Cathedral Hill [428 Sparks St] | 21f | Completed

[kevinbottawa]

Pics taken Monday.

[amanfromnowhere]

....wasn't it supposed to be LEED?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by amanfromnowhere

....wasn't it supposed to be LEED?

LEED Platinum.

If you are refering to the way they are demolishing the building, refer to this Urbsite post. The demo seems to be more gradual and refined;

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/2012/08/c...urce=BP_recent

[blackjagger]

Originally Posted by amanfromnowhere

....wasn't it supposed to be LEED?

LEED has very little to do with how you demo a building, only that the material is separated for recycling.

Cheers,
Josh

[bartlebooth]

Pictures of the entire construction site walking down Sparks (Monday, 24 Sept). Had no idea it was such a large area.

[KHOOLE]

That's the North side, where the church hall used to be. Excavations are for the interesting tall building in the rendering. There is still another more boxy building to be built on the south side of the block, where the Cathedral's parking lot now is. The church will be squeezed in between the two.

I'm not sure how tall these buildings shall be but, being on top of the escarpment, they will look very high from down below.
Probably the best view in town for the Ottawa Valley and the Gatineau Hills, as well as the sunset.

St.Paul, the Lutheran church on the west side and its parking lot, is not part of the Cathedral Hill development.

Those buildings in the background don't seem very inspiring. May just as well hide them.

[amanfromnowhere]

Originally Posted by KHOOLE

Those buildings in the background don't seem very inspiring. May just as well hide them.

Did you mean The Gardens??? I found them as one of the most beautiful buildings in Ottawa build in XXI century!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by amanfromnowhere

Did you mean The Gardens??? I found them as one of the most beautiful buildings in Ottawa build in XXI century!

He probably meant the ones on the left; red-ish brown with horizontal lines (brick, windows, brick, windows) and the grey one with shity balconies.

[KHOOLE]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

He probably meant the ones on the left; red-ish brown with horizontal lines (brick, windows, brick, windows) and the grey one with shity balconies.

Yes, I meant those and the shitty balconies also. The one on the right The Gardens?) is attractive. It has nice features, especially the roof line. It will still be visible diagonally, I think (I hope).

I think the "shitty balconies" are built on the site of Thomas Ahearn's house, the Buena Vista (Spanish for "beautiful view"). He probably owned most of that block. I may be wrong but I think that Buena Vista Road in Rockliffe Village may have been name after Thomas Ahearn's house. He and his daughter, who was married to Southam, sponsored Elmwood College on Buena Vista Road. Just a guess.

[amanfromnowhere]

oh sorry, I just looked at the last two pictures with the gardens in the middle...

[Radster]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

He probably meant the ones on the left; red-ish brown with horizontal lines (brick, windows, brick, windows) and the grey one with shity balconies.

The red-ish brown building is a very awkward Gvt. of Canada office building, they have been doing some renovations on the lower facade in the past few months.

The shitty balconies is what I call home, for now anyway. Agreed that its very nasty looking from the exterior, but super clean and well kept inside, plus, for the location, its amazing value for $ in terms of rent which includes central heat, AC, hydro, etc, it also has cheap underground parking, I can't complain. Though I do hope that they eventually renovate the balconies/facade, as they are full of rust and falling apart making the balconies not only unsafe but also a huge eyesore on the street.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Radster

The red-ish brown building is a very awkward Gvt. of Canada office building, they have been doing some renovations on the lower facade in the past few months.

The shitty balconies is what I call home, for now anyway. Agreed that its very nasty looking from the exterior, but super clean and well kept inside, plus, for the location, its amazing value for $ in terms of rent which includes central heat, AC, hydro, etc, it also has cheap underground parking, I can't complain. Though I do hope that they eventually renovate the balconies/facade, as they are full of rust and falling apart making the balconies not only unsafe but also a huge eyesore on the street.

I didn't mean to offend. I'm sure it's a fine building inside and probably structurally adequate. It just needs a facelift, and I guess, as you said, fixing up the balconies and railings. They have to share with OSEG?

[K-133]

They seem to be moving along at a snails pace on the dig. Anyone know what the timeline is for the excavation and whether the plan is to simply pound away at the rock with a big jack hammer until they hit bottom?

[K-133]

[amanfromnowhere]

some light on the office part of the project... From OttawaCitizen:

The National Capital Commission, located at 40 Elgin St. in the heritage-designated Chambers Building, is seeking information about downtown office space.

NCC spokesman Cédric Pelletier said it is too soon to say if the federal agency, which has almost 500 employees, plans to move.

“This is an exercise to assess availability and market in relation to our overall needs,” he said. “Next steps, if any, will depend on our analysis of the information provided during this survey.”

The NCC has issued a request for information about leasable space that is 97,000 to 120,000 square feet and has 35 parking spots.

It must be located within the boundaries of Wellington Street to the north, Nepean Street to the south, Elgin Street to the east and Bronson Avenue to the west.

According to a notice on the NCC website, the space must be available for a 15-year lease, starting Nov. 1, 2014. Deadline for writing to the NCC is Oct. 15.

“This is not a tender process, nor a request for proposals, but only an inquiry as to the availability of space for lease within Ottawa’s core area,” said Pelletier.

The NCC moved into the Chambers Building in 1994 after a $58-million restoration and office tower addition by Standard Life Assurance Co. and Perez Corp.

Owned by the NCC, the building had stood empty for years. In a 1992 deal, the NCC signed a 25-year lease in order make the project feasible. Standard Life and Perez had a 66-year lease on the property.

The Chambers Building is a complex of three heritage buildings plus an office tower, located across from the National War Memorial.

It boasts perhaps the finest remaining 19th-century commercial facade in Ottawa; exuberant in its variety of materials, colours, shapes and types of windows, yet subtle and elegant.

The building was acquired this year by Allied Properties, a real estate investment trust. Their leasehold expires in 2056, when the property reverts to the NCC.

Windmill Development Group of Ottawa will be among those wooing the NCC.

Windmill has plans for a 12-storey office building on Cathedral Hill at the west end of Sparks Street, between Bay Street and Bronson Avenue.

The office tower, to have 125,000 square feet of space, is part of a larger development surrounding Christ Church Cathedral. It includes a 21-storey condominium tower and townhouses.

“From a visibility point of view, it anchors their territory, so to speak,” says Jonathan Westeinde, head of Windmill. The site on the escarpment west of Parliament Hill, overlooks Confederation Boulevard and Wellington Street and has views to Gatineau Park.

“It’s also anchoring Sparks Street, one of their more significant holdings where they’re trying to create life,” says Westeinde.

His firm, which specializes in sustainable building, is developing the land with the Anglican diocese.

The office tower could be built within 18 months to two years, he says


Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/busines...#ixzz28pgFx4ZG

[Radster]

Originally Posted by K-133

They seem to be moving along at a snails pace on the dig. Anyone know what the timeline is for the excavation and whether the plan is to simply pound away at the rock with a big jack hammer until they hit bottom?

Well, this week they have been blasting as of 8am everyday, don't need my alarm clock anymore, as I get regular earthquake-like wake up calls daily!

[Davis137]

They are moving with a sense of urgency on this build...they must be doing it to help reduce tensions with the locals...

[Exewau]

Looks like they are preserving the facade of the existing buildings

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Exewau

Looks like they are preserving the facade of the existing buildings

Protect the crap buildings on Sussex and the atrocious Horticulture Building, but its ok to result in nothing more than façadisme for stunning old buildings.

At least the resulting Cathedral Hill plan ended up truly protecting Roper House by keeping all of its features and in its original location.

[K-133]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Protect the crap buildings on Sussex and the atrocious Horticulture Building, but its ok to result in nothing more than façadisme for stunning old buildings.

At least the resulting Cathedral Hill plan ended up truly protecting Roper House by keeping all of its features and in its original location.

I think the best part of this building is being preserved while the worst of it is being rejuvenated. A good balance of protection and modernization which will tie two eras together, no?

I'm not saying that I think this old building blends in perfectly with the new tower but the best of the old building will be there and in better shape for much longer than it would have otherwise continued rotting away...