The next phase of construction is set to begin on LeBreton Flats, part of the ongoing transformation of the historic area from empty land to thriving community.
More than 160 housing units will be built over the next two years, according to Neil Malhotra, vice-president of Claridge Homes, the developer.
The units will be take the shape of one six-storey condominium block, a block of townhouses and an eight-storey building, Malhotra says.
The National Capital Commission approved the next phase of development on the land east of Booth Street at a public meeting Nov. 24, according to Mario Tremblay, an NCC spokesperson.
The NCC also approved the changes that were made to the previous phase after Claridge deviated from the original plan during construction, Tremblay says.
“These issues were entirely related to landscape design and the handling of the Fleet Street Mews,” Tremblay says, referring to the removal of stairways at the Mews.
The NCC wanted to ensure there are as many stairs as possible to create “a strong relationship between the front door of the units and the street,” Tremblay says. “This is to bring life to the street.”
“Street-related development” is one of 10 key planning principles laid out by Claridge in its original proposal.
Malhotra said the deviations were “a matter of a few inches.”
“The issues have been dealt with,” he says.
Claridge originally received approval from the NCC’s advisory committee of planning, design and realty in December 2007, after the land had sat unused for more than four decades.
The NCC expropriated the land in 1962, resettling 2,800 people who lived and worked on the flats, according to local author Phil Jenkins in his book An Acre of Time.
The site’s 215 buildings were demolished over the next three years, but planned development was delayed for decades by pollutants in the land, leftover chemicals from the industries previously in the area.
Proposals for the site, including national defence headquarters, a world’s fair and an aquarium, all fell by the wayside, with the NCC finally selecting Claridge to develop 4.4 acres of land in 2004.
Moving forward, Claridge has developed its future design in response to the NCC’s recommendations, Tremblay says.
“The NCC and Claridge have an excellent working relationship,” Tremblay says, noting the two organizations are working together to resolve any remaining issues.
Construction on the next phase will begin around the end of 2011 or early 2012, he says.
In addition to residential homes, Malhotra says the Flats will have commercial buildings and museums in addition to the Canadian War Museum. The existing commons area will be maintained for festivals and other events.
The first 127 residential units were occupied in the summer of 2008. Malhotra says the response from the residents of the first building, whom he calls “pioneers,” has been very positive.
Dwight Hodge, an Ottawa computer programmer who runs a website critical of the NCC, describes the proposed development as “pretty banal.”
But Hodge admits the development is “better than an empty field.”