City council proceeding with the controversial Lansdowne 2.0 project, approved recently by the Finance and Corporate Services Committee, would be a huge mistake, members of the local community association say.
“To me, it doesn’t make sense that the city would embark on something of this magnitude,” said Carolyn Mackenzie, chair of the planning committee for the Glebe Community Association.
“It was only a year ago that Mayor Mark Sutcliffe announced the city was in a financial crisis. Unless it was solved between now and then, frankly, the timing is just way off,” Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie points out what she believes to be major flaws in the plan to finance Lansdowne 2.0, as well as its plan to pay it off.
“The city has said that 70 per cent of the project will be paid off by new revenue streams while only 30 per cent will be burdened by the taxpayers.”
And a recent report from the city’s auditor, Ottawa has left itself only a “minimum buffer” against possible cost overruns.
Overall, the cost of Lansdowne 2.0 is projected to be $419 million. It will create a new event centre for sport and music events, specifically 6,600 for hockey and more than 7,000 for concerts. It will also rebuild the aging north-side stands in the TD Place stadium.
In addition, the city is installing more than 10,000 square metres of public green space and more than 6,000 square meters of public plaza space. This will accompany nearly 5,000 square meters of retail space that will be in the base level of two new residential towers that the city believes will help with the city’s housing crisis.
Sutcliffe argues that Lansdowne plays a major role in the city’s culture and tourism and is in need of renewal. City council will vote on Lansdowne 2.0 on Nov. 7 — a rare Friday meeting.
There are supporters of the project in the Glebe, including Dan Rogers, co-owner of the Glebe Central Pub.
“I think the project … will breathe some life into one of Ottawa’s most important areas that can be considered a tourist attraction,” he said.
“Just like the first redevelopment plan that took place in 2012, there will always be bumps in the road, but it brings more foot traffic and ultimately is good for us.”
Rogers added that he thinks there is inherent uncertainty in the project.
“You have the mayor saying certain numbers, and you have his opponents saying different numbers,” Rogers said. “I don’t think anyone has the concrete correct numbers anyway. The project is going to happen […] so we’ll just wait and see.”
But Carolyn Mackenzie is doubtful.
Based on the new revenue streams provided by the mayor and project supporters, Mackenzie says the retail shopping revenue and ticket sales from sporting events may be exaggerated.
“The city is hoping that people will come out and spend their money at stores, restaurants and tickets to football and hockey games, but that’s a big ‘if’, considering our sports teams are losing money,” Mackenzie said.
As reported by CBC, there is a risk that losses suffered by the Ottawa Redblacks and 67s will jeopardize the revenue expected from the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG).
An earlier auditor general’s report cites certain risks that could potentially leave a hole in the city’s repayment plan.
“Given the variability in past performance and results, the OAG (Office of the Auditor General) quantified the risk of lower short and medium-term revenue growth which could be brought on by poor team performance, an economic downturn, or increased local competition in the Ottawa market such as the Ottawa Senators’ potential relocation,” the report states.
Part of Mackenzie’s critique is based on the the larger cost-of-living crisis which may limit attendance at events in Lansdowne.
Affordability and its impacts echoed in comments from residents.
For students and young professionals such as Ethan Fields, shopping and ticketed events are very low on the priority list. Fields, who moved to the Glebe two years ago, said affordable living is a “hot commodity” here in Ottawa.
“Groceries are becoming more expensive, and wages are not rising the way we’d like them to, so going out to shop or going to a sports event and spending money there is rarely happening, if ever.”
Fields also is concerned about repercussions this project could have on traffic in a densely populated area.
“I’m no expert on urban planning or anything, but I can tell you that traffic and congestion [are] a given here.” Fields said. “So are late buses, which can affect my day-to-day movements for school and work. I think focusing on transit is more important right now.”
