ArtHaus Residences at Arts Court | 73.8m| 22fl | Completed

[citizen j]

JoeCan613, while I read your comments I pictured central London and its dense mix of old and new. I think I favour that model, as it adds people to a neighbourhood, enlivening it rather than curating it as a museum piece.

[movebyleap]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ci...700/story.html

[waterloowarrior]

don't think the renders have been posted before.. very nice
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ci...700/story.html

[OTSkyline]

Actually looks decent and I like the podium with the glass and large artwork. They need to make it "artistic" if it is to be the Arts Court...

[J.OT13]

Love it! Slick and modern around what is currently a gloomy part of town. This should go a long way of connecting the University Campus with the Rideau District (along with the Rideau expansion, if built).

Of course the tower shown looks nothing like what we will end up with.

[citydwlr]

I really like the textured cladding on the shorter building. The taller building seems to twist as you move further toward the top. Pretty cool overall! I had assumed earlier that the heritage structure would have been engulfed a little more with new features, but for the most part it seems relatively untouched.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by movebyleap

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ci...700/story.html

City reveals Arts Court designs, but can’t yet afford to execute them

By David Reevely, Ottawa Citizen July 4, 2013 6:06 PM

OTTAWA — The city is moving ahead with its plans to redevelop Arts Court, though it’s still short $9 million in federal funding it had hoped to have in hand over a year ago.

Construction on the $36-million project was supposed to start this month, but it’s nowhere near that stage. Beyond the $9-million federal grant the city doesn’t have, it doesn’t yet have a deal with a private developer to construct a tower at the courthouse-turned-arts-venue between the Rideau Centre and University of Ottawa, a part of the project that was supposed to bring in a further $3.5 million.

The city won’t be able to nail down that builder until it has a commitment for the federal money, deputy city manager Steve Kanellakos has said in response to questions from the Citizen as the project has fallen further and further behind schedule.

Nevertheless, the city on Thursday released drawings of the planned redevelopment, which is supposed to double the space for the Ottawa Art Gallery, add new performance space, and spiff up the offices of the dozens of small arts groups that have their headquarters in the building.

City council’s committee on heritage buildings is to consider the plans July 11, and should raise few concerns because the most substantial renovations are to be done on a new part of the existing building rather than the historic former courthouse.

After that, council’s planning committee is to vote July 16 on rezoning the site to allow the hypothetical tower, which could be used for condos, offices or a hotel.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com

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

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Ci...#ixzz2Y84rDOde

[kevinbottawa]

Looks good, but I wish it was taller. It's within 600m of two future LRT stations and CP 1 and 2 are about 27 storeys, right? I really like it, but I don't see why it should be 23 storeys just because the hotel next door is around that height.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

Looks good, but I wish it was taller. It's within 600m of two future LRT stations and CP 1 and 2 are about 27 storeys, right? I really like it, but I don't see why it should be 23 storeys just because the hotel next door is around that height.

i think the 23 story height is more of a placeholder in the plan than an actual plan. whatever developer latches on to this will most likely go for more height IMHO.

[LeadingEdgeBoomer]

Today the feds sent a letter to the city turning down the city's request for nine million dollars for this project. They are not offering any money at all.

Will this project ever see the light of day or will they not be able to fund it?

Could it go the way of the chamber music concert hall, that also did not happen, because enough money could not be raised?

[waterloowarrior]

^citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ci...394/story.html

rezoning recommended for approval
http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/mtgvi...&itemid=302989

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Today the feds sent a letter to the city turning down the city's request for nine million dollars for this project. They are not offering any money at all.

Will this project ever see the light of day or will they not be able to fund it?

Could it go the way of the chamber music concert hall, that also did not happen, because enough money could not be raised?

Surprise surprise.

[citydwlr]

Originally Posted by LeadingEdgeBoomer

Today the feds sent a letter to the city turning down the city's request for nine million dollars for this project. They are not offering any money at all.

Will this project ever see the light of day or will they not be able to fund it?

Could it go the way of the chamber music concert hall, that also did not happen, because enough money could not be raised?

That's pretty disappointing :S Is there private-sector involvement in this project? I'm not overly familiar with the background of this development...Regardless, I hope they can figure out a "plan B" to get it built.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by citydwlr

That's pretty disappointing :S Is there private-sector involvement in this project? I'm not overly familiar with the background of this development...Regardless, I hope they can figure out a "plan B" to get it built.

The tower will provide a bit of private money, estimated to bring 3.5 million to the project.

Plan B is likely "bite the bullet and cough up the extra 9 million from City coffers". IMO, more benefits can come of this project than what the 150 Elgin concert hall would have brought. Mostly talking about improvements to their respective areas, connecting neighborhoods and cleaning up surroundings.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by waterloowarrior

^citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/ci...394/story.html

Arts Court won’t get federal money

By David Reevely, OTTAWA CITIZEN July 9, 2013 7:06 PM

OTTAWA — The federal government will not fund the redevelopment of Arts Court, it told the city in a letter Tuesday.

The project was due to break ground this month, according to a schedule city council approved in 2011, but the city has been slow to finish plans for the $36-million renovation and the federal government was slow to respond when the city asked for $9 million from the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Cultural Spaces Fund.

But the department did answer Tuesday, and the answer is no.

“It should be noted that the requested amount for this project represents almost one third of the total annual budget of the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund,” says the letter from Marie Moliner, the department’s regional executive director. It was sent to deputy city manager Steve Kanellakos and obtained by the Citizen. The fund exists to support renovations, construction and new equipment for arts and heritage facilities across the country, the letter says, but there is always more demand than there is money.

“It it within this context that, on behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, I regret to inform you that your application has not been approved,” Moliner wrote.

According to the department, the biggest grant the fund has made in two years is $1.8 million, to an experimental-theatre centre in Toronto. It makes a few million-dollar grants a year, but most are in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A government source, who refused to be identified publicly, dismissed the city’s request as greedy: “The city needs to make priorities; not everything can be a priority and the federal government is not a bank for the city’s latest pet projects. There is only one taxpayer.”

The city has been waiting for the federal money to come through before finding a private-sector developer to build a tower on the corner of the Waller Street site that is supposed to bring in a further $3.5 million. The University of Ottawa is also involved with plans to include a “black box” theatre. Plans also call for doubling the space for the Ottawa Art Gallery and renovating venues and facilities for the SAW Gallery and SAW video collective and offices for the numerous small arts companies that have their headquarters in the former courthouse.

City council’s planning and heritage-building committees are to approve the designs in the coming week. Now finding the money is a new problem.

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

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

[kevinbottawa]

They should add another 10 floors to the tower to attract more private money.

[kevinbottawa]

After reading the Citizen article, I don't have a problem with the federal government not funding this project. First, the city should've done their homework. They were asking for $9 million dollars, a third of the fund's annual budget; a fund whose largest grant in two years was $1.8 million dollars. I really don't know how they were expecting to get that much money.

I also think this is a prime opportunity for the city and the private sector to figure out how to do things on their own without the help of the feds. I hope they get creative in finding a way to make this happen instead of just writing off the whole project.

[Urbanarchit]

*

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

If it turns out like the renderings, then this could be an excellent piece of development (street-wise of course).

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

They should add another 10 floors to the tower to attract more private money.

I totally agree, but the feds will once again butt in because hey! Protect the dominance of the Hill.

The Rideau Skyline is getting way to flat and dull and so we need to fight for extra height!