STUDENTS PRESENT IDEAS FOR 7 BAYVIEW.
Residents checked out plans McGill students presented about the future of 7 Bayview Rd.
Photo by Kristy Wallace
Urban design students recently shared their vision of greenery, office space, and condo units at a former Ottawa public works building to a group of Hintonburg residents on Feb. 15.
The students, from McGill University, shared different aspects of their vision of what 7 Bayview Rd. could look like as a result of interviews they conducted with residents and a visioning workshop they held with residents in October.
“I want to stress that this is but a step on a long road, and by no means the definitive plan for the property,” said Annie Hillis, executive director of the Wellington West Business Improvement Area (BIA), who opened the meeting. “There are a lot of things that need to happen with the property.”
As part of the community consultations, group member Lauren Lupton said the students found that the community wanted the site to be accessible and be used for community events.
She said the building’s heritage preservation also came up with residents, and added residents brought up both for-profit and non-profit purposes for the building.
Lupton outlined three primary goals the group kept in mind when looking at what can be done with the site.
“We want to recreate a sense of place and focus on creating an attractive and an accessible public space through thoughtful design through things like greening,” said Lupton, adding the group’s second goal was to reconnect people to the site and include things that would attract residents.
Finally, Lupton said the group’s third goal was to re-use the historic building and site itself.
“It’s a benefit to the city,” she said. “We want to be sensitive in terms of maintaining the historical integrity of that building. People are connected to this building and there’s a lot of sentiment attached.”
Cynthia Jacques, another group member, said they kept these goals in mind when coming up for proposals of what to do with the site.
She presented residents with possible options for the site and building. For the building, she said the space was so large that the group divided it into wings that would serve multiple purposes: a theatre, teaching space, art gallery and office space.
As for the site around it, Jacques said the group decided on a few infill options.
“We felt it would be in the best interest of everyone to allow for sensitive infill on the site,” said Jacques. She listed some of the potential options, including adding stacked townhouses and space for public use like cycling and walking trails.
The group wanted to balance the needs of both the community and the city, she added.
Kitchissippi Coun. Katherine Hobbs called the document the McGill students put together “exciting” and she appreciated the work they put into it.
She said the students are also scheduled to appear at planning committee on March 13 with the presentation
“I think it’s as great opportunity to talk to the rest of the councillors on the planning committee to give them the idea of what community members are talking about and what students are coming up with that reflects those opinions and desires,” Hobbs said.
For more information on the project, visit the website at acaciaconsulting.ca/creativeneighbourhoods/ and click on “projects.”