t bother with those tend to be “sad” places. That’s what this area will become unless the city moves quickly, he warned.

Councillors on the planning committee approved Dark’s general vision for the area, including very tall buildings along Carling Avenue at the south end of Preston, despite numerous objections from existing residents, who largely want shorter buildings than Dark thinks are acceptable — and from developers, who say Dark’s vision is too restrictive.

Emphasizing the point, a development consultant working for Richcraft showed off drawings of two 48-storey towers Richcraft wants to build on the site of a car dealership next to the train station. They’d be the tallest buildings in Ottawa by far, big and bold architectural statements (they drew groans of horror from Little Italy residents watching in the audience) and they’re at odds with Dark’s thinking in at least three ways. Dark proposes having buildings of different heights to avoid a wall effect, and maxing out at 40 storeys. Richcraft would also put a large pedestrian plaza where Dark imagines the south end of a small road serving as an auxiliary for Preston Street.

(The secondary road and new car bridges over the O-Train tracks, particularly unpopular ideas in Little Italy, have been put off for further study, as part of a deeper process for putting Dark’s ideas into practice. He said it’s not actually needed, as long as the city limits the heights of buildings along the O-Train tracks.)

The two ideas could be compatible, Dark said. His big-picture plan and Richcraft’s idea for its particular property should be reconciled, he said, because Richcraft is planning to build a something highly visible next to a major transit station.

“You’re in this together,” he said.

Dark’s vision goes to city council for approval April 10.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com">dreevely@ottawacitizen.com

ottawacitizen.com/greaterottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ot...643/story.html

[Postmaster]

I'm speechless, could this really happen? Even minus a few stories, this would be monumental for Ottawa.

Groans of horror? Are these towers going to be inhabited by boulder-throwing cyclopses and flaming demons or something?

[ars]

Really hope this happens!

Seems almost too good to be true for this city ugh

[drawarc]

Campeau did try to propose a 42 storey tower downtown in late 80s, but that went nowhere. However this is far away from the Parliamentary precinct and its height restrictions.

[waterloowarrior]

updated Carling/Preston proposed/approved/construction projects (I'll colour code them next time)



edit: added Norman St and Rochestor.. thanks Brent!

[brentgaulois]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

updated Carling/Preston proposed/approved/UC projects (I'll colour code them next time...)

Exciting! Although it seems like the taller buildings make it seem less dense?

Don't forget the condos on Norman and Rochester (assuming they get the go ahead) to add to that density.

I'm hopeful that the CIBC building will be replaced with a taller condo, along with everything from Preston to Rochester along Adelaide.

[AuxTown]

This is very exciting. I sincerely hope that this doesn't end up with 4 tall towers (by Ottawa standards) all the same height. It looks great with the varied heights pictured.

Edit: Waterloo, I posted your rendering in the Canada section; I hope you don't mind.

[waterloowarrior]

no problem O-Town... I updated the original render with the Norman and Rochester proposals as well.

Not the biggest fan of G+C but looking forward to some more detailed drawings/renders of this one!

[JM1]

I am not opposed to tall buildings in this area but several things spring to mind.

1. Some of these buildings are on very small footings. I look at the footprint for the Claridge Icon and wonder how it will ever support 40+ stories. I believe this area used to be swamp, so I wonder how easy it will be to keep these buildings straight.

2. The infrastructure is not there. Roads are definitely not there so all these people better take transit. But this leads to other problems. Try catching a bus from Carling and Preston to go East. The 101 and 102 make all sorts of irritating twists and turns before they get on the transitway. The Carling intersection with Bronson is already a nightmare at rush hours.

3. Expansion of the O-train is still years away, and accomodating this kind of population probably requires a direct connection to downtown (no transfer at Bayview).

4. Blasting required to (eventually) twin the O-train track will wreak havoc on the foundations of these tall condominiums (which are already supported by very small footings).

5. A tall building at the Dow Honda site and/or the Civic Parking lot (champagne and Carling) will likely make it very difficult to make a future connection between the Bayview/Carling O-train and a Westbound Carling LRT (which would likely need to be a no-transfer connection).

[ThaLoveDocta]

Originally Posted by JM1

I am not opposed to tall buildings in this area but several things spring to mind.

1. Some of these buildings are on very small footings. I look at the footprint for the Claridge Icon and wonder how it will ever support 40+ stories. I believe this area used to be swamp, so I wonder how easy it will be to keep these buildings straight.

2. The infrastructure is not there. Roads are definitely not there so all these people better take transit. But this leads to other problems. Try catching a bus from Carling and Preston to go East. The 101 and 102 make all sorts of irritating twists and turns before they get on the transitway. The Carling intersection with Bronson is already a nightmare at rush hours.

3. Expansion of the O-train is still years away, and accomodating this kind of population probably requires a direct connection to downtown (no transfer at Bayview).

4. Blasting required to (eventually) twin the O-train track will wreak havoc on the foundations of these tall condominiums (which are already supported by very small footings).

5. A tall building at the Dow Honda site and/or the Civic Parking lot (champagne and Carling) will likely make it very difficult to make a future connection between the Bayview/Carling O-train and a Westbound Carling LRT (which would likely need to be a no-transfer connection).

Q#1: probably piles and caps, or a combination of piles, caps, rock anchors, and grade beams, depending on the geo-technical details.
Where there's a will, there's a way.

Q#2: Not to mention the "get out and push" routine at Bronson and Carling in a snow storm. I would like to see the city address a solution to this asap as well.

Q#3: This might be a 'chicken and egg' scenario. and unfortunately the 'build access and they will come' mentality doesn't usually pan out. (example: Mirabel airport) Usually the density comes first, with the right plan in place, and the access will follow after several years of headaches for the early adopters. Can you imagine the uproar if the city built a train to service, for example, Carp or Russell today in anticipation of future development?

Q#4: I would be more concerned about the older buildings to be honest. The new earthquake and deflection requirements will more than cover the new buildings from the blasting (structurally). The noise and annoyance is another issue altogether though.

Q#5: I have no expertise here - but certainly seems like a valid point.

[ortelius]

the expansion of the O-Train will be done this year. Construction will take place this summer. The new trains will be received this May. They are aiming for 2014 to get them running after testing, training, etc. In any case, these buildings are years away from being finished (once approved + construction).

[agl]

Originally Posted by ortelius

the expansion of the O-Train will be done this year. Construction will take place this summer. The new trains will be received this May. They are aiming for 2014 to get them running after testing, training, etc. In any case, these buildings are years away from being finished (once approved + construction).

I think when JM1 is referring to expansion of the o-train, he means doubletracking throughout the o-train line (which would involve substantial blasting and tunnel work by Carling and Preston), not just the addition of another passing track and augmentation of the number of trains running.

[ortelius]

Is that plan for next decade, what's the plan? I guess the question then is, can the O-Train handle the new population with 8 minutes service?

[Kitchissippi]

The question is more like, when the O-Train eventually needs to be double-tracked, do they have a plan for shutting down the line for a couple of years while they do the work? Seems to me that they are allowing development at a scale based on transit potential that isn't even all there yet. The O-Train went from pilot project to permanent with the minimal of investment — the city is flying on the seat of their pants on this one.