Towers set for prime downtown O-Train land up for $9M discount
The only O -Train junction in Ottawa is the “poster child” for transit-oriented development, council members heard Tuesday.
The “extraordinary situation” at 900 Albert St. that planning services director Lee Ann Snedden described during a finance and economic development committee meeting was convincing enough for members to unanimously approve an $8.3-million development perk and a waiver of $920,000 in land-use fees.
Council will be asked to approve the development discounts on Oct. 11.
The $8.3 million provided under the city’s brownfield program would help the developer, TIP Albert GP, clean contaminated soil at the key property next to Bayview station.
TIP Albert GP is building a threetower complex at the junction of the Trillium Line and Confederation Line LRT. The towers would be 59, 55 and 50 storeys, combined with retail and office space. The development group, which includes Trinity Developments, PBC Real Estate Advisors and InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust, has also planned to put a grocery store in the complex.
It’s a tricky property for development since municipal sewers are buried below. The property is a former rail yard, storage yard and snow dump.
The developer needs to relocate the sewers to the Trillium Line corridor, which is owned by the city.
Normally the city would charge the developer for having to use city land, but because it’s such an important project for the city’s transit goals, it wants to waive the $920,000. The Confederation Line LRT is scheduled to open in 2018. The city believes the 900 Albert St. project alone would create 1.15 million more transit trips by 2025.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney wants assurances on how the complex will be built before giving away $920,000 for using city land.
Planning general manager Stephen Willis assured the committee that the city’s leverage will come when another rezoning application comes to council. That might not happen until next year.
Mayor Jim Watson supports the development fee breaks to move the project ahead, saying 900 Albert St. and nearby LeBreton Flats would be candidates for the “footdragging hall of fame if we had one of those.”
The property at 900 Albert St. has been subject to development plans for several years, but there has been no construction. Meanwhile, the development future for LeBreton Flats is still under negotiation between the National Capital Commission and RendezVous LeBreton Group.