Ottawa college puts rare green space up for sale

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Ottawa college puts rare green space up for sale
Last Updated: Thursday, August 21, 2008 | 12:34 PM ET
CBC News




Residents of Ottawa's Chinatown neighbourhood are lobbying the city to buy a plot of green space up for sale in an area of the city with few parks.

Dominican University College is asking $2.2 million for their former garden on Empress Avenue, near Booth and Somerset streets, to help cover the cost of maintaining its buildings — the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church and an early 20th century building that houses both the college itself and a convent.

The college took over the church in the 1880s.

Sean Darcy, who lives across the street from the property, said he worries about what will replace the garden, which is surrounded by an old stone wall.

"My biggest fear is a big huge apartment building … that really changes the character of this green space oasis," he said.

Darcy said neighbourhood residents want the city to purchase the garden if possible and are willing to help raise funds for that purchase.

Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes said it's likely a condo developer will be the first to buy the land, and it's unlikely the city could afford to do so.

However, she planned to bring up the possibility at a committee meeting Thursday.

She said her ward, which contains the property, has the least amount of green space in the city, and that may help provide the city with a good rationale for making the purchase.

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[Aylmer]

Oh boy.

[rakerman]

I want to make it clear: I am all for building condo towers on every parking lot in the CBD. But I don't believe densification means building towers everywhere.

Many urban areas have nice walled parks as places to escape, it would be a shame to lose this one.

There will be a public meeting and petition signing on THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2008 at 7:30 PM at the Dalhousie Community Centre, 755 Somerset Street West. You can contact [email protected] ( Audri Brewster) for more information, or join the Somerset West community development Facebook group http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31096679232 - Audri Brewster is organising things there. Councillor Holmes is aware of the issue but the city neglected to set any money aside for this.

There is an article in this week's (September 19, 2008) Centretown Buzz "Dominican Gardens' History Unearths Area's Rich French-Canadian Roots" but it's not online yet.

[Jamaican-Phoenix]

the garden is nice, and there aren't enough nice gardens and parks in Chinatown/Centretown. I say keep the green.