Green plan for Domtar lands
Developer envisions top sustainable neighbourhood
An Ottawa developer known for green design is working on plans to turn the post-industrial Domtar site in the Chaudière Islands into what it describes as one of the most sustainable neighbourhoods in the world, complete with creative workspaces, “non-traditional, non-big-box” retail, housing and a focus on “bringing Ottawa to meet the water.”
Jonathan Westeinde, managing partner of Windmill Development Group, told the Citizen his company has signed a letter of intent with Domtar to purchase the 37-acre site on Chaudière Island and the nearby Quebec shoreline. Although Westeinde said there is no certainty that letter of intent will result in an agreement to purchase the historic property, he sketched an ambitious vision for the site should the deal go ahead.
A key part of that plan involves opening public access to the area, including Chaudière Falls, which few people have seen in recent decades.
“We want to take what has essentially been a gated island and make it into something the public can enjoy.”
The future of what is the last big piece of private land in the capital’s ceremonial core has been the focus of growing public concern in recent years. An area of significance for First Nations long before European settlement, the islands and nearby shorelines were also the cradle of the lumber industry and a place where Upper and Lower Canada were linked by what was then known as the Union Bridge. It has been called the crossroads of Canadian history.
It was long believed the National Capital Commission would purchase the site once it went up for sale, but the federal government turned down a tentative deal to put the land in federal hands about 18 months ago. NDP MP Paul Dewar, whose riding includes part of the site, is among those who believes the federal government dropped the ball by not buying the historic lands in the shadow of the Peace Tower.
Since the NCC deal failed to materialize, a number of developers have reportedly looked at the site which presents a number of challenges, including that it is part of an Algonquin land claim, that it is contaminated, contains heritage property and overlaps various jurisdictions.
“It is going to take somebody with a lot of money and a lot of patience,” said real estate lawyer Michael Polowin, “quite frankly, most ordinary developers don’t have that level of patience.”
Westeinde said green building principles will make the development stand out. “We think this is a project that can put Ottawa on the map from a sustainability point of view,” he said.
Windmill has already met twice with the National Capital Commission and is meeting with other groups and levels of government interested and involved in the site, including the Algonquin First Nations, heritage groups and the Ottawa Riverkeeper.
Westeinde said Windmill would like to get the municipalities of Ottawa and Gatineau to work together on the project “to realize the vision of making that border essentially nonexistent and having a coordinated community.” The site is in both Ontario and Quebec.
Westeinde compared his company’s concept for the site to Granville Island in Vancouver, but said it would have a “much higher degree of sustainability associated with it.” The Chaudière plan also includes housing, which is not part of Granville Island.
He sees the site, which includes former E.B. Eddy buildings, as a future a hub for a creative workforce with offices in some of the heritage buildings and warehouses, a nod to the area’s industrial heritage and something he believes could help “revitalize Ottawa’s knowledge industry”. Windmill, which developed The Currents, where the Great Canadian Theatre Company is located in Hintonburg, and is building the Cathedral Hill condo development downtown as well as The Eddy condo in Hintonburg, has built a reputation on sustainable building practices. It is the only developer to have achieved a LEED Platinum rating for all of its projects, Westeinde said.
If development of the Domtar lands goes ahead, it would be the company’s biggest project, but Westeinde said it is similar to its Dockside Green project in Victoria which, although about half the size, has some of the same features. That project also involved redeveloping a post-industrial brownfield site and working closely with a nearby aboriginal group. Westeinde said it struck an accord with the aboriginal group which celebrated the cleanup of the land in Victoria. Windmill also trained and hired an aboriginal workforce on the project. That project was named one of the 16 most sustainable developments in the world by the Clinton Foundation.
“We are open to lots of creative solutions and fully intend to engage aboriginal groups and work on finding ways to celebrate what were sacred places for them.”
Westeinde said he sees the project taking at least 10 years to complete.
Ottawa’s Riverkeeper Meredith Brown says that what she had seen of the plans would be “a huge improvement on what it is now, which is a contaminated parking lot.”
Brown said she is excited about the tentative plans. “I think it can only improve from the situation now.”
And she said she didn’t share the concern that the prime property should only be in government hands. “I haven’t exactly seen progressive development coming out of the government ... they are just all about the bottom line.”
Urban design consultant George Dark said the Chaudière Islands (which include Chaudière Island, the NCC owned Victoria Island and two smaller islands) is a special place whose development should enhance Ottawa.
“It is a place people haven’t been allowed to go much. There are views there that are unknown to people and places there that you can see things you can’t see anywhere else in Ottawa or Gatineau.”