Reimagine Ottawa

12/16/2025

Show up to voice your opinion, however, your opinion won't matter!!!

You are invited to a drop-in information session to discuss the redevelopment and construction of Lansdowne 2.0.

When: Wednesday, December 17 between 6 and 8 pm
Where: TD Place Arena, Concourse between Gates 2 and 3
* Please enter via Gate 2 off Exhibition Way or via accessible entry at Gate 1 on Bank Street.

Please join us to meet the construction team, learn more about the project and upcoming construction milestones. Staff will be present and available to answer questions.
To learn more about Lansdowne 2.0 and details about the information session, visit: https://bit.ly/3lwWtgC

12/16/2025

Replace “forests and habitat” for “planet” and add “National Capital Commission” in front of stakeholders and you have what is happening to the southern corridor at the Zoning Bylaw meeting on December 17.

But thankfully, OSEAN is working closely with Riverside Park Community Association - RPCA, Hunt Club Community Association, Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital and others to ask the city to pause and conduct analyses of this land prior to converting to th pressure from the NCC to convert it to development reserve..

Prime Minister Mark Carney, David McGuinty, Yasir Naqvi, Anita Vandenbeld
we know we need housing AND we also need to be strategic about where the housing goes

Prioritize spot allocation and re-development of poorly designed single floor commercial builds.

Our greenspaces need to be off the priority list for development

When zoning, we need our elected official to think about what makes a city livable and walkable and what distinguishes Ottawa from other major cities.

https://www.osean.org/blog/rezoning-greenspace

12/07/2025

Big Soul Christmas concert and fundraiser for the Foodbank and fun at the pub after, with Karoake in the background. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Reimagine Ottawa pals.

12/07/2025

Ottawa’s Hail Mary plan for development. Globe and Mail Editorial Dec-05, 2025. It’s tempting to joke that the city councillors in Ottawa pushing another stadium redevelopment plan are channeling Samuel Beckett, the Irish playwright who wrote “Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” What’s less funny is that there’s no reason to believe this latest try will prove to be any better.

In fact, it could turn out a lot worse. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, the city has approved a plan based on rosy assumptions and a 50-year horizon.

The core of the scheme called Lansdowne 2.0 is to rebuild part of the stands at a city-owned stadium used by the local CFL Redblacks team. The plan would also replace an arena used by the local PWHL team, the Charge, though team officials have warned that the shrunken-down replacement venue has too few seats to keep the team financially viable. There would also be new parking facilities, two residential towers and new retail space.

The plan has a price tag of $483-million, though the city argues the net cost will be much lower, allowing Ottawa to build the facilities for “essentially thirty cents on a city dollar.” But – and this is a big but – that is based on a number of hopeful projections. Residents of Ottawa, don’t hold your breath, and hold on to your wallets.
There’s a lot to unpack in the idea and a bit of a history lesson is first needed. The plan is called 2.0 because there already was a local plan for the area. The first Lansdowne plan was signed in 2012 by Ottawa and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OESG), which owns the Redblacks.

Plans for new downtown Ottawa NHL arena move ahead as Senators, NCC finalize land deal

That version was supposed to last 40 years and was meant to be profitable. That didn’t happen. By 2020 it was clear that Lansdowne 1.0 was not a success. OSEG costs had totalled $160-million, instead of the $60-million projected in 2012. The company said the model was unsustainable.

At the same time, the city-owned stadium was aging and not performing as well as newer facilities. The Lansdowne 2.0 plan was designed to address that. It was approved by council last month, but it’s hard to see how it will age any better than the first version.
The auditor laid out some of the problems in a report shortly before the council vote. She noted the city’s claim that this new partnership deal would make money, adding dryly: “which, to date, has not occurred.”

Among the concerns she raised, the deal assumed construction costs would be at the lower end of the plausible range, meaning that the price could easily escalate, and has not priced in the possible impacts of U.S. tariffs on materials. Any cost overruns fall to the city to cover.

The deal also uses projections for Redblacks revenue growth that are higher than the team managed in recent years and projections for operating cost increases that are lower than recent history. And it assumes that fully 87 per cent of proceeds over the life of the partnership will come from new retail space. Is it smart to put your chips on the enduring appeal of bricks-and-mortar retail over the coming decades? Ottawa is about to find out.

2024 Opinion: Public money should not fund Ottawa Senators’ fancy new stadium

This is not the only very long-term bet being made here.
Will the CFL even exist decades from now? The number of Canadians who follow the league continues to decline and it recently tweaked its rules in a bid to revitalize excitement. Whether that will reverse the slide remains to be seen.

The deal also assumes $65-million will be paid to the city for air rights needed to build two residential towers. But the condo market is shaky and the company has actually committed only $1-million to buy an option for these rights.

The city report on Lansdowne 2.0 talks up the importance of the site to Ottawa’s economy and civic life, and how Lansdowne 1.0 helped turn a sports venue surrounded by parking lots into a destination. That’s a good city-building outcome. However, the fact remains that Lansdowne 1.0 did not make enough money to cover its capital and financing costs.

That should have been a major red flag. But instead of treating the follow-up plan with much greater skepticism, councillors committed the city to a very long-range deal built on a foundation of hope, rather than evidence.

It would be churlish to wish Ottawa anything but success in its latest Lansdowne plan. If construction problems arise or revenue projections don’t come true, though, city residents will be on the hook. Will council be back in a decade with Lansdowne 3.0, promising that, even if their plans keep failing, this time they will fail better?

Editor’s note: The previous photo accompanying this article depicted an area outside of Lansdowne Park. The photo has been updated.

11/12/2025

The end of Lansdowne marks the beginning of a 2026 Election Campaign. Lansdowne was lost but the movement to reduce big developer influence continues. It is time to shakeup council and create city leadership that prioritizes residents over partnerships with developer organizations like OSEG. The coalition created during the Lansdowne campaign will now refocus on the 2026 election.

As this map of the Lansdowne vote illustrates, the debate has fractured the city along an urban - suburban/rural divide. If we are to create a capital city that meets everyone’s needs and a political milieu that does not pit us against each other, we must focus on solutions that work for all citizens.

Vote tracking
Horizon Ottawa has developed a vote tracking tool that breaks down councillor votes at committees and council, by subject, and by alignment with the mayor.https://www.horizonottawa.ca/vote_tracker
Horizon will also continue to uncover developer-related donations to candidates in the 2026 election.

We want to hear from you!

How can we foster better development decisions? What are your priorities? How can we reach voters in suburban and rural wards? And importantly, how can you help over the next12 months to replace councillors who consistently value developer interests over the interests of the people of Ottawa?

Valerie Swinton
(613) 864-6442
(819) 457-4573

11/07/2025

A sad outcome today, but hopefully we can vote the "YES" councillors and Mayor out in 2026. Start organizing for the next election.

Council spent SIX HOURS debating the final Lansdowne 2.0 approval, and despite the massive backlash from the public, they have decided to move forward with the project.

It's worth taking note of the geographical imbalance on the Lansdowne 2.0 vote. The two out-of-place "yes" votes are Marty Carr (Alta Vista) and Stéphanie Plante (Rideau-Vanier).

This isn't the first time we've seen a map that looks like this, and it certainly won't be the last.

Help us elect a better council in 2026 - become a Horizon Ottawa member today and join our 2026 Election Committee today: https://www.horizonottawa.ca/membership

11/06/2025

Ottawa. Raucous audit committee meeting debates risks of Lansdowne 2.0. Auditor general pinpoints cost overruns as greatest risk facing redevelopment project. Arthur White-Crummey · CBC News · Posted: Nov 04, 2025 3:45 PM EST | Last Updated: November 4. An audit committee meeting erupted in commotion on Tuesday as Ottawa city councillors weighed the risks of proceeding with the Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment project.

The main point of contention was Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon’s finding that there’s an “opportunity cost” to the city in setting aside $17.4 million per year to service debt on the project.

Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard, a leading critic of the project, pushed staff to acknowledge that Gougeon's finding was tantamount to saying that the city could spend that sum on other priorities. He pushed them to answer yes or no.

“We’re getting the runaround on this,” Menard said.

Cyril Rogers, the city’s chief financial officer, said that wasn’t a fair question, since Lansdowne 2.0 is expected to generate revenue to offset the costs, and that money wouldn’t be available if the project doesn't proceed.

Menard pushed again and again, until audit committee chair Cathy Curry cut him short and he began exchanging words with his neighbour, Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney.

“I was just called a swear word by my colleague here next to me,” Menard said, pointing at Tierney.

“Emotions are running high,” Curry said.

Forecasts called 'too optimistic'

Amid the outbursts, councillors questioned Gougeon on the wide-ranging risks facing the $419-million redevelopment project, including the chance a major source of funding could dry up.

Mirabella Development Corporation, which has bought the rights to build the towers over the development for $65 million, is only putting up a $1-million deposit upon signing.

“The clauses within the purchase and sale agreement with the air rights allows Mirabella to pull out with a low cost,” Gougeon said.

She also focused on forecast profits from the Ottawa Redblacks, saying the financial assumptions underlying them “might still be a little too optimistic.”

But that's not the worst of it.

“The greatest risk is cost overruns,” she said. “Every dollar in excess is a dollar that the city is responsible for covering and in turn will be a cost that the taxpayer, indirectly, is covering as well.”

That's because the city would be on the hook for construction delays if it's responsible for them, and also because the added cost of new or expanded tariffs could be passed on to the city.

“This project has a significant likelihood of being higher cost, and we want taxpayers to understand that as well,” Gougeon said. “And then it’s up to members of council to decide if that’s something they’re comfortable with.”

Key numbers from Ottawa's final Lansdowne 2.0 report

Auditor general highlights risks of latest plan to retool Lansdowne Park

But Curry, the committee chair, said she was reassured by how city staff are responding to the report. They’ve accepted all of Gougeon’s recommendations and are promising regular updates to council on the project’s finances and construction progress.

“Nobody can prepare for all the risks,” Curry said. “Nobody could have predicted a worldwide pandemic and that impact on Lansdowne 1.0, but the key is, as a council, what you do to have oversight. You make sure you are apprised of all the risks.”

Deputy treasurer Isabelle Jasmin said the city has run the numbers and she’s confident the project still makes sense if risk turns to reality.

“This is a balance between risks and returns,” she said. “We looked at some way-out scenarios —what if construction costs were 50 per cent more than we expected? — and the results were still positive.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arthur White-Crummey

Reporter

Arthur White-Crummey is a reporter at CBC Ottawa. He has previously worked as a reporter in Saskatchewan covering the courts, city hall and the provincial legislature. You can reach him at arthur.white-crummey@cbc.ca.

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11/04/2025

Call/write to your councillor in these wards :“Not with my tax dollars!”

A message from Better Ottawa.

11/04/2025

Our LAST CHANCE to stop a bad decision at Council. Friday, 8:30am in front of Ottawa City Hall.