LeBreton runner-up says NCC must give it a shot

The runner-up in the contest to redevelop Ottawa's LeBreton Flats says the National Capital Commission has a legal obligation to negotiate with itnow that thedeal with RendezVous LeBretonGroup has fallen through.

DCDLS, a partnership including developers Devcore and Canderel, and billionaires Andr Desmarais, Guy Lalibert and Bill Sinclair, says it is waiting in the wings for the chance to create Ottawa's answer to Chicago's Millennium Park or New York's High Line.

On Wednesday, the National Capital Commission announced it isterminating its agreement with winning bidder RendezVous LeBreton Group.

• NCC pulls plug on RendezVous LeBreton deal

The decision followed a very public falling out between the RendezVous partners, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and Trinity Development chair John Ruddy, who are suing each other for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now that the NCC has served notice, the deal is expected to expire days before theboard meets in late January.

'LeBreton should not be about fights or lawsuits'

6 years ago

Duration 0:51

Now that the NCC has pulled the plug on the RendezVous LeBreton deal, runner-up Devcore Canderel DLS Group would like to develop the site, according to Devcore president Jean-Pierre Poulin.

Ready to go, DCDLS says

The NCC has said in the past there was only one remaining proponent Rendezvous LeBreton and has not returned calls or letters from DCDLS in recent weeks.

Nevertheless, DCDLS says it's ready to go.

"We can move as quickly as [the NCC] are ready to move," said Devcore president Jean-Pierre Poulin in an interview Thursday.

After that interview, the consortium went a step further and said the NCC has an obligation to negotiate with it.

In a statement, DCDLS said they are convinced that the NCC is legally obligated, but they also believe it will be the best-case scenario for the project.

"Practically speaking, a decision to re-start the process would potentially lead to years of delay, the risk of a fragmented development plan and potentially to no development at all," the company wrote in a statement.

MP 'disappointed' by LeBreton setback

6 years ago

Duration 0:40

Liberal MP Catherine McKenna, whose riding includes LeBreton Flats, says she's frustrated by the setback in plans to make the site 'an extraordinary place.'

Poulin said he's been reaching out to more potential partners in the wake of the RendezVous rift to gauge commitment.

The group's pitch, presented in 2016, included a linear park, an aquarium, skydiving wind tunnel and a spa, as well as housing for seniors. Those elements remain intact, Poulin said.

"We don't believe there's a purpose of having another [request for proposals] out there. There's so much work that's been done, and our partners and the components of the project are still there," he said.

DCDLS also said it would drop some elements of its original bid that missed the mark, and meld the best parts with some of the "good work" already done by Rendezvous LeBreton, the NCC and the City of Ottawa.

"LeBreton should not be about fights or lawsuits, it should be about unity, and we should just get everybody around the table and make the best out of it."

The arena question

DCDLS would leave a "placeholder" for an NHL arena, the key component of the RendezVous bid, Poulin said. But Melnyk still owns the team that would play there, and there's been no indication that will change.

Asked Thursday during the annual children's skate at the Canadian Tire Centre, Melnyk skated away from reporters when they asked him about the LeBreton situation.

The NCC has been working with its lawyers to understand what options its board will have at its next meeting, when it has promised to decide on the next step.

Sean Sutton,a spokesperson for the NCC said they can't discuss anything with DCDLS until after the board meets in January.

The NCC has said it wants to "move quickly to maintain momentum on this important project."