A rendering of the proposed promenade at Lansdowne park, part of the Lansdowne Live plan.
A Lansdowne Park revitalization plan unveiled by four local businessmen is “hypothetical”, according to the chair of the Glebe BIA.
Greg Best said the partnership used broad terms and proposed an unrealistic deadline.
“We gotta see more detail,” he said in an interview.
The partnership consists of William Shenkman of The Shenkman Group of Companies, Minto Group CEO Roger Greenberg, Trinity Development Group president John Ruddy and Ottawa 67’s owner Jeff Hunt.
The partnership was granted a conditional CFL franchise last spring. The franchise expires in spring 2009, and the businessmen are using this expiration as a timeline to get the project underway.
At the time of the proposal, they had not yet consulted with city council.
The proposed plan, called Lansdowne Live, would include an improved stadium to host professional sports teams, an amphitheatre, a hotel, an aquarium and approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space.
“As self-confessed civic boosters, we believe city building is about vision and imagination and what-ifs,” said Shenkman, at a press conference Oct. 17.
“But as successful business people, we also know city building is about feasible plans, smart growth that makes use of existing infrastructure, financial prudence and the private and public sector working together.”
By its own admission, the group’s financial plan was vague.
“For us to suggest a renovation cost at this point would be sheer speculation,” said Greenberg, because the city has not yet released the “overdue” results of a study of the stadium done by engineers.
He added, however, that $120 million of the project will be privately financed.
Greenberg said that with their plan, the City of Ottawa would pay for renovations to Frank Clair Stadium but would not need to spend any more money on the park than it already does on upkeep every year.
Though Best stresses that Lansdowne needs to be reworked, he said that he was glad to see some “vision” for the area.
Revitalizing the park may help local merchants, said Best, as most of them currently see it as being “just there.”
Even big attractions that have brought out a lot of people in the past, such as the Grey Cup or the Rolling Stones, have not boosted local business, said Best.
Hunt explained the proposed new stadium would encompass “every component of the fan experience” from stadium seating, washrooms and concessions, to new dressing rooms, coaches offices and work-out facilities.
“It’s significant that Lansdowne Live will be a place people will want to come to early before events and stay after,” said Hunt.
While the team projects no changes to the exterior of the Aberdeen Pavilion, it suggests an aquarium be built within the historic building.
The plan also includes green space and a permanent home for the Ottawa Farmers Market.
Uses other than the Farmer’s Market, however, were not mentioned in the proposal.
“There’s all these mini trade shows that go on from craft things to wedding shows to travel to farm implement shows,” said Best.
“I wonder how the business model would change once the Congress Centre’s redone. Lansdowne is an easy place to move things into.”
The development team is also proposing a building, located adjacent to the proposed hotel on Bank Street that would act as office space and future retail space.
Best said that if this brings “big development,” it won’t add anything to the area.
“[The] impression I was left with was that they are going to open a lot of larger type retail, national based retailers,” he said. “Every national retailer is in the shopping centres. Do we need more?”
Coun. Clive Doucet had a similar reaction to the proposal.
While Doucet is optimistic and supportive of another bid for Lansdowne, he does not like how little green space the plan suggested.
The consortium called the proposal “Step two of 122.”
“We are involved in a collaborative process. Details will be fleshed out as the process unfolds with the city and the residents of Ottawa.”