An artist’s rendering of the Laurier Avenue field after the proposed redevelopment, pending agreement between the school board and the city.
Across from the old technical high school on Albert Street, a field, basketball court, parking lot, and community gardens may become a city-maintained park if the city can come to a land-ownership agreement with the school board.
“The residential intensification is enormous on the south side of Laurier with hundreds and hundreds of condominium buildings, and they need some green parkland,” says Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes.
Two years ago the city re-hired Urban Strategies, the company that developed a plan for the downtown core in 2004.
They were asked to take a closer look at a specific neighbourhood, otherwise known as the escarpment district-the west-end of downtown, north of Laurier Avenue.
The money for this study was contributed by a developer when council approved their tower, which was taller than zoning bylaws allowed, and which raised concerns about blocking out sunlight, says Holmes.
The study is scheduled to come before council in November.
The old technical high school at 440 Albert St., owned by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, covers a huge portion of the land being studied.
Although the plan aims to keep the westerly part green and the easterly part for high density residential, the school board has not declared the land redundant yet, says Holmes.
“First of all, the school board has to declare it vacant, they have to agree to our zoning changes, someone has to be interested in buying it, and then we have to convince the school board to give us the parkland in exchange for the rezoning,” says Holmes.
Holmes says although the field has been performing the role of a park for years, there is enormous pressure on the area from developers, and the community wants to make sure they keep what little green space remains in the downtown core.
“The whole point is to have a swap with the school board.”
Jennifer Mackenzie, the school board’s downtown trustee, says she is interested in the community use of the property, but different people on the board view it differently.
“It’s been owned by the school board for many years and I don’t know that we’ve really given a lot of thought to changing things,” says Mackenzie.
George Dark, the consultant for Urban Strategies in charge of the study, says he was hired by the city to take a closer look at the area under the assumption that, at some point, the school board would move in and start a school or sell the land.
“We’re trying to develop a plan to figure out how housing units and buildings can continue to be brought forward, because it’s a pretty good place to live,” says Dark.
He adds his main concern was to maintain green space for recreation, community building, and getting around.
Dark also highlighted the role of the city-owned Nanny Goat Hill community gardens, bordering the south-west part of the field at Bronson and Laurier Avenues, as an important part of the community.
Rosemary Taylor, the caretaker of the gardens, says there are more than 100 plots in the community garden.
“People come by to relax, show their children, or take a break from the stress of office work,” says Taylor, adding that homeless often help themselves to the fruit and vegetables.
“All of these immeasurable benefits of a community garden are shared by everybody, not just the 100 people who own a plot,” she adds.