Development of the vast acreage surrounding the Corel Centre continues to chug along, with retailer Costco Wholesale and Toronto builder Mattamy Homes the latest names to be attracted to area, officials confirmed last week.
Costco, the largest wholesale club retailer in North America, has submitted an application for site plan approval, said Grant Lindsay, the city's manager for development approvals.
The new location would be the third for the retailer in Ottawa, in addition to existing ones at 1900 Cyrville Rd. in the east end and 1849 Merivale Rd.
Kanata has long been a prospective market for Costco. In the late 1990s, the area was scouted as a location for the store now on Merivale. Word that Costco was again looking at Kanata for a third Ottawa location cropped up in March 2001.
Lindsay expects Costco will win the approval of the city's planning and environmental committee this month and could have a building permit in hand four to six weeks later. The location is off of Silver Seven Road near the existing Home Depot.
Costco representatives did not return calls from the OBJ.
According to Costco's site plan application, the new store would be about 143,284 square feet, including a tire centre.
On the residential front, Lindsay said Mattamy Homes has expressed interest in building a 200-acre development near the Corel Centre.
Since the late 1970s, Mattamy has built about 18,000 homes in the Greater Toronto Area.
A spokesperson for Mattamy said it is about a month too early for the homebuilder to speak in detail about its plans for Ottawa. However, the spokesperson acknowledged that a move by Mattamy into the local market would be large-scale.
From Lindsay's perspective, Mattamy "appears to be the first in the door", though local home builders Richcraft and Tartan have also optioned land in the area.
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The area in question is 1,700 acres in the immediate vicinity of the Corel Centre that was the subject of the Kanata West Concept Plan developed several years ago. That plan was a million-dollar study funded by 42 local landowners to examine how the area should be developed over the next 15 or 20 years. Urban planning firm FoTenn Consultants Inc. carried out the work.
Ted Fobert, a partner at FoTenn, said the area was originally intended for development as a high-tech business park, a plan that has long since gone astray. However, the long-term plan accommodated an alternative scenario, such as mixed-used development. Fobert is confident the development of the area is poised to take off and expects Mattamy, Richcraft and Tartan to all put up homes within the next year or two. The mixed-use plan for the area calls for up to 5,000 homes.
LOBLAWS SCOUTING LOCATIONS
Fobert added that Loblaws is also looking at a possible store location in the northeast of the concept area near First Line Road.
Lindsay acknowledged that few commercial developers have made any commitments to the area, but added that it is typical for business interests to move in only after residential developers have begun to build.
He is confident that once homebuilders commit to housing developments in the area, commercial developers will quickly follow.
Two locations have been targetted for commercial development by city planners: next to the Corel Centre and further south with frontage on Hazeldean.
Lindsay added that, before a residential developer can pursue a building permit, the usual steps must be taken, such as considering traffic patterns (a widening of Hazeldean has long been a hot topic for residents) and evaluating environmental impact.
One commercial development in the area has been in the works for almost 15 years: the Palladium Auto-Park. The focal point for the area has always been the Corel Centre and the appeal of having a major professional sports franchise next door. The group behind the auto-park bought into the idea long before ground was even broken on the Corel Centre.
In 1990, Palladium Auto-Park Ltd., a consortium of local auto dealers, bought a 100-acre block from Terrace Corp. At the time, Terrace was owned by Bruce Firestone, who led the push to bring an NHL franchise to Ottawa.
The plan then was to build an auto-park that would feature 12 individual dealerships. Similar parks in Vancouver and Winnipeg have proven successful, according to Jean-Yves Laberge, vice-president and general manager of the Turpin Group.
Laberge is one of the principals behind Palladium Auto-Park Ltd.
'GROWTH AREA'
"The reality is, everyone sees this as a growth area," he said. From his perspective, that confidence has endured through all the ups and downs of the past decade, including the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Sens in Ottawa and the slump of the local telecom sector. He always believed the area would enjoy the same kind of growth as the east end of the city.
The auto-park is being built on 55 acres in and around the interchange that provides access to the Corel Centre from Highway 417 via Huntmar. The group owns another 25 acres south of that location for future development.
Water and sewer work at the site is complete and a roadbed is in place. Once the frost is out of the ground, the "shallow" services will go in, including electricity, gas and telephone. Afterward will come the storm water control pond.
Laberge said the park will house satellites of existing dealerships, rather than see dealers relocate their businesses from elsewhere in the city.
He wants to see the park kick off with six committed tenants. So far, there are four firm commitments and a fifth one pending. The committed tenants represent such brands as Toyota, Mazda, Chrysler and Pontiac.
The auto-park will have room for only 11 dealerships. One of the committed tenants has taken two spots, but Laberge declined to offer a name.
A gasoline retailer is also looking at the spot at the corner of Huntmar and Palladium to build a full service station complete with a car wash and convenience store, a facility that was always part of the plan for the site, he said.
The park works on a condominium arrangement that leaves each individual dealer responsible for seeking city approval to develop its own site within the park. Laberge expects the first dealer will break ground in June and the park will open to the public within 12 months.
"Everything now hinges on the individual site plan approvals," Labarge said, and how quick the city is to approve them.
At city hall, Lindsay confirmed he expects the first dealer to break ground on the site in June.
Another spinoff from having the NHL franchise nearby is the new Bell Sensplex, Ottawa's first four-pad ice rink. Ground was broken for the facility two weeks ago at the corner of Silver Seven and Maple Grove roads.
( Note to Readers: The spelling of the name "Lindsay" corrects an erroneous spelling that occured in the version of this story published in the April 5 print edition of the OBJ. The OBJ apologizes for any confusion this may have caused. )
