Jack Hanna
CCA Fall Festival goes in-person in Dundonald Park
As The BUZZ went to press, the CCA expected to resume in-person events with the Fall Festival being held outdoors in Dundonald Park. The festival is being organized by the Centretown Community Health Centre and volunteers with the CCA’s Trees & Greenspace Committee.
Plans include displays on pollinators, growing balcony microgardens, recipes for pulses and aboriginal lessons related to autumn. For the children, there will be beading, storytelling, the opportunity to plant tulip bulbs in the gardens and, of course, the hallmark of all CCA festivals: free popcorn.
The festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (with Saturday, September 25 as the rain date).
Tall building proposed alongside the canal
A formal application has been submitted to build the first tall residential building along the Rideau Canal in decades.
A nine-storey development is proposed for the site of the former Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) building at 50 The Driveway and Lewis Street in the Golden Triangle. The former CNA headquarters would be torn down, except for about half of the two-storey east facade, which would be incorporated into the new building as a nod to heritage.
The developer proposes a building with big terraces on the south side, akin to a tiered wedding cake. The intent is to add visual interest when the building is viewed from the canal.
As well, the developer plans to keep most of the huge glass-and-concrete “lantern” atop the existing CNA building. The six-metre-high lantern will be moved to the ground and become a feature of the landscaping. (The lantern is the symbol of nursing. When the nurses’ headquarters was built in 1966, it was crowned with the big, distinctive lantern to architecturally symbolize nurses and nursing.)
The decision on whether the building will be rental apartments or condominiums has yet to be made but the developer is leaning toward condos.
A public Zoom meeting on the project is scheduled for October 7. To obtain an invite, contact the office of Councillor Catherine McKenney.
Bus station site shows future of Queensway corridor
Public consultations have commenced on the site of the former central bus station at 265 Catherine Street. What happens at the site could set a precedent for the future of the zone between the Queensway and Centretown’s streets of old Victorian houses.
Current zoning envisions a thick band of skyscrapers along the Queensway and Catherine Street. A very thin band of mid-rise buildings would separate those skyscrapers from Centretown’s residential streets to the north.
The site of the former intercity bus station, encompassing an entire city block, embodies that future. On the south side of the site, along Catherine, current zoning allows 27-storey skyscrapers. On the north side of the site on Arlington Avenue, zoning allows nine storeys. Thus, in rapid succession, building heights can go from 27 to nine storeys to residential houses.
At the first “visioning” meeting in late August, launched by the developer Brigil, the developer said it intends the usual mix of residential towers with stores and offices on the ground floors.
The developer’s representatives mused about possibilities for the site such as a public parkette, trees along Catherine and Kent Streets, mid-block open spaces and affordable housing.
Residents taking part in the visioning process pointed out there are rooming houses very close to the site and that the new development should include deeply discounted affordable housing so folks on very low incomes can continue to live in the neighbourhood.
A representative of the developer said the project will create greater density, which might help drive the evolution of nearby Gladstone Avenue into a “high street” of retail shops.
Elgin Street Farmers Market doubles in size
The number of vendors at the Elgin Street Farmers Market has doubled since the market’s July start-up. The market is doing very well, says organizer Chris Penton, and so more vendors want to set up stalls.
The market now offers the bounty of five Ottawa-area farms, including both conventionally produced and organic vegetables, fruits and eggs. Visitors can find locally produced bread, cookies, apple pies, cupcakes, honey, salsa, spring rolls and samosas, and ground coffee – all very fresh.
There is craft beer, cider and artisanal liquors and liqueurs. Crafts on offer include beeswax candles, and artisanal soaps and shampoos.
Located in Boushey Square at Elgin and Waverley Streets, it’s open Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. until October.