A plan to redevelop Lansdowne Park submitted by a group of local developers will be the only one considered by city council after one councillor decided not to introduce a motion to bring back an international design competition Wednesday.
The City of Ottawa will continue to review the 'Lansdowne Live' plan, which promises to redevelop the area into a "people place," and includes a world class sports and entertainment stadium, a refurbished arena, an aquarium, exhibition space, an amphitheatre, formal gardens and ponds, shopping, a home for the Farmer's Market and a new hotel.
The group behind the plan, which was submitted last month, had previously said if the city decided to resume its open design competition for Lansdowne Park, they would withdraw their proposal.
Now that council has decided not to solicit other submissions, the group said residents can expect to see more when Lansdowne Live becomes a reality. The partners, which include Ottawa 67's owner Jeff Hunt, Roger Greenberg, Bill Shenkman and John Ruddy, have said they are prepared to commit $120 million to fund the project.
"It's great news, it's the best scenario for us, we can continue doing what we're doing, work with city staff, drilling down our proposal, getting details that need to be discussed and worked through," Hunt said.
Mayor Larry O'Brien told CTV Ottawa he thinks council's decision to keep reviewing Lansdowne Live is a step in the right direction.
"There will be a significant amount of discussions and negotiations with that group to see if there is potential of a transaction between the City of Ottawa and the Lansdowne Live group," he said.
However, not all councillors support the group's vision. Coun. Clive Doucet was initially planning to ask council to reopen the design competition for Lansdowne Park Wednesday.
"We cannot be giving away the most important piece of park land the City of Ottawa owns, right next to a world heritage site, for a shopping centre - that's what this proposal is," he said Wednesday morning.
After realizing the motion wouldn't pass, Doucet said he decided to put his proposal on hold until the city manager's evaluation is complete.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
