The intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive is one of Ottawa’s busiest intersections, and its significance isn't lost on the local city councillor.
“It’s a gateway to our community,” says Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury, in a French-language interview. “People often say it is the intersection between the national capital and the community.”
In recent years, numerous projects have been announced to revitalize the city’s downtown core. The new Ottawa Convention Centre and the renovation of The Westin came to fruition, but a number are still in the planning stages. OpenFile looked into some of the ongoing work.
Will the Rideau Centre ever expand?
Plans to expand the Rideau Centre have been in the works for over a decade. One of the latest proposals dates back to 2006, when the owners of the 180-store mall announced major renovations.
The project included an expansion of the Rideau Centre that incorporated the old Ogilvy’s department store. But as we reported last year, the heritage building was left collecting dust.
A spokesperson for the centre confirms that the 2006 project was put on hold. Today, little is known about the mall’s current expansion plans.
“What I can tell you is that as the owner of the Rideau Centre, we are currently reviewing expansion potential at the centre, but we have no definitive plans,” writes Janine Ojah-Maharaj, a spokesperson for Cadillac Fairview, the mall's owner.
The plans might be stalled, but Fleury still has a rough vision for the mall's frontage on Rideau.
“We want [stores] to be accessible from the street,” he says, citing the new Forever 21 as an example of what works. Fleury argues that allowing people to walk directly into stores from the street, instead of forcing them to enter the shopping centre, will help embellish the mall’s exterior.
What about a new hotel in the area?
Last May, Mayor Jim Watson said he hoped a new downtown hotel would bring more visitors to the capital.
“We will work closely with the Ottawa Convention Centre to secure a new 400- to 500room marquis hotel complex in the downtown core to support the growth of our convention centre,” he said in a speech to the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association.
Eight months later, it appears the project remains merely an idea.
Fleury says he's heard about it like everyone else, but cannot provide more details about when it might actually happen.
“It’s only rumours. We haven’t seen any site plan,” he says. “But the demand is clearly there. We often hear hotel owners say ‘we’re at capacity,’ especially downtown ... It’s up to the private sector to take the lead, but we, at the city, are ready to collaborate to facilitate [this project].”
The executive director of the Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association, Dick Brown, says he hasn’t seen any concrete plan either.
“I am not aware of such a project,” he says.
What about that Art Wall?
The Ottawa Convention Centre plans to install an exterior LED display overlooking Mackenzie King Bridge. The idea drew controversy, at first. The Ottawa Citizen reported in March 2011 that the NCC had reservations about the project, thanks to its location in the downtown core and vulnerability to advertising:
"NCC officials apparently believe the visual representations on the screen might be incongruous. More importantly, they worry that the screen might be exploited for commercial purposes, and sooner or later, distasteful advertising might appear near hallowed downtown sites.
After months of considerations, the NCC finally gave a temporary go ahead to the Art Wall a few months ago.
“We have approved a three-year pilot project,” says Mario Tremblay, media relations advisor at the NCC.
In November, the Ottawa Convention Centre posted the position of Art Wall Implementation Advisor on Merx.com, a procurement website regularly used by the federal government.
The convention centre did not return calls at press time. But while the final aspect of the Art Wall is not yet known, Fleury welcomes the three-year tryout.
“Some people complain and say they don’t want advertising displayed like that in downtown Ottawa,” Fleury says. “But we’ve never had any. So it’s good to give it a try and see where it leads.”
What else is in store for the intersection?
Fleury says four other projects will have a significant impact on the development of the Rideau-Sussex intersection:
- The revitalization of Rideau Street;
- The revitalization of Sussex Drive, which is partly completed;
- A light rail transit station near the National Arts Centre and Rideau Centre;
- The NCC’s node project, which could see the creation of an urban park/plaza in downtown Ottawa.
Fleury, who grew up in the neighbourhood, hopes the new projects near Rideau and Sussex will help revitalize the downtown's east side. He warns that such development should consider the community's needs.
“We have to make sure we maintain diversity downtown,” he says. “We want downtown living to be accessible. We want various types of housing: condos, single family homes, row houses and affordable housing.”
