New Uptown Rideau plan approved

By Robert Tritt

On November 24, the city’s Planning Committee approved a new Community Development Plan or CDP for Uptown Rideau St., between King Edward and the Cummings Bridge.

City staff have been working on the CDP for the last 18 months with repre­sentatives of community associations, property owners, businesses and de­velopers. The CDP replaces a 2005 plan which has become outdated in the face of new pressures for development re­sulting from the City’s new Official Plan and the recent renewal of the street.

What’s in the new CDP?

The new plan’s vision for Rideau Street is a “vibrant downtown main­street…of mid-rise buildings with con­tinuous active storefronts, shops, restau­rants and cafes…and occasionally taller buildings,” the latter a point of conten­tion with some community voices. “The public realm of Uptown Rideau Street prioritizes pedestrians, cyclists and tran­sit users over cars,” says the plan.

The plan addresses a wide range of issues. Overall building heights and densities have been increased to allow for mid-rise buildings, generally with “baseline” heights of six and nine sto­reys. Design guidelines will require that any building taller than six storeys must be set back on a base or podium, to help maintain the human scale of a traditional mainstreet for pedestrians at street level. Large developments may be granted extra height in return for more public space, resulting in new public parks or plazas.

Additional funds will flow to local parks, since more of the cash-in-lieu of parkland fees collected from develop­ers will stay in Lowertown East and Sandy Hill. Buildings of heritage inter­est have been identified and several are recommended for formal designation. Pedestrian-friendly measures will be implemented at some street crossings. In particular, the CDP recommends that Chapel and Beausoleil should remain closed to traffic, until a community-wide study clearly demonstrates there would be no harmful effects to opening them.

Density Redistribution

The most controversial aspect of the plan is a new planning concept called “density redistribution.” The overall footprint and density of the building must stay the same, but the developers are permitted to vary the height of their building, as long as it fits the same num­ber of people. This will allow developers to exceed the CDP’s six- and nine-storey height limits by lowering some parts of the building and making others much taller – up to 15 storeys on the south side and up to 25 on the north side of Rideau Street.

Density redistribution will apply only on very large lots. The taller buildings will also have to satisfy strict design guidelines to minimize negative impacts at street level. The idea is to provide a developer the flexibility to design a more attractive, but not a larger building.

Community representatives in Low­ertown and Sandy Hill support the new plan, but some question whether den­sity redistribution is consistent with its overall vision for Rideau Street. Looking at the many instances where developers have not followed plan policies and city bylaws, they worry that it may become the rule, not the exception, and that 15 and 25 stories will be the new standard for development along the Rideau Street. This could mean a canyon of high rise towers similar to those lining the street west of King Edward – with the ensu­ing traffic issues and loss of sunlight.

The Lowertown Community Associa­tion and others raised these concerns at Planning Committee and stressed that the success of the plan will depend on whether its provisions for density redis­tribution are respected by developers and enforced by Council as new applica­tions come forward.

According to the plan, all Rideau blocks between Chapel and King Ed­ward and the north block between Cha­pel and Augusta are open to density redistribution and therefore, to propos­als for buildings of 15 storeys on the south blocks and 25 storeys on the north blocks.

When will we see the first new devel­opments?

The new CDP has already led to new development on Rideau Street. In Au­gust, Council approved a new proposal by Richcraft for a 14 storey high-rise tower at Cobourg, based on an applica­tion first submitted more than 10 years ago. Although not dealt with under the new CDP, Richcraft successfully argued they should be allowed to use “density redistribution” to add extra height to the building. Local residents objected, and Action Sandy Hill has appealed the de­cision to the Ontario Municipal Board.

Trinity Developments is working with the City on an application for 26- and 28- storey towers above a large commercial centre at Chapel. This large property, as well as the Econolodge property next door, has a maximum 25-storey height limit. A new application, the first real test of the CDP, is expected in January.

The CDP also provides for a new 25-storey tower at the eastern end of the street adjacent to River, between the 14-storey Ottawa Housing and the 22-storey Watergate apartment towers.

Other sites where density redistribu­tion may mean new towers are in the blocks on Rideau immediately east of King Edward. These include the now-vacant government buildings at King Edward, the Loblaw’s and the Shopper’s Drug Mart properties, should the own­ers decide to redevelop them in future.