Motions on Lansdowne 2.0 could mean more money for affordable housing, the return of a third tower to the plan and more

Published Nov 02, 2023 • Last updated 7 hours ago • 6 minute read

A Lansdowne 2.0 protest was held before the Joint Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committee meeting at City Hall in Ottawa Thursday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Boat-up access. The return of a third residential tower to the plan. More money for affordable housing. These are just a few of the proposed motions city councillors described for the complex and contentious package that is Lansdowne 2.0 on Thursday, the first day of an anticipated three days of meetings on the future of Lansdowne Park.

Some 88 delegations were scheduled to speak to the joint meeting of the city’s finance and corporate services and planning and housing committees that started Thursday morning. Many of the 25 delegates that had spoken as of late afternoon voiced opposition to the proposal.

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Because of the number of delegations, it’s anticipated that the meeting will continue at least into Friday. The decision made by the joint committee is scheduled to come before the full city council on Oct. 10.

The proposal for Lansdowne 2.0, as it stands, would see the north-side stands replaced, and a new arena built at a cost of $419.1 million — including nearly $250 million for the new 5,500-seat arena, or “event space” and $169.5 million for the north-side stands, which will seat 11,200. It’s valued at $86.5 million more than was estimated in 2022.

The city plans to sell its air and subterranean rights at Lansdowne Park for an estimated $39 million, with 10 per cent going to an affordable housing fund. Under the plan, cash flows generated from the operations are to be distributed in a system referred to as “the waterfall,” which governs the distribution of net positive cash.

Construction is estimated to be completed in 2029, with debt services starting in 2030 and distributions from the partnership will begin in 2031.

Motions from councillors

“We have a proposal in front of us that is extremely divisive,” said Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard, whose ward includes Lansdowne.

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He plans to introduce a motion on Friday to set back the report from the committee’s consultation and wait for a city auditor general’s report “for an independent set of eyes on these proposals.”

Mitigation plan

Menard said he will bring several other motions to the committee, including that city staff be directed to ensure a mitigation plan is in place if the Lansdowne partnership with OSEG — the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group — fails before the end of the agreement.

The mitigation plan could include options such as maintaining Lansdowne Park in-house, establishing a non-profit corporation or board to maintain and operate the park, or partnering with an existing non-profit.

The third residential tower

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney plans to introduce a motion that would reintroduce the third tower to the plan.

The original plan called for three residential towers with 1,200 residential units to be built on the site, which was scaled back to two towers with 770 units under the current proposal.

Affordable housing

Including affordable housing units in the Lansdowne 2.0 project has been a controversial issue. As it stands, the proposal makes for $3.9 million that the city can use to fund affordable housing projects in less expensive neighbourhoods. That $3.9 million is 10 per cent of the $39 million the city estimates it will receive for selling air and subterranean rights for the towers and underground parking.

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But Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King will be bringing forward a motion that would require much more: that 40 per cent of the net proceeds of the sale of the rights go to the affordable housing funding reserve.

The air and subterranean rights will be put up for sale in 2024, then the money is meant to go to projects slated to start before 2026.

Travelling to and parking at Lansdowne

Coun. Ariel Troster will present a motion for free or low-far transit on Bank Street, heading toward Lansdowne. Even with the re-opening of the Trillium LRT line, more residents need to use transit on Bank Street to relieve congestion, the motion states. Troster proposes a free or low-fare pilot project for anyone boarding a Route 5 or Route 7 bus, with costs offset in part by increases to ticket surcharges at Landsdowne.

Meanwhile, Menard has given notice of several other motions, including such proposals as:

Removing the $18.6 million budget for the construction of up to 140 parking spaces beneath the north side stands. Under the current plan, the parking spaces would be leased to the owners of the residential towers;Converting all surface parking spaces on Exhibition Way to accessible parking by permit only;Redesigning the entrance to Lansdowne at Queen Elizabeth Drive and Princess Patricia Way to better accommodate pedestrians and cyclists;Measures to help reduce car use, including at least three parking spaces for car-share vehicles included in any future purchase agreement for air and subterranean rights, pre-loaded Presto cards for the first occupants and at least 20 bikes available onsite for rent;Removing through traffic from the Aberdeen Pavilion;Requesting the mayor write the National Capital Commission and Parks Canada to request funding for boat-up access to Lansdowne Park on the Rideau Canal;Upgrading Infrastructure to improve access to Lansdowne Park, including a signalized active transportation crossing, a protected bicycling facility and infrastructure on Fifth Avenue and a signalized pedestrian crossing at Holmwood Avenue.

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Equity

Coun. Laine Johnson will present a motion that would see job opportunities for traditionally under-represented groups. She also wants to see a “social procurement framework” that ensures social enterprise businesses and local small and medium businesses are included in Lansdowne’s retail portfolio.

Green space

Coun. Theresa Kavanagh is to present a motion asking city staff, alongside OSEG, Lansdowne vendors and local food security organizations, to study the potential for adding hydroponic gardens to the proposed green roof on top of the arena and events centre.

Of the three options studied by the city for the green roof — ranging from $4.2 million with “limited functionality” to $28 million for a publicly accessible area, according to the motion, Kavanagh’s pitch is for the lowest-cost option — a full-modular green roof that can be pre-grown and removed or moved as needed.

Kavanagh’s motion also noted that more than 4,500 residents have signed a petition to have an accessible green roof at the events centre.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe during the Joint Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committee meeting at City Hall in Ottawa Thursday. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Where Mayor Sutcliffe, OSEG stand

“Doing nothing, or delaying a decision, is expensive and risky,” Mayor Sutcliffe said as the day’s marathon meeting began.

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City staff and senior executives with OSEG argued that the Lansdowne 2.0 project will revitalize the aging facility and attract new visitors and events. Councillors heard that it could cost the city $400 million or more to upkeep the old buildings and continue Lansdowne operations for the next 42 years.

While OSEG and city staff have argued that the arena is obsolete, inefficient and inaccessible, Menard has argued that it is structurally sound and with proper maintenance will last another 40 years.

Mark Goudie, OSEG’s president and CEO, disagreed.

“I will remind you that the pyramids in Egypt are also structurally sound. Structurally sound doesn’t mean they’re useful. Structurally sound means they’re not falling down,” he told councillors. “The city-owned facilities simply can’t play the role that the city needs them to play for the next decades. We have already started to lose events and that will continue and accelerate over time.”

Goudie said operating income needs to be about $12 million to break even from a cash flow perspective. “We’re about $7 million away from where we need to get to that stage,” he said.

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“You have everything you require to decide whether Lansdowne 2.0 should proceed. You have all you need to decide whether the decision before you is in the taxpayers’ interest, whether it’s in the public interest,” Roger Greenberg, executive chairman and managing partner of OSEG, told the joint committee.

Any further delay at this point only helps those who are opposed to this project going forward, said Greenberg.

“Quite candidly, we’re strongly opposed to kicking the decision down the road. We have already seen what has happened to construction costs in the 18 months since we last appeared before city council. We are content that the escalation costs and contingencies built into the current project numbers are more than sufficient if we move forward expeditiously.”

Speaking to reporters during a break late Thursday afternoon, Sutcliffe said he still believes Lansdowne 2.0 is the way forward.

“There is room for us to adjust it and to make some improvements to it. But in principle this is the right way forward for Lansdowne Park.”

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