The plan focuses on enhancing security, improving pedestrian spaces and revitalizing the main market building at 55 ByWard Square.

While business owners are largely supportive of these changes, there’s some concern over whether any of this will come to be.

In an interview with the Ottawa Compass, Deek Labelle, the owner of the  Chateau Lafayette, the city’s oldest pub and a staple of the Market, said there’s optimism about the proposed improvements but she would like to see action first.

“They have been talking about this revitalization for 10 years now, they have put some money on the table, but there has been no plan to actually start doing the work,” said Labelle.

Labelle’s hardly alone.

David Mangano, a co-owner of The Grand, one of the Market’s most well-known restaurants, said support from the city for businesses has dried up and called on city hall to listen to those who have a stake in the area.

Still, he’s hopeful about what comes next.

“It’s good to see programs coming into place it’s long overdue,” said Mangando.

Sueling Ching, the CEO and president of the Ottawa Board Trade, said while there have been promises of revitalization in the past, the pandemic and its after-effects have slowed down plans.

But she credited the city for working collaboratively with key partners on this latest effort, pointing to efforts to reach out to the Ottawa police, social housing providers and the Royal mental health hospital to address issues such as chronic homelessness and mental health.

“I’m actually very proud of our civic and private sector leaders for working together, and I believe it’s a competitive edge and should give confidence to our business owners and to our community as a whole,” said Ching.

Coun. Stéphanie Plante, who represents the Market and surrounding neighbourhoods at city hall, said this latest plan has to go beyond platitudes and start delivering results.

“Residents and business owners have been patient. They deserve timelines and transparency, not just frameworks,” she said in a statement.

City council’s finance and corporate services committee will discuss the plan in March.

The post ByWard Market Action plan promises changes. Businesses want progress appeared first on CompassNews.

City council approved a motion at its Feb. 11 meeting to have staff begin talks with the NCC on a framework agreement to create a criteria for identifying lands suitable for development and a unified approach on plans to build new affordable housing.

The pact would look to provide guidance on how the NCC and city can collaborate to “maximize co-benefits in addressing the need for affordable housing supply,” according to the motion.

The framework is also required to consider the protection of ecologically fragile lands, tree canopy targets for wards and the city and “development of complete 15-minute neighbourhoods.”

Coun. Glen Gower, who successfully moved the first iteration of motion earlier this month at the housing and planning committee, said it’s time that the NCC and the city move forward as partners.

“When it comes to housing it would be ridiculous if we keep acting in an adversarial mode with the NCC at the staff level [and] at the political level,” he said during the Feb. 4 committee meeting.

Coun. Laine Johnson, who sits on the committee, told Compass News that the goal of the framework is to provide more predictability to how the city and NCC cooperate on projects.

“This framework I think would get a lot more specific and a lot more predictable with the NCC in a more collaborative way on what they would expect on their land,” she said.

Under the motion, the framework would be submitted to the housing and planning committee.

The committee is also set to hold a meeting on March 25 on the the city’s partnership with Build Canada Homes, the new federal agency.

The city reached a deal with the agency in December for a joint $400 million investment to build up to 3,000 mixed-income and affordable housing units across the city, beginning in 2026.

Per that deal, 2,000 of those homes would be mixed-income and affordable units on federal lands. The deal would allow those projects to be sped up by reducing or waiving development charges, permit fees or property taxes.

Build Canada Homes will then deploy financing for another 1,000 affordable housing units from the city’s slate of housing projects.

The post City of Ottawa and National Capital Commission look to streamline process for development appeared first on CompassNews.