Westboro Station | ?m | 10fl | Completed (Phase I) | Completed (Ph. 2)

[waterloowarrior]

the 'square' between phases 1 and 2 would be nice. the buildings are ok, but having more density along mainstreets and close to the Transitway is a good thing. They are also set back from the street, which could address some community concerns about height (though maybe not from the houses across Byron )

[ajldub]

I love it. It's sure to sell, too. Westboro/Wellington Village is the most unstoppable neighborhood in Ottawa these days. When I lived there 10 years ago it was nice but sleepy, now it's quickly taking the title of most successful retail strip from Bank in the glebe. We will see how the new glebe BIA can defend its position, but I think the relative lack of NIMBYism plus the number of easily developable used car lots and junky one story buildings will ensure that Westboro will win out.

PS Sens in seven. I expect everybody on this site to believe.

[Mille Sabords]

The podium with interior terrasses on the second tower is a great piece of residential design. That is what I call a suitable condo for small kids. Outdoor space that is larger than a balcony, but still in an apartment building.

I agree with ajldub, the Glebe has lost its crown, and I suspect much of it has to do with the immobilism that results from the strident, hysterical NIMBY-ism of that neighbourhood. (some even want the stadium to be removed from Lansdowne park!) The Glebe will need to grow again to stay lively and avoid drifting. There are several good opportunities for redevelopment, but they are complex and will require buildings taller than 2 storeys. Another important piece of urban surgery we need for the Glebe is to stitch its retail strip with both north and south ends of Bank street. The discontinuity is already interrupted by the Queensway and the Bank Street bridge but these distances are short enough to walk if there is an immediate resumption of activity on the other side.

And by the way, Wellington Village is pretty cool about its prospects, but Westboro thinks it's so interesting, it's now trying to out-NIMBY the Glebe. A pity, really.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

Westboro/Wellington Village is the most unstoppable neighborhood in Ottawa these days.

Speaking of which, I'm moving to Wellington Village in a couple weeks...

[Kitchissippi]

I have been getting startled throughout the day from the blasting going on at the site. It's like living in San Francisco with the tremors. Despite a few days of that they seem to have barely scratched the surface.

Odd shadows on that rendering - like 6 to 7pm on a mid-summer evening. In reality that development casts a shadow on Richmond road and that interior terrace most of the time. nothing like a bit of developer spin

They've moved the presentation centre to the corner of Roosevelt and Richmond. Ironically they have an old black and white picture of Westboro on the wall, the kind of scene they are trying to replace. I have to say, I will miss the building that Fab64 is in when it goes -- it's one of those classic main street stores: tin ceiling, indented entry and large bay windows. I think the old industrial buildings could have been a cool rabbit warren of shops had the condo craze not hit this area.

Not sure about the Glebe - Westboro comparison. I think the Glebe still has a much better retail mix that caters to residents. Most of the shops in Westboro Village cater to outsiders. Luckily for me, Wellington West Village and Parkdale Market is just a short bike ride away, and to risk sounding traitorous to my community, I think the scene there is much more exciting.

[AuxTown]

The discontinuity is already interrupted by the Queensway and the Bank Street bridge but these distances are short enough to walk if there is an immediate resumption of activity on the other side.

This is a big issue, but I think it will slowly happen as Centretown fills in and pushes some of the population closer and closer to the Queensway. There really isn't that big of a gap between the Glebe and Centretown at the moment when you look at the North end of the Glebe (Clocktower Pub, The Works, various retail) and the South end of Centretown (new Central Condos, many busy retail like Staples, T&L, and multiple ethnic restaurants). Hopefully, as the DT population grows, some the businesses along Bank will renovate and more and more of the sketchy-looking places will be forced to do the same (or move).

I agree that Westboro is a massively up-and-coming neighbourhood and that it is huge competition for the Glebe, but there's no question that the Glebe will win this battle. It has too much going for it including the canal, new stadium and surrounding development (hopefully), beautiful well-established residential, and an easy walk/bike to DT core. Westboro is unique in that it has all kinds of room for infill and it is gonna be a great place in a few years (or an even better place) once a few of these well-planned, quality developments are complete.

[ajldub]

The thing that Wellington/Richmond has over the Glebe that I think will see it win out in the long run is growth potential. There are just so many old lots on that road that will be developed, and like Milles said nobody in the neighborhood blinks an eye when a company throws up a nine storey building. For instance, of the four corners at Wellington and Island Park, only one(the Esso) is doing really solid business. If a developer snatched up the other three lofts they could do something great with that intersection. There have to be another 20 used car lots, old gas stations and garages between Westboro Station and Somerset with potential too. The neighborhood has a 32-storey condo(with arguably the Glebe's most famous export, Alanis Morrisette, living in the penthouse); could that have ever gotten past the rigid fed employees dwelling in the Glebe? I agree with Kitchissippi that the mix is better in the Glebe, but that will surely change with time as more projects with ground floor retail come to realization. American Apparel picked Westboro. And while Westboro doesn't have anything as large-scale as Lansdowne, Lebreton Flats is just down the street and once that area gets more built up it will only do good things for Hintonburg, which will then become part of the strip. It will be interesting to see how the Lebreton Flats/Richmond area matures in the future, and how its growth interacts with the neighborhoods around it. The future is West Ottawa!

[Mille Sabords]

ajldub makes some good points. The main one is the limited growth potential in the Glebe. Only a Bank Street subway line could reignite it as a major growth corridor, in spite of the rigid objections of cranky Glebites. If the Glebe wanted to grow more it would have to "grow offshoots", maybe aong Catherine toward the Canal (there is a new seniors condo complex there, facing the Queensway - I guess the hard-of-hearing seniors aren't affected by the noise?), and maybe the half-blocks from Bank on either side could have more restaurants or minor retail, as in Fourth Ave. east of Bank. The Lansdowne frontage is an enormous opportunity but it has its limits too.

Both streets offer "extended linearity" that crosses several neighbourhoods - the Glebe is just one of them along Bank and it is hard to visualize extensive redevelopment (I can, but most Glebites probably can't, or won't). For instance, setting aside the obvious former KFC, take the LCBO lot - next to the park, etc. Prime site for a condo. Could easily be 6 storeys. The block with the Beer Store and the Mister Muffler, same thing. But there are many difficult sites - such as the small parking lot north of the Indian restaurant, itself a strip mall, next to the Bose store. Former gas station. Very small site, expensive clean-up - how many storeys would you need for something to happen there - 6, 7, ... 12? Horrors. And yet... should it stay a parking lot forever?

[harls]

Alanis owns the penthouse at Metropole?

I did not know that.

[ajldub]

Yeah you know the green glass knob on the top of the building? There are two apartments in that - one looks downtown and the other looks up the river. I am sure they are two stories. They sold for something like $3.1 million when the Metropole went up. One went to a businessman I think, and the one looking downtown went to Alanis. I think she spends most of her time in LA or someplace but it's her 'pied-a-terre' in Sens country. There was an article in some interior decorating magazine a while back, I don't remember which one, but it had photos of her place. She packed it full of Balinese-style furniture if I remember correctly.

To be honest I don't know who pays $3.1 million to live next to the transitway, regardless of how nice the finishings of your condo are... nice to know she still has some ties to this place though. And I guess if you are trying to stay out of the limelight when you come back home it's as good a spot as any to hide out.

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by ajldub

To be honest I don't know who pays $3.1 million to live next to the transitway, regardless of how nice the finishings of your condo are... nice to know she still has some ties to this place though. And I guess if you are trying to stay out of the limelight when you come back home it's as good a spot as any to hide out.

Well, if you're 32 storeys above the transitway I don't think you'd even know it was there...

[cityguy]

I remember reading a U.S.magazine a few years ago,and it said her condo over looked the canal.

[AuxTown]

Originally Posted by cityguy

I remember reading a U.S.magazine a few years ago,and it said her condo over looked the canal.

Ya, I was sure that she purchased one of the penthouses at 700 Sussex. There was also an episode of MTV cribs where they went to her previous apartment along the Ottawa river and it looked to be East of downtown judging by what I saw from her balcony on TV. Whether it's 700 Sussex or Metropole, those are two pimp penthouses worthy of a photo thread if anyone has any connections .

[ajldub]

Hmm I thought she owned in the Metropole but I could be mistaken. Maybe she has two...

[Dado]

This new design for Phase II of Westboro Station is pretty good - until you look at the awful tower block. It's unbalanced. What's with the east half of that tower block? Get rid of that and continue wrapping the Richmond Road facade onto Roosevelt. And it's too tall - that area is zoned 6 storeys, not 12. The Phase I tower on the corner of Golden and Richmond and the Exchange across the road were allowed to go to 9 because they were going to act as "gateways" to Westboro. So now Phase II will blow away the the gateway function of Phase I? Or was the "gateway" argument just used as an excuse to build a taller tower, and once that can't be used some other argument will be used for the next one (how about "stepping up"?).

No wonder you get NIMBYism when it comes to infill. Developers just can't seem to resist the urge to build higher or bigger even when they well know ahead of time that they're not permitted to. Developers keep shooting themselves in the feet. Can we please have some decent stuff in the 4-6 storey range (like what they propose less the tower - heck, throw another storey or two on the rest of it; it'll look better than what's proposed)? Just once. Seriously. Just once could we have a proposal that fits within the rules, looks decent and gives infill/intensification a good name instead of providing ready fodder for those who oppose it in all forms? Very few people in Westboro would strongly object to this proposal if it looked like what I suggest (beyond the loss of the nice mix of buildings that are there already), but no one here wants shadows being cast for most of the day during most of the year on Richmond Rd.

[Mille Sabords]

Originally Posted by Dado

... but no one here wants shadows being cast for most of the day during most of the year on Richmond Rd.

You may have a point when it comes to the loose and ever-changing interpretation of "the rules" (and I agre it's unprofessional and irritating), but when it comes to shade, in a city where too many street trees are hockey sticks with tiny leaves, on a hot scorching summer day I wouldn't mind some shade on the sidewalk. Take a walk in the Market next weekend if it's sunny and hot, and notice which sidewalk is most crowded: the sunny one or the shaded one?

[c_speed3108]

Originally Posted by ajldub

Hmm I thought she owned in the Metropole but I could be mistaken. Maybe she has two...

She has a unit in 40 Boteler. That building usually comes out +/- as the most expensive in the city. It is the Lowertown/market area but far enough north to miss out on all of Lowertown's crappy stuff (drugs, homeless shelters, panahandlers etc..)

It is a corner unit overlooking the river, parliaments, hull etc... They featured it on MTV cribs one time. She has it done in an asian theme...with buddas and alters everywhere

I am not aware what other real estate she might own in this town of ours.

[c_speed3108]

What I really wanted to address before I got sidetracked was how much I hate this development!!!

Why is anything being allowed to be built in the Byron Streetcar Corridor? It is one of the few free east-west corridors the city has in that part of the city.

[Dado]

That part of the Byron corridor... isn't. It never was. There have always been buildings/development where that will be going.

The streetcar line went directly up the hill where Byron is now located (I believe they shared the running way in this location). Besides, this property is east of the useful piece of the corridor (approx Broadview westwards), unless you have some plan to run something through the Superstore parking lot or blow away a bunch of houses between Holland and Parkdale to get something running through from Byron to Gladstone... (frankly, if the City wants to make some investments towards cycling one would be to acquire about 6 properties in that area and turn them into a cycleway connecting Byron and Gladstone).

[Kitchissippi]

Crane went up last weekend: