General Suburban Updates

[Cre47]

Street view shot of the construction site of the new STO garage on Hwy 50/Labrosse (as of September 2015).

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.51034...7i13312!8i6656

[canabiz]

Couple of shops at Hazeldean Mall just closed, the shawarma place in the food court and the barbershop right besides. The latter failed to pay almost $10K rent so tall management changes the locks and that was all she wrote.

Must not be an easy time for the small businesses in these smaller malls and even the malls themselves.

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by canabiz

Couple of shops at Hazeldean Mall just closed, the shawarma place in the food court and the barbershop right besides. The latter failed to pay almost $10K rent so tall management changes the locks and that was all she wrote.

Must not be an easy time for the small businesses in these smaller malls and even the malls themselves.

Generally a shawarma meal doesn't get well with a 2nd cup coffee with the over 65 crowd.

I'm surprised that LP store is still going in the mall.

[canabiz]

Originally Posted by Proof Sheet

Generally a shawarma meal doesn't get well with a 2nd cup coffee with the over 65 crowd.

I'm surprised that LP store is still going in the mall.

I think the loss of Target really exacerbated the problem at this Mall. For a while, there was quite a bit of traffic to sustain the small(er) businesses but once Target is gone, the Mall went back to being what it was before Target arrived: lots of the over 65 crowd milling around and taking things easy.

A number of stores in this mall are vacant and have yet to be filled. I went to A.Y. Jackson which is just a stone's throw from this mall more than 20 years ago and I could still remember how busy it was back then. But then came the Centrum and other plazas in Kanata...just a sign of the times.

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by canabiz

I think the loss of Target really exacerbated the problem at this Mall. For a while, there was quite a bit of traffic to sustain the small(er) businesses but once Target is gone, the Mall went back to being what it was before Target arrived: lots of the over 65 crowd milling around and taking things easy.

A number of stores in this mall are vacant and have yet to be filled. I went to A.Y. Jackson which is just a stone's throw from this mall more than 20 years ago and I could still remember how busy it was back then. But then came the Centrum and other plazas in Kanata...just a sign of the times.

Seems pretty common that newer malls steal the thunder from older malls. Since the arrival of Trainyards, Silvercity has lost most of their tenants.

[eltodesukane]

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

Seems pretty common that newer malls steal the thunder from older malls. Since the arrival of Trainyards, Silvercity has lost most of their tenants.

And Silvercity (Gloucester Mall) has terrible connection with the (former) adjacent Blair Transitway station.

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

And Silvercity (Gloucester Mall) has terrible connection with the (former) adjacent Blair Transitway station.

Compared to what? Trainyards? It has no connection to mass transit whatsoever other then a low frequency local route.

I really don't see how transit led to Silvercity's demise when the stores moved to an even more car centric mall...

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Capital Shaun

Compared to what? Trainyards? It has no connection to mass transit whatsoever other then a low frequency local route.

I really don't see how transit led to Silvercity's demise when the stores moved to an even more car centric mall...

I don't think so either, although the transit access to both the silvercity property and the mall got a lot worse when Blair station relocated for LRT construction (there used to be a covered connection to the mall and a fairly clear route to the silvercity property).

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I don't think so either, although the transit access to both the silvercity property and the mall got a lot worse when Blair station relocated for LRT construction (there used to be a covered connection to the mall and a fairly clear route to the silvercity property).

It did get worse but at least it's temporary. But there are many many shopping malls & retail districts with way worse transit access then Blair/Silvercity. Just a bit south along Innes is pure car centric big box retail.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

And Silvercity (Gloucester Mall) has terrible connection with the (former) adjacent Blair Transitway station.

It used to be ok, but holy mother of Beelzebub, even by Ottawa standards, the pedestrian connection within and to/from the temporary Blair bus station is appalling.

Someone is going to get killed here.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I don't think so either, although the transit access to both the silvercity property and the mall got a lot worse when Blair station relocated for LRT construction (there used to be a covered connection to the mall and a fairly clear route to the silvercity property).

Bingo.

"Clear route".

There's a lot of indicators at Temporary Blair telling pedestrians where NOT to walk. (Most of them get ignored.)

There's almost nothing to tell you where they authorities and mall management deign to let you walk.

Mark my words: someone is going to get smucked here.

[Kitchissippi]

What puzzles me most is that Gloucester City Centre was built with a second floor in the middle to which the pedestrian bridge across the 174 and the Transitway station could have been directly connected. It is such a no-brainer, but instead they subject people to several stairs, countless doors and an exterior jaunt across traffic ust to access the mall. At Billings Bridge, the food court seems to be filled with people who take transit, but at Blair it's so inconvenient that most won't bother going in.

[Capital Shaun]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

It used to be ok, but holy mother of Beelzebub, even by Ottawa standards, the pedestrian connection within and to/from the temporary Blair bus station is appalling.

Someone is going to get killed here.

Sadly I think you're right. Someone will get hit around there one day.

[rocketphish]

Council approves plan for Riverside South
Motion includes memorandum of understanding with Riverside South Development Corporation

By Jennifer McIntosh
Ottawa South News, Jun 28, 2016

Gloucester-South Nepean Coun. Michael Qaqish is thanking developers Richcraft and Urbandale for their contribution to the future recreation needs of Riverside South, following the approval of a community design plan for the area at city council on June 22.

The approval paves the way for the city to acquire a 18.5-hectare park that would serve as the location for a new recreation complex.

The plot of land is located between the Spratt Road extension and Earl Armstrong Road, east of Bowesville Road and the deal would allow the city to buy the land from Richcraft and Urbandale for a net cost of $2 million.

Qaqish told Metroland Media that the city will be getting the land essentially at half price.

A memorandum of understanding states that the city will purchase the land for $4.9 million, then receive $2.9 million from the developers.

The money will support the early development of recreational and community facilities in Riverside South and will be given to the city at the time of closing for the Recreation Complex Lands as outlined above.

The deal means other home builders and developers will be excluded from naming rights for the new facility for the first 15 years after its opening.

A pool, two ice pads, outdoor sports fields, a gym and multi-purpose rooms are possible features. Residents will be consulted on what they’d like to see, but can expect something similar to what’s available at the Minto Recreation Complex in Barrhaven, Qaqish said.

The overall community design plan features a type of downtown for Riverside South just southwest of Earl Armstrong and Limebank roads.

In addition to a Main Street, parkette and boutique shops and cafes, there is potential for a library and a community centre within the community core.

The planning document also maps out residential neighbourhoods, employment lands to the northeast, a rapid-transit corridor, multi-use pathway network and up to 12-storey residential towers around transit stations.

- with files from Erin McCracken

Jennifer McIntosh is the political reporter for Metroland Media¹s Ottawa papers. She can be reached at jennifer.mcintosh@metroland.com.

[rocketphish]

New 30-classroom addition coming to Riverside South’s St. FX High
Addition next step before second Catholic high school can be built

By: Erin McCracken Metroland Media
Published on Thu Aug 11 2016

A new $6.9-million addition will be built at St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School in Riverside South over the next year to address booming student enrolment.

The 30-classroom addition is the needed next step before Ottawa Catholic School Board officials set their sights on constructing a second high school in the growing south Ottawa suburb.

“We have big numbers,” said Fred Chrystal, the board’s superintendent of facilities and planning.

Any day now construction is expected to begin on the three-storey addition at the northeast side of the current three-storey high school, located at 3740 Spratt Rd.

It’s expected to be open and ready for September 2017.

Plans to construct the addition are moving quickly.

The attached addition will feature about 3,950 square metres of space and will include science, art and multi-purpose classrooms.

The plans also call a landscaped courtyard, 77 new parking spaces for a total of 282 spots, and 90 additional bicycle parking spots for a grand total of 135.

Approval

The school board recently received approval for the project’s site plan and was recently waiting for a building permit.

“The builder is ready to go,” Chrystal said. “It’s great news.

“We’re very pleased the government has recognized the need here. We appreciate their support.”

In the meantime, growth continues. The school board is projecting to see 1,826 students enrol this September in grades seven to 12.

That’s up 139 over last year, 1,687 students were enrolled, most of them in grades nine to 12. To accommodate the boom, six portables will be moved in for this September, bringing the total to 32 portables.

Some of those will be removed after the new addition opens and after the enrolment numbers will be known for that academic year, said Crystal.

The growth will only continue.

The student population at St. FX is projected to grow up to 2,040 students by the year 2020.

That means it will be 121 per cent full even with the new addition, Chrystal said, but added that doesn’t mean every classroom will be full every period of the day.

However, without an addition St. FX would be overflowing at 161 per cent.

“It is full and as it continues like that at some point we will be looking to build another high school in the area,” said Chrystal, but noted that even with a growing student body, Riverside South’s population hasn’t grown as fast as board officials anticipated in comparison to Barrhaven.

Plans for the construction of the second Catholic high school don’t yet include a finalized timeline.

“(With) the funding model, we have to have the enrolment on the ground to warrant the justification for whether it’s a new school or whether it’s a new addition,” Chrystal said.

Money squeeze

“Because we’re all being squeezed for money these days we have to be very cognizant of the operational costs of new buildings,” he said, adding that staffing and maintenance costs must also be considered.

The new school would offer grades seven to 12, and would also serve Findlay Creek, which currently doesn’t have a Catholic high school or elementary school.

However, the school board has applied again for funding to build an elementary school and has put that new school at the top of its priority list, said Chrystal.

http://www.metronews.ca/news/ottawa/...ide-south.html

[1overcosc]

The OCSB's long standing tradition of plowing every capital dollar into expanding suburban schools while letting all its urban schools rot continues...

The OCDSB, by contrast, has a lot of difficulty keeping up with the pace of suburban expansion (as evidenced by their lack of a Stittsville high school) but the distribution of spending is a lot more equal.

Of course, consolidating the two boards would solve the problem, but that's politically toxic. Sigh.

[TransitZilla]

Originally Posted by 1overcosc

The OCSB's long standing tradition of plowing every capital dollar into expanding suburban schools while letting all its urban schools rot continues...

What urban schools are rotting? The OCSB is building a $7M addition onto St Pat's...

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by bradnixon

What urban schools are rotting? The OCSB is building a $7M addition onto St Pat's...

Take a tour of some of the OCSB primary schools inside the Greenbelt sometime. There are multiple Broadviews....

[rocketphish]

Walton lists 300-acre south Kanata property up for sale

Peter Kovessy, OBJ
Published on November 29, 2016


Click image for larger version

After spending several years pushing the city to open up a massive swath of land in southwest Ottawa for development, Walton Ontario has put a 300-acre parcel up for sale.

The farmland listed by real estate services firm CBRE is located between Eagleson and Old Richmond roads, immediately south of the Bridlewood community, and represents only a fraction of the 3,000 acres Walton owns in the area.

In a statement accompanying its third-quarter financial results, released Monday evening, Walton said the time frame for the company to hold its interest in the property as an investment “has exceeded the original anticipated two- to four-year time horizon” and that the firm “continues to work with CBRE ... to seek market opportunities for the property.”

Even though CBRE lists the land as “for sale” and “an opportunity to acquire one of the largest future development sites in the Kanata South area,” a Walton executive told OBJ on Tuesday that “nothing has changed.”

“We’re not interested in disposing of the property,” said senior vice-president Fareed Amin.

“CBRE (can) bring interested individuals to work with us in developing the property.”

The lands fall outside Ottawa’s urban boundary, which means most forms of development on the property are generally prohibited.

The city reviews the urban boundary every five years and considers whether there is a sufficient amount of land available for future development.

Those debates typically pit homebuilders and commercial landowners such as Walton against individuals who want to restrict expansions of the urban boundary as a way of limiting sprawl.

Despite hiring several lobbyists to press its case, Calgary-based Walton was unsuccessful in convincing city council in 2013 that its lands were needed to accommodate Ottawa’s future growth.

Walton said it appealed that decision to the Ontario Municipal Board, which earlier this year instructed the city to complete more studies on its land supply before it would reconvene a hearing.

The company does not have a specific development proposal for the property, but Mr. Amin said it would likely be a mix of residential, commercial and industrial uses.

Despite Walton’s prolonged push to expand the urban boundary to include its lands, Mr. Amin said Ottawa is still a “great” place for Walton to do business.

“Councillors are engaging, they’re open, they’re interested in development that makes sense, they want to grow the community, they want to create jobs,” he said.

“All their objectives are objectives we can relate to and we can work with.”

http://www.obj.ca/Real-Estate/2016-1...-up-for-sale/1

[OTSkyline]

Wont be long until Stittville, Kanata & Barrahven (shortly followed by Manotick) all blend into each other and become one large continuous (sub)urban area.

Stittsattahaventick?