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OVERBROOK NEWSLETTER
septembre
2002
A Victory for Common Sense! (CFB Rockcliffe & Housing)
Finally, I have some good news to report on this issue. In this
case good news is defined as something that makes very good sense.
On August 10th it was announced that an agreement had been signed
between the City and the Department of National Defence (DND),
which will allow the City to use, entirely at its cost, up to 20
houses, which are surplus to DND’s needs. The City intends to use
these houses at the current locations as part of its affordable
housing portfolio for families. A short-term agreement, ending on
July 30th, had been in effect. The houses were then slated for
disposal/removal. Eventually, of course, these lands will likely
be redeveloped and the houses will then have to be moved or
demolished. However, redevelopment plans are not currently in
place. Until all of that occurs, it made sense to try to put these
houses to good use given the urgent need for affordable housing in
this City. The new agreement allows for that to happen. The
important principle that has now been recognized is that it will
no longer be necessary in the future to demolish or remove housing
in advance of any real need to do so.
Congratulations to all involved in achieving this understanding,
notably Mr. Jacques Taky, General Manager of the Canadian Forces
Housing Agency, Col. Jean-Pierre Cyr, Commanding Officer of CFB
Rockcliffe and Mr. Dick Stewart, General Manager of People
Services, City of Ottawa. I would also like to acknowledge the
important facilitating role played by Mr. Andrew Wisnioski, ex-DND
and now a member of the Ward Council. Well done.
CFB Rockcliffe – Redevelopment
No definite news just yet but it appears very likely that the
Canada Lands Corporation (CLC) may acquire the lands before the
end of this year. CLC and the City are committed to an extensive
and thorough public process to determine the best use of this
large (approx. 350 acres) tract of land only 15 minutes from
Parliament Hill. This exercise will likely be one of the first
tests of the City’s new Official Plan based on “smart growth”
principles.
More Redevelopment in Overbrook
• I have just learned that Richcraft Homes have purchased the site
of the former St. Michael School on Bernard Street. I will shortly
be hearing about the proposals for this site and will keep you
informed through your Community Council.
• The parcel of land behind the Hampton Inn, between the parking
lot for Jetform Park and the Vanier Parkway, will also be
redeveloped. In this case, the owners, BONA Building & Management
Co. Ltd., are proposing a Conference Centre/Hotel Complex. The
hotel will be ten stories high, with 292 units, and will be
located closest to the Queensway. The conference centre, between
the two hotels, will be two stories high and have two large
meeting halls that can be subdivided into smaller areas. The
complex will also have two amphitheatres and a restaurant.
Underground parking for the entire complex will accommodate 653
cars. The majority of site-related traffic is expected to arrive
via the Queensway, Vanier Parkway, and Coventry Road route. No
infrastructure modifications appear to be required as a result of
this proposal. A meeting with myself, representatives of community
groups and City staff was held on the 4th of September. The
proposal appears appropriate for this site.
• There is also a proposal for a 1-storey box retail store (“Best
Buy”) at 330 Coventry Road, next to the Canadian Tire store. It is
proposed that 225 parking spaces be provided for that site.
All of the recent developments in this area, and those now
proposed, would seem to justify resurrecting the idea of a
pedestrian overpass connecting the Jetform site with OCTranspo’s
“Train” transitway station south of the Queensway. I urge you to
press that this be incorporated in the City’s new Official Plan as
part of the community consultations this fall.
Des Liaisons Communautaires
La société Claridge a bien acceptée de relier deux sentiers. Il
s’agit de raccorder la communauté existante de Carson, au sud de
Cité Collégiale, et celle de la nouvelle communauté de Rockcliffe
Mews, au nord du chemin d’accès à Cité Collégiale. Ce sentier
devra normaliser un sentier de terre battue qui existe depuis au
moins un quart de siècle et permettre un accès pour tous au parc
public qui sera situé dans la nouvelle communauté.
Passons maintenant de la création à la fermeture. Il s’agit ici du
sentier reliant actuellement la rue Mutual à l’arrière de l’école
secondaire Rideau. Ce sentier donne malheureusement trop souvent
l’occasion aux malfaiteurs de faire des leurs, ce qui a pour effet
de réduire énormément la qualité de vie des résidents avoisinants.
Bref, suite à notre sondage auprès des résidents, le sentier
semble avoir perdu son utilité pour la majorité de la communauté.
Si vous avez questions ou commentaires, je vous prie de
communiquer avec mon bureau au 580-2483.
Hôtel de ville d’Ottawa
110 Avenue Laurier Ouest
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Télécopieur: 580-2523
Courriel:
jacques.legendre@ottawa.ca
Site Internet:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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