Community groups meeting to talk about Lansdowne 2.0 after costs balloon

Community groups will be holding a public meeting Wednesday night to discuss the future of Lansdowne Park.

The Lansdowne 2.0 redevelopment project faces increasing costs, almost $90 million over its initial budget, and many local residents aren't happy about how their tax dollars are being spent.

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Nancy Mathieu, a downtown resident, shared her doubts.

"I'm not sure it's going to work out. That it's something that people want."

She questioned the value of upgrading the space and adding condominiums, doubting whether it justifies using her tax dollars.

"It's not working that well anyway. So is it going to bring more people? Well, the condos will. But I don't know if that's what we need," she said.

Carolyn Mackenzie, Planning Chair of the Glebe Community Association and Ottawa PAC Member, acknowledged the cost increase, stating, "We fully knew that the cost was going to go up. And indeed it has quite significantly."

Mackenzie says the price tag and costs don't add up.

"There is a parking garage at $19 million that will go into the residential towers. Somehow that does not appear to be included in that $419 million."

• IN PICTURES: The latest proposal for Lansdowne 2.0

The meeting of community groups will be held at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne Park starting at 7 p.m.

Ian Lee, an associate professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, sees it as a public policy issue.

"Do we want to be throwing good money after bad money every so many years? To save a project that should be standing on its own purely on its private sector merits?" he asks.

The redevelopment plan includes replacing the north-side stands at TD Place Stadium, constructing a new 5,500 seat arena, and adding two residential towers. The price tag for the project has surged from $332 million to $419 million.

Renderings of what Lansdowne Park will look like when Lansdowne 2.0 is complete. (City of Ottawa)

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe defended the plan at a press conference on Friday.

"If we don't move forward with this plan, the cost of maintaining the arena and the North Side stands will continue to grow," said Sutcliffe.

Critics argue that the city should prioritize other pressing issues.

"It's premature to commit almost a half a billion dollars when the city is already looking at some very serious issues because of the huge deficit in OC Transpo and public transit," said Lee.

Mackenzie added, "What about all the people in the suburbs with a state of our transit right now? We're going to make that huge investment; people in the suburbs still will have a very hard time getting there."