Sale of Domtar lands nearly complete
Deal would open door to waterfront development on Chaudière Island
The long-awaited sale of the Domtar lands on the Chaudière Islands is expected to be complete within days, say officials with the company that wants to turn the post-industrial site into an eco-friendly, heritagerich community.
Windmill Developments will hold a public consultation about the project it is calling “The Isles” on Dec. 11 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization to unveil early plans and design principles for a project that has the potential to transform Ottawa and Gatineau’s waterfronts.
Jonathan Westeinde, managing partner with Windmill Development, said Friday that he expects the sale of the 37-acre site on Chaudière Island and the nearby Quebec shoreline to be finalized before that public meeting.
Westeinde said the company would present its vision for the site and design principles — including that it become a world-class sustainable community, a “community patio” and a place to celebrate history. The meeting, he said, “is less about us showing and much more about us getting as much feedback as we can ... and trying to feed that into our plan.”
Windmill is working with the cities of Ottawa and Gatineau as well as with the National Capital Commission, which owns land on the Chaudière Islands. Westeinde said Windmill would like that collaboration with the two municipalities and the NCC to include a unique “unified approvals process” for rezoning the industrial site.
There have been calls to redevelop the historic property in the shadow of the Parliament Buildings even before Domtar closed its plant there in 2005.
The National Capital Commission, which has long had a plan to develop the islands, stepped away from a proposal to purchase the property after the federal government nixed the plan. Windmill signed a letter of intent with Domtar last summer and has been poring over the complex details of buying and developing the property since then.
In a presentation to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario earlier this year, Windmill revealed a broad sketch of what it is proposing for the site.
That includes: opening the waterfront with restaurants, cafés and public parks and gathering spaces that have views of the water; a mix of low rise, highrise, freehold and affordable housing; the redevelopment of three or more heritage buildings and a series of historical installations celebrating the logging and industrial history of the site.
Windmill also proposes the development will include “innovative and creative work spaces” and says it would like to see every residence within 500 metres of a place of employment and the same distance from a social meeting place.
Windmill says the project will be carbon neutral, will include on-site stormwater management and will make use of solar, wind and other ecological systems. And it will be linked with a “safe and cohesive” pedestrian and cycle network, a “seamless” public transit system and “an uninterrupted tourist experience.”
The project is still years away from shovels in the ground, but it has moved a step forward.
If the deal closes and approvals go ahead as expected, Westeinde said it would be 2015 or 2016 before work would start to happen on the site.
The site has been called the cradle of Canadian history — given its proximity to Parliament, its significance as a First Nations gathering place and its roots in the country’s early economy. It has also long been considered a key to unlocking Ottawa’s waterfront.
The property has been declared a land mass of national importance by the NCC, a designation that requires potential developers to work with the agency as well as Ottawa and Gatineau.
“We certainly appreciate their willingness to work with the NCC and the federal government,” said Rick Roth, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird who is responsible for the NCC. “We are looking forward to seeing the whole proposal.”