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

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Are you inferring that the previous councillor for this area would have not welcomed this application with open arms and with no withering looks or barbs.

It seems to me that is the accusation! How dare you 1oversoc! To accuse a member of the city council of trying to stop development and intensification, I have no words.

But im glad this is being approved, however I am unsure how to get cars into the parking garage if the entrance was on Carling, that intersection is pretty busy as is. Honestly parking garages in that area will be a pretty big problem for congestion.

[OTSkyline]

These towers also look somewhat circular/curved am I correct? This would be a great change to the square towers we have everywhere... If so, they really would remind of me of the Absolute World Towers in Mississauga (which is a great thing imo)

Really hope this goes through and sales go strong so they can start building. I don't want this to be approved but just a pipe dream with only possibility of starting construction 10 years from now...

Also, kind of sucks for Claridge who is trying to contruct/sell itself as the "Icon" and tallest tower in Ottawa. They might not be able to hold to this title very long...

[McC]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Really hope this goes through and sales go strong so they can start building. I don't want this to be approved but just a pipe dream with only possibility of starting construction 10 years from now...

You realize this is Richcraft, not "Rushcraft" right?

[cr872190]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

These towers also look somewhat circular/curved am I correct? This would be a great change to the square towers we have everywhere... If so, they really would remind of me of the Absolute World Towers in Mississauga (which is a great thing imo)

Really hope this goes through and sales go strong so they can start building. I don't want this to be approved but just a pipe dream with only possibility of starting construction 10 years from now...

Also, kind of sucks for Claridge who is trying to contruct/sell itself as the "Icon" and tallest tower in Ottawa. They might not be able to hold to this title very long...

What is Richcraft like as a builder? I keep associating/mixing them up with Ashcroft who IMO are pretty much Ottawa's worst builder (I mean Central Park... need I say more).

[McC]

Your mileage may vary, but I'm no fan of Place des Gouverneurs, the two Galleria slabs in Sandy Hill, and the decade-long ongoing clusterfudge on Bay St. That said, I thought they were quite pleasant to work with from a neighbour's perspective for their (stalled) tower on Parkdale: open to ideas and generous with their time. They have a pretty large stock of approved development sites around town that they seem to be in no hurry to get underway. I don't know anything about their stuff in the suburbs. They're also a huge commercial landlord (IIRC they call themselves the largest private landowner in the city)

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Are you inferring that the previous councillor for this area would have not welcomed this application with open arms and with no withering looks or barbs.

She who shall not be named would have had a heart attack over this building were she still a councillor.

[harls]

Sounds like some one-upmanship for the Icon.

I like that - as should you all.

[McC]

Originally Posted by Harley613

She who shall not be named would have had a heart attack over this building were she still a councillor.

or said something perfectly reasonable like this:

"The Carling height is pretty acceptable for most people and that's a good place to put height that's a lot of density capacity... The community and the business community are all in favour of that density on Carling," she said. "We have to keep the Little Italy piece - the worker's houses, the historical and cultural heart of Little Italy - we have to keep those, because we have all this other capacity (for) extreme height and density."

http://www.ottawacommunitynews.com/n...ort-to-follow/

She's on the record approving Icon and the Dark-era plan for the Dow Honda and CIBC lots; what she opposed in this area was the taller buildings that the Taggarts and others were pushing for between Preston and the O-Train further north.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by harls

Sounds like some one-upmanship for the Icon.

I like that - as should you all.

I have to wonder if sales at the Icon have been slow because potential skyscraper dwellers have been waiting for this proposal to go through. I don't blame them... this looks far superior in design from the outside. Direct access to the train is also very nice.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

The Ward Councillor supports the height, just has issues the access to the development and the over-provision of parking, and wants to have the O-Train underground connection sooner.
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...-tallest-tower

Completely agree on all counts.

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

These towers also look somewhat circular/curved am I correct? This would be a great change to the square towers we have everywhere... If so, they really would remind of me of the Absolute World Towers in Mississauga (which is a great thing imo)

Two tallest are all curves, shortest has rounded corners. Check out page 39:

http://webcast.ottawa.ca/plan/All_Im...nd%20Study.PDF

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

Really hope this goes through and sales go strong so they can start building. I don't want this to be approved but just a pipe dream with only possibility of starting construction 10 years from now...

Also, kind of sucks for Claridge who is trying to contruct/sell itself as the "Icon" and tallest tower in Ottawa. They might not be able to hold to this title very long...

That's the reality in every city, every couple of decades. Once a new tallest is proposed and approved, a bunch of other developers come in with proposals to build even taller. It happened in Montreal in the 30s, 60s and early 90s; Toronto in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, again in the 30s and 60s-70s. It even happened in Ottawa between 64' and 72' (Brook Claxton 64', Place de Ville A and Skyline Hotel (Delta) 67', Place Bell 71', Holiday Inn (Marriot) 71' and finally PdV C 72'. Can even throw in Terrace de La Chaudière 78', same builder as PdV).

At least Claridge will keep the title for 5-10 years easy.

Quick comments;

- I thought Darwin posted something along the lines that the 18 storey tower had grown to 30 floors. Unfortunately I can't find the link, but I distinctly remember him mentioning that on westsideaction.
- If your going to build a tunnel between tower A and the O-Train station, might as well connect Tower's B and C to the first tower with a Skywalk or pedestrian tunnel (realizing they likely will be connected through the garage, but that's just not the same thing).

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

I have to wonder if sales at the Icon have been slow because potential skyscraper dwellers have been waiting for this proposal to go through. I don't blame them... this looks far superior in design from the outside. Direct access to the train is also very nice.

For those who would buy for the idea of living in a skyscraper and know about the Richcraft proposal, people like us who religiously follow the goings on in the City, we also know three other things:

- Richcraft is slow. Slow at releasing new projects, slow at selling, even slower at building. If you want to buy anytime soon, this isn't the project to wait for;
- Condo market is slow, so the chances of any project of this size to be released is slim to none;
- When Claridge opens a sales centre, you know the project will not only be built, but built within a acceptable time frame;
- Until recently, it is actually under construction.

I also think that Claridge might have fast tracked the Icon project in part due to the Richcraft project. By getting it built now, they can ride the "tallest building" label for a fair amount of time before everyone finds out of the Richcraft project and keep the title for a decent amount of time after completion.

[1overcosc]

I think rushing the Icon is also being done to allow it to absorb all of the Little Italy market. In the fall of 2014, Claridge must have noticed that with Champagne nearing completion, Nuovo dead, Italia unofficially dead, Richcraft taking forever, and Envie being a rental instead, they had no competition within the area.

[J.OT13]

Didn't even come to mind! Thanks.

[waterloowarrior]

Playing around with Google Earth...

[daud]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

Playing around with Google Earth...

I really like the dows lake view. It is somewhat surprising to see the icon itself really doesn't have that much impact in these renders though I assume it will in real life when that crane hits 40+ stories.

[MoreTrains]

Originally Posted by daud

I really like the dows lake view. It is somewhat surprising to see the icon itself really doesn't have that much impact in these renders though I assume it will in real life when that crane hits 40+ stories.

The single tower doesnt make a huge impact no, but, the collection of towers does, with the variations of height it adds to the skyline it is quintessentially what Ottawa should be going for in terms of new construction.

[Arcologist]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

Playing around with Google Earth...

Nicely done, thanks for these!!!

[OTSkyline]

^ WOw, very cool and looks great with the height and the variety in heights! Just what a skyline is supposed to be!

I wonder if when these are built people will always post pictures of little italy when referring to the "Ottawa skyline" instead of the actual CBD?

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by OTSkyline

^ WOw, very cool and looks great with the height and the variety in heights! Just what a skyline is supposed to be!

I wonder if when these are built people will always post pictures of little italy when referring to the "Ottawa skyline" instead of the actual CBD?

I've been wondering the same... Imagine if North York had taller buildings than Downtown Toronto... That's what I compare this to.

[daud]

Originally Posted by Harley613

I've been wondering the same... Imagine if North York had taller buildings than Downtown Toronto... That's what I compare this to.

Many cities have multiple skylines. New York has Midtown and the Financial district-2 distinct clusters of tall buildings as this photo somewhat demonstrates



In the Case of Ottawa, I would equate this Dows Lake skyline more to the Mississauga Skyline, which is very tall, but made up mostly of Condos. Ottawa is stuck with the whole Parliamentary View Plane thing and in my opinion, it creates great views of Parliament from the Museum of Civilization and the bridges but at the expense of our downtown skyline. Having multiple skylines and different city views will just make Ottawa appear as more than a government town with a cool gothic structure. As a boater, I can't help but think about the impact this view has on Montreal boaters coming up the Rideau on their usual summer circuit Mtl-kingston-Ottawa-Mtl.