NCC officials have raised the spectre of soil contamination at the Richmond Landing site chosen for a planned $2 million monument celebrating the centennial of the Canadian Navy.
The site is located upstream from Parliament Hill near the Canadian War Museum..
A National Capital Commission official says the site is “beautiful, richly historical and deeply symbolic.”
The commission approved the project in principle last fall and unveiled the Richmond Landing location at a public meeting.
But the chosen site – which has seen many changes over the years since it served as a lumber yard in the 1800s – housed oil tanks in the 1930s, which has raised concerns about possible contamination.
“The site was used in the past for industrial use,” says NCC’s Cédric Pelletier. “Preliminary investigation has shown the need for further studies.”
The concerns do not come as a complete surprise since nearby LeBreton Flats, also an old industrial site, was found to contain contaminated soil and has required significant remediation as part of the NCC’s ongoing redevelopment of the area.
The NCC has made clear that it intends to take responsibility for any of the contamination issues that may arise. How much it might cost to decontaminate the site is uncertain at this stage.
“It would depend on how long it’s been there as well as other factors to determine that,” said Health Canada spokesman Stephane Shank.
Pelletier said the site has not posed any harm to the public after its use as an oil depot.
Despite the potential challenges of preparing the site for the navy commemoration, the monument is set to be unveiled in May 2011 – missing the centennial celebrations by one year.
Instead, the May 2010 centennial of the navy’s creation in 1910 will be marked by a sod-turning ceremony at the Richmond Landing site and the unveiling of the monument’s final design.
The design of the monument will be chosen through a national competition to be launched this month. The competition is split into two different phases. Phase one will determine five finalists based on artists’ qualifications. In the second phase, the five finalists will develop their proposals before a selection committee chooses the winning entry.
The jury will include artists and designers as well as a naval veteran of the Second World War.
The navy, in negotiating the selection of the site for the monument with the NCC, had stipulated that the site should be close to water, offer views of and from Parliament, and include spaces for quiet contemplation and also enough capacity to accommodate a large number of people for ceremonies.
Proposals for the monument and its surrounding features are expected to meet this criteria. The winning designer will be awarded a contract to complete the project.
The navy monument is one of several projects currently being pursued in Centretown by the NCC to enhance the capital’s tourist appeal and strengthen the city’s stock of national symbolic sites.