The Council voted 15 to 9 to approve the Lansdowne Partnership Plan that includes refurbishment of the stadium and Civic Centre, creation of a large urban park and construction of a mixed-use area that includes shops, offices and residences.
The approval means the project will now proceed to stage two, where integration of the mixed-used design and the proposed urban-park design can be completed. A master site plan will be developed and zoning approvals will need to be obtained.
"After several false starts, this City Council has made a bold, visionary decision that will turn Lansdowne Park into an unrivalled City space," said Mayor Larry O'Brien. "We should all be proud to be moving forward on a project that will capture both the rich history of Ottawa and its exciting future."
Council approved the project with a number of amendments to the benefit of the neighbourhood, the city, and protect Lansdowne as a public asset.
These include:
• Devoting $2.5 million in revenue from the project to uphold Ottawa’s affordable housing program;
• Responding to public opinion by keeping the community park that borders Lansdowne in its current form;
• Continuing the role of the Lansdowne Design Review Panel moving forward;
• Confirming that no land sales will be part of the project and that the City of Ottawa will continue to own Lansdowne;
• Affirming that the project will have a Farmers’ Square and that Lansdowne could be the site of a new home of the Ottawa Art Gallery;
• Requiring that traffic demand management practices be used in the redeveloped site; and
• Confirming the importance of bilingual services at Lansdowne.
"This urban development has been improved dramatically from what it was last year when first proposed," said Councillor Peter Hume, chairman of the City's Planning and Environment Committee. "Council pushed for park and building architecture that would create a special place in the nation's capital. Although there remains much work to de done, Council has taken an important step forward.”
City Council approved the redevelopment in principle last November but set out a number of extensive conditions for the project to proceed. These conditions, including the holding of an international design competition for a new park and retention of a panel of design experts, were completed in the last several months and reports detailing the work were presented to City Council June 9.
The project involves partnerships between the City and several organizations. One partnership is between the City and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG), which has secured a conditional Canadian Football League franchise for Ottawa and also has plans to bring professional soccer into the stadium at Lansdowne. OSEG will be responsible for the construction project.
The City also has partnerships with the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada Agency for the creation of the urban park, due to the close proximity of NCC scenic lands and the Rideau Canal World Heritage Site.
Construction timelines will be dictated in part by design and approvals processes. Work on the stadium and mixed-use area could be completed by 2013 at the earliest. The urban park area would see work phased in over a number of years as funds become available.