Development could leave generations of Little Italy kids without green space, residents say - Action News
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Ottawa

Development could leave generations of Little Italy kids without green space, residents say

A coalition of community groups is hoping to preserve central Ottawa's Plouffe Park as the city plans to replace it with a school.

Current plan for Somerset Street property places school in century-old park

A 'Save Our Park' sign hangs on a fence near a park in summer.
A 'save our park' sign hangs on the fence outside the Plant Recreation Centre in Ottawa. Community groups say the neighbourhood is starved for green space and a proposed city development will make it worse. (Ben Andrews/CBC)

Catherine Boucher felt a rush of shock and dismay when she saw the city's plan for a long-awaited development in Little Italy.

In the draft plan released in May, a new elementary school is situatedon top of Plouffe Park, a sliver of public green space in a central neighbourhood where parksare scarce.

Although theplanfor the property between Preston Street and theTrillium Lineincludesa newpark next to Plouffe's currentfootprint, community groups are concerned the construction could leave the neighbourhoodwithoutany green space foryears.

"Every inch of green space is very important to us and this play park has served a purpose for generations," said Boucher, president of the Dalhousie Community Association.

"It's very much part of the fabric of our neigbourhood."

People mill around in a public park.
Community members and politicians attend a ribbon-cutting event at Plouffe Park in Ottawa on Aug. 3. The event was both a celebration of the new basketball court and a protest of the planned development that would see the park replaced by a French public school. (Charles Akben-Marchand)

Park is more than a century old

According to Boucher, who welcomes many of the other elements planned for the property, Plouffe Park is a "precious resource" that'sserved Little Italy well for more than 100 years.

The park is one ofjust a few places in the areawhere kids can learn to play soccer or basketball, she said.

Although it isn't large enough for aregulation soccer pitch, it does house two smaller fields side-by-side. Patches of dirt beneath the goalposts mark heavy use.

A soccer field in a park.
Plouffe Park is too small to fit a regulation soccer pitch and instead houses two mini fields side-by-side. (Ben Andrews/CBC)

In the summer, kids play onthe splash pad, playground and basketball court between the Plant Recreation Centre and the field. In the winter, they skate on a pop-uprink.

The centre hosts a unique, free summer program that's only possible because its doors open directly onto Plouffe Park, said Carol Sissons,board member of the Plant Pool Recreation Association.

The association is part of acoalition of local community groupscalled P4X or the Plouffe Park, Plant Pool Expansion Coalition thatattended a rally last Sundayto save the park.

A woman sits on a bench outside a recreation centre in late summer.
A woman sits on a bench outside the Plant Recreation Centre. (Ben Andrews/CBC)

City bought lands at discount

In 2017, Ottawa Community Housing purchased a large tract of federal surplus land near the site with plans to develop itinto a "village" combining affordable, subsidized and market-value housing.

Four years later, council voted to buy another slice of that federal land to the southalong Somerset Streetat a heavily discounted rate.

The city paid just $2.87 million, a fraction of the original asking price, and drew the moneynearly entirely fromcash-in-lieu-of-parkland accounts.It got the discount because its plansincluding a new park and expanded community centre aligned with federal priorities.

An architectural rendering of development on a city street corner around an existing rec centre and government building.
The City of Ottawa's architectural rendering of the development for 930 and 1010 Somerset St., as proposed on May 25, 2023. (City of Ottawa)

The2021 Corso Italia Secondary Planpromised a roughlyone-hectare park stretching from the edge of Plouffe Park to the Trillium Line tracks.

In the draft planfor 1010 Somerset St., that park appears alongside a slew of new amenities, including a multipurpose community centre, multiple residential towers and the previously mentionedFrench public school.

Sissons said the new green space was never meant to be a "replacement" for Plouffe Park.

"We're just deficit, deficit, deficit in this kind of outdoor active green space," she said.

A city site plan around a street corner with an existing recreation centre.
The draft site plan proposed by the City of Ottawa for 930 and 1010 Somerset St. places a French public school on top of Plouffe Park. (City of Ottawa)

That deficit, according to Boucher, could get worse before it getsbetter.

The community worries about how long it'll have to wait for the new space after Plouffe Park is demolished. Boucher said it couldtakeup to a decade.

"We're going to have in our neighbourhood at least two generations of kids who will grow up with nowhere to kick a soccer ball or play basketball," Boucher said. "That's just not acceptable."

'False choice' between school and park

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said while many "tetris pieces" have to fit into the site, shebelieves they could be arranged better.

Anyconflict between the school and the park, she said,is a "false choice."

"The school needs to be built. It needs to be built as soon as possible. But it doesn't need to be built in the middle of a park," she said.

A woman poses for a photograph with a bike.
Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster says she believes any conflict between the park and the school is a 'false choice.' (Ben Andrews/CBC)

Troster said she's heard lots of feedback from the community, fromparents whosupport the plan toothers who want the schoolbuilt elsewhere on the property.

The current plan is a first draft,she said.Community engagement will help guide the city toward a final version"that will hopefully meet as many needs as possible."

City taking 'phased approach'

The City of Ottawa declined an interview request.

Kevin Wherry, manager of parks and facilities planning, said in an email the city "recognizes the concerns" about the potential loss of the park.

The current draft concept does not yet have the endorsement of council, Wherry said. If approved, the development"could be phased in over seven to 10 years," he added.

"This phased approach would allow for continued access to some park features during the construction phase," Wherrysaid, adding that a report to council is expectedat the start of 2024.

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