Scouts Canada proposes to redevelop Baseline HQ, but wants help restoring landmark totem pole

Scouts Canada wishes to redevelop its nationwide headquarters on Baseline Street with three enormous towers, but it absolutely’s silent deciding what to achieve about its landmark characteristic within the entrance yard.

A planning rationale filed no longer too lengthy ago at city hall says the totem pole, created by eminent Indigenous carver Chief Mungo Martin, has been there since 1961. It changed into once commissioned by the British Columbia executive and proficient to the Scouts to celebrate the fresh headquarters at 1345 Baseline Rd., the utility says.

In maintaining with the Scouts, the totem pole wants restoration, however the group failed to genuine federal grants as phase of the Canada 150th anniversary infrastructure program. The Scouts were fervent with Martin’s family about the restoration and the group is accepting proposals for the work.

The group wants the totem pole to be restored “in a culturally acceptable formula,” the planning rationale says.

“Given the heritage payment and the family’s wants that the totem pole live in a public put to be loved by all, Scouts would peek to work with town and/or purchaser of the property to non-public the totem pole reinstalled on arena, either within the proposed public park put or as phase of a future redevelopment,” the doc says.

The proposed redevelopment calls for towers with heights of 26, 28 and 30 storeys. Two of the towers would non-public residential objects and the third tower fronting Baseline Street would be blended-use.

All three structures would non-public a unfold of residential unit forms up to three bedrooms, primarily based on the plans. There would be a entire of 952 residential objects and 748 parking areas in an underground parking garage.

A council-approved zoning bylaw modification will likely be required at a future assembly.

Kayleigh Kanoza, director of alternate and approach for Scouts Canada, acknowledged there had been a shift within the formula the group operated that made it replicate on the lengthy dash of the property.

“Over the final collection of years, Scouts Canada has improved work to better leverage our properties in enhance of our mission and adventures for Canadian childhood,” Kanoza acknowledged in an e-mail.

“With the shift to faraway work, a stream to on-line retail, and the transformation of the neighbourhood surrounding our Ottawa place of job, we non-public now identified a chance to behold out a companion to redevelop or settle on our National Service Centre at 1345 Baseline Rd. We intend to live in Ottawa and want to prioritize program put for our childhood contributors, which could present put for our workers and volunteers to collaborate.”

In a letter sent to Scout contributors in January, the group’s leaders pointed out that the Baseline Street headquarters had been there for about 60 years, however the Nepean community around it had changed dramatically. “Town has grown around us,” the leaders acknowledged.

The Scouts’ fresh strategic conception calls for the group to “liberate the worth of our sources” to amplify earnings.

Be pleased many intensification projects in Ottawa, the one eyed for the Scouts property is closely tied to town’s future expansion of rapidly transit. Town wishes to focal level intensification along rapidly transit and Baseline Street is on the books to non-public bus rapidly transit lanes. The totem pole wishes to be relocated from its fresh put because of the the lengthy dash transit plans.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling