New plan saves Little Italy park, moves school next door — but concerns remain

The city's latest plan for a mixed-use redevelopment in Little Italy saves an existing park, to the relief of the local community association — but other elements have left them disappointed.

The City of Ottawa wants to build a new recreation facility at the southwest corner of Somerset and Preston streets, next to Plant Recreation Centre.

The corner would also see the addition of market-rate and affordable housing, a new building to replace the aging école élémentaire publique Louise-Arbour (currently located further south on Beech Street), additional green space besides Plouffe Park, and a district energy system to power the whole site.

An earlier version of the plan released last year caused concern because it plunked the new school atop Plouffe Park, one of few remaining green spaces in that part of the city.

This is the city's prior plan for the redevelopment project, with Somerset Street at the bottom of the map. It shows the school going on top of the space currently occupied by Plouffe Park. (City of Ottawa)

That prompted city planners to rethink things. Under a new plan unveiled earlier this month, the school would be located between Plouffe Park to the east and an extra one hectare of green space to the west.

The Dalhousie Community Association said it's not against having a school at the site.

But it feels the school's new location disrupts what could otherwise be "a very green swath in a neighbourhood that is extremely deficient in green space," association president Catherine Boucher said.

The new plan, with Somerset Street at the top of the map, shows the school's proposed new location in a more central area of the site, adjacent to Plouffe Park rather than on top of it. (City of Ottawa)

The new green space will still not be visible from Somerset and Preston, the association says.

It adds it's not keen on a school bus road running between Plouffe Park and the school, in part because kids would have to cross it to get back after recess.

The road would also demolish a basketball court the city installed a year ago that's "getting huge amount of use," Boucher said.

"We do hope to be proven wrong, but we do feel we have lost green space there."

'Very central piece of land'

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster has spent hours discussing the project with local residents and school parents over the past months.

Citing "intense work by many city departments," Troster said she's convinced the new plan is "the best one that we are going to get."

Any lingering concerns can be addressed in the final detailed design, she added.

"This is a valuable, very central piece of land and people have a right to care deeply about it," she said of the passions the project has stirred up.

Local residents started a 'Save the Park' campaign when the city initially proposed to develop over the area taken up for decades by Plouffe Park. (Ben Andrews/CBC)

Sheena McLeish, a parent of a Louise-Arbour student and a member of the school council, said it's been "a long time coming to get to this point" and that other parents are also anxious to see the project finally move ahead.

Like Troster, she's hopeful any remaining concerns can be addressed without further delaying things.

"Most if not all of the parents students at our school also live in this community and ... also want to see green space maximized," McLeish said.

Troster said the city hopes to put the project approval decision before city councillors in late 2024 or early 2025. The school can proceed with initial designs in the meantime, she said.