Four bids on LeBreton Flats shortlist
The National Capital Commission announced Wednesday it is inviting four development teams to propose plans for the future of LeBreton Flats. But members of the public will have to wait nearly a year to learn very much about any of them.
The four teams selected — a fifth team was eliminated for not meeting mandatory criteria — will have until November to submit detailed project designs and financial proposals for a 9.3-hectare parcel of land in LeBreton Flats. A further 12.1 hectares could also be in play, depending on the proposal.
The NCC board hopes to announce the winning design in mid-2016, after the federal cabinet has signed off.
At Wednesday’s announcement, the NCC released few details about the four teams and their proposals. It named only team leaders, for example, not the full composition of the each team. It also provides only vague, one-sentence descriptions of each of the team’s proposals.
Here are the four shortlisted teams and the information released by the NCC about their proposals: The team: RendezVous LeBreton Group. Though the NCC didn’t say so, the team includes Senators Sports & Entertainment and other partners, including Trinity Development Group. Senators Sports & Entertainment is owned by Eugene Melnyk, owner of the Ottawa Senators and the Canadian Tire Centre.
Trinity was founded by John Ruddy, one of five partners in the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, the consortium that is redeveloping Lansdowne Park. Trinity, which has developed more than 25 million square feet of retail space across Canada, is responsible for Lansdowne’s retail elements. The proposal: The team wants to build a new downtown arena — or as the NCC put it, “a major event centre for sports and entertainment performances” — complemented by green spaces and residential and commercial developments. The comment: The team released a statement saying the partners had “a shared vision and commitment to reinvigorating and reinstating LeBreton Flats as a preeminent meeting place and crossroads for the National Capital Region.” The team: Claridge Homes and partners. Claridge, Ottawa’s largest land developer, is the builder of several condo apartment buildings on the eastern edge of LeBreton Flats. The proposal: The NCC said the Claridge group proposes “indoor and outdoor concert facilities, cultural enterprises surrounded by green spaces, and residential and commercial developments.” The comment: In a statement, Claridge said its team includes “an impressive list of internationally recognized designers, consultants and specialists. It said it is committed to establishing LeBreton as a unique destination that will be “internationally recognized and a source of pride for all Canadians.” The team: Devcore Group and partners, including Montreal real estate developer Broccolini. Devcore, a Gatineau development company owned by Jean-Pierre Poulin, has focused mainly on low-rise and mid-rise residential projects to date.
Broccolini brings expertise in large projects, including the Export Development Canada building at 150 Slater St., the largest office construction project in downtown Ottawa in the past 25 years. The proposal: Devcore proposes a concept with “multiple cultural institutions developed around a grande allée. green spaces and residential and commercial developments.” The comment: The team wasn’t talking Wednesday. The team: Focus Equities leads the team. The Victoria-based firm, founded 35 years ago by Canadian entrepreneur Ken Mariash, is both a developer of large complex projects and an active financial investor. One of its current projects is Bayview Place, an eight-hectare tract of land in Victoria West that the company says “is destined to become a world class waterfront community.”
One of its partners is believed to be Pomerleau Construction, the largest construction firm in Quebec. It was the general contractor for $136 million in work at Lansdowne Park, including rebuilding the stadium and constructing the underground parking garage. The proposal: The team proposes to house the headquarters of “an international organization,” the NCC said, “accompanied by cultural venues, green spaces and residential and commercial developments.” The comment: None Wednesday.
NCC chief executive Mark Kristmanson said the agency has asked the teams “not to communicate” further details of their proposals to the public. “We’ll have the public debate about the merits of the proposals after (the proponents) have had a chance to develop them,” he said.
As well, the NCC will not release the Request for Proposals outlining the NCC’s expectations for the LeBreton redevelopment, or the criteria that will be used to pick the winner, until the competition is complete.
Despite that, Kristmanson called the process “very open” and typical of similar Request for Proposals processes that NCC has done in the past. “This is, of course, a larger one. The stakes are higher,” he said.
“I think the proponents need to be given the space and time to develop their proposals,” Kristmanson said, noting that all four proposals will be publicly displayed in early 2016, something he described as a “very open and exceptional step.”
The public will be asked for feedback, which will be considered by the five-member committee that will recommend the winning design.
The NCC explicitly wants the new development to include an attraction of regional, national or international significance to counterbalance the Canadian War Museum.
So far, Kristmanson said, “we’re encouraged by the proposals,” adding that they included “some very imaginative ideas” for the use of the site. “But we’ll have to see how far they can take them through the development period.”
Though there was speculation that several teams were proposing a new Ottawa central library, Kristmanson said the NCC had agreed to leave that to the City of Ottawa to run as s separate procurement process.
A spokesman for the city said Wednesday it has “not been approached about being part of any bid.”