Don’t fret Lansdowne price tag, mayor says

Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien dismissed as “knee-jerk” concerns about the potential cost of the five proposed designs for Lansdowne Park’s “front lawn,” and said the price tags will need to be assessed in the context of the entire redevelopment.

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O’Brien said it’s “premature to jump to a conclusion that it is unaffordable at this stage” until other parts of the proposed project play out.

The proposed project also involves the renovation of Frank Clair Stadium for a new Canadian Football League team and other potential uses, as well as the refurbishment of the Urbandale Centre, the addition of retail, office and hotel space, and the greening of the site’s southeastern portion.

The potential costs of some of the proposed “front-lawn” designs range from $32.8 million to $88 million, with “phasing” options. The prices raised eyebrows with some councillors Thursday, but O’Brien said more pieces are still to come.

“You’re seeing one part of the investment strategy. Certainly, the overall picture, when you include the stadium and commercial side of it, there’s another side of that picture that also has to be merged in,” O’Brien said while at an “intelligent communities” conference in New York City.

“I want to refrain from commenting on the overall financial picture until we’ve seen all of the bits merged together to determine what the magnitude of this is and how affordable it is in terms of the next 10 years,” O’Brien said.

He said the city will have to be “pragmatic” and assess the affordability of the plans, but Ottawa is in good financial shape and there’s some opportunity to “use our balance sheet to our advantage and the advantage of our system.”

“I’m hoping to elevate the level of debate in the city of Ottawa to the point where people are thinking about not just, ‘Can we afford it?’ but, ‘Can we afford not to do it?’ ” he said.

O’Brien said Ottawa needs to invest in “hardware” such as the new conference centre, Lansdowne and light-rail transit system in order to continue economic growth. Those types of long-term projects could suddenly make the city attractive “to some corporation that we hadn’t even considered,” he said.

As well, Ottawa is an “immensely livable city,” O’Brien said, “and it is our responsibility to make sure that it maintains that level of livability.”

In Ottawa, George Dark, chair of the city’s Lansdowne redevelopment design committee said Friday he is excited by the designs for the new urban park.

“I am completely delighted. They are all remarkably thoughtful,” said Dark who will chair the design jury picking the winner.

“All five submissions have done a remarkable job of responding to the challenge.”