RendezVous's planning reasoning provides insight into what the consortium has – had? – planned

Part of the Planning Application filed at City Hall in support of the LeBreton Flats Redevelopment reveals more details of what the RendezVous LeBreton Group had in store for the historic transformation of federal contaminated lands.

The city released the planning rationale on Tuesday, but not the rest of RendezVous's request for development at City Hall, as it is still considered incomplete.

The development application is one of the badets of Capital Sports Management Inc. with the RendezVous partnership, as revealed by the company's $ 700 million lawsuit against Trinity Developments founder John Ruddy and the consultant in project management, Graham Bird.

Ruddy and Bird rejected the allegations. The trial has not been tried in court.

Due to the internal quarrel at RendezVous, the future of the LeBreton Flats redevelopment is uncertain.

CSMI is part of the Ottawa Senators Group of Companies, owned by Eugene Melnyk. Melnyk and Ruddy are the main partners of RendezVous.

RendezVous's planning rationale, dated August 28, 2018 and written by Fotenn Consultants, describes the project in its entirety and includes the municipality's official plan and the zoning changes needed to pave the way for redevelopment.

While the CSMI lawsuit alleges that Ruddy and Trinity filed a plan "that locates the new arena closer to the Albert 900 development than the transit hub that was CSMI's preferred location", the planning logic seems to maintain the Arena at the same place originally proposed by Rendez-vous; that is, between Bayview and Pimisi subway stations, just west of the entrance to Nepean Bay.

Trinity is a leading developer of the planned mixed-use complex at 900 Albert Street.

CSMI alleges that Trinity filed the development application on behalf of RendezVous last August without consulting CSMI.

Nicolas Ruszkowski, the Ottawa Senators chief of operations, said the hockey club wanted the opportunity to bring the arena closer to the Pimisi station so fans could enter the arena without going out.

"The allegation is that by submitting the development applications without first consulting CSMI, Trinity denied us the opportunity to locate the arena in a more user-friendly location, including placing it close enough to the Pimisi metro station. to allow direct access to the interior. to hockey games, "Ruszkowski said in an email." We understand that this can only be achieved now with Trinity's agreement – something that CSMI is afraid of opposing. " any effort to situate the arena further from its own development at 900 Albert. "

The planning logic largely preserved the spirit of RendezVous's original submission to the National Capital Commission during the development contest. It describes the complete construction of approximately 4,000 residential units, 1.3 million square feet of retail space and more than 1.5 million square feet of office space . A municipal park would occupy 2.5 hectares around the mouth of Nepean Bay.

According to the logic of planning, at least 25% of housing would be considered affordable housing.

According to the plans, as pedestrians roamed the site, they would see many stores at the bottom of tall buildings. In fact, on foot from the subway stations, pedestrians pbaded small retailers. Large format retailers would be on the ground floor of three buildings along Albert Street.

Of the approximately 8,000 mostly underground parking spaces, 1,500 would be allocated to the arena, which is an additional advantage over the 500 originally planned. RendezVous thinks that only 20% of the trips on the site will be by car.

The planning logic does not say exactly what the height of mixed-use buildings and hotels would be, but a map of the maximum heights proposed on the property suggests that the beach would be between nine and 60 floors. The tallest buildings would be just east of Bayview Station and just west of Booth Street. The buildings should not disturb the sunlight that shines on the tombstone of the unknown soldier at the Canadian War Museum on Remembrance Day, said the planning official.

With respect to potential disturbances to surrounding communities, the rationale for planning states that "no significant impact related to noise or air quality is expected as a result of proposed development ".

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