February 2015 www.newedinburgh.ca Hockey: one outdoor activity we’re celebrating this winter issue. Painting by Martha Markowsky Plan for Rockcliffe Lands On the Cusp of Change, Four Years After the Fire Goes to Council for Approval By Jane Heintzman With the passage of four our shopping area. Some of our As we approach the fourth years, however, there have been pre-fire merchants, however, By Roslyn Butler phase of construction will last anniversary of the fateful glimmers of hope, as some of are gone for good, including The finalized plans for the between one and two years. Beechwood Fire of March, our displaced small businesses our beloved Home Hardware, re-development of the for- Then the actual residential con- 2011, it’s a good time to take such as Nature’s Buzz and the legendary Hamie’s Diner, mer Rockcliffe air base will struction will begin. stock of our gains and losses, Kelly’s Barber and Beauty Evan Lee’s UPS Store, go to Ottawa City Council for The site has been divided and where we stand in the re-established their operations Parker’s Cleaners and fami- approval sometime early this into three phases. The first recovery effort on Beechwood right here on Beechwood, ly-run Piccolo Grande. year. Many groups have been phase is the area closest to at the start of 2015. Few of us while others such as Epicuria, What I think we most valued involved in the gestation of the Montreal Road and served by a anticipated when the cataclys- Bread and Roses Bakery and in all of our local businesses final plan. redeveloped Codd’s Road and mic event happened March 16, Time Sharpening have suc- was the fact that they were As the New Edinburgh Burma Road. The properties 2011 just how transformative cessfully relocated close by on small, modest, welcoming and Community Alliance’s to have residential construc- a change in our neighbour- St. Laurent Blvd. at Hemlock for the most part family-owned (NECA) representative on the tion will be sold to developers hood would result from the Ave. Though no longer within and operated. Many of the Public Advisory Group, I have who are required to fulfill all decimation of our core shop- comfortable walking distance, merchants became our friends had a front row seat in this pro- of the strict CLC mandates. ping area that day. Nor did the latter remain in an extended and came to know our habits cess. Canada Lands Company These mandates include size of we expect that the restoration sense our “locals” which many and preferences so well that (CLC) hired expert consultants lot and type of housing, such of the fire site, which was of us make a point of visiting we were often served before in areas of transportation, envi- as single family, townhouses, once our principal community regularly. we had a chance to ask. In con- ronment, water management, stacked townhouses, low-rise gathering place, would come Thankfully, Books on trast to the exhausting gauntlet and recreational use to help in buildings and mid-rise build- at such a painfully slow and Beechwood has stayed put of fighting traffic to navigate the planning process. City of ings. halting pace, with long, bleak throughout the turbulence, to larger chain outlets, shopping Ottawa departments including The actual construction of the periods in which no hint of remain our flagship indepen- on Beechwood was sociable, parks and recreation, roads and first phase will take between progress was forthcoming. dent business and the heart of Continued on page 16 public transit, school boards two and three years once the and basic infrastructure of sew- infrastructure is in place (so Jamie Kwong Takes the Reins at Quartier Vanier ers, water and hydro services between 2017 and 2020). The had a final say in the plan. second phase will take anoth- By NEN Staff who retired in January. Another Once the plan is approved by er five to seven years, and The search for a new execu- challenge, which she embraces City Council, construction will the third and final phase to tive director of the Quartier with enthusiasm, will be to begin on the infrastructure of finish sometime in the 2030s. Vanier Business Improvement improve her fluency in French sewers, services and roads. As This is a long-term project. Area (QVBIA) is over. In late in recognition of the deep fran- it stands, the lands are a clean It is planned that in this third January it was announced that cophone roots of the commu- slate because all former ser- phase there will be some high- Jamie Kwong, the former nity, and its very substantial vices such as sewer and water rise buildings to accent the head of the Orleans Chamber French-speaking population. QVBIA chair Mark Kaluski pipes, roads and schools have Continued on page 26 of Commerce, would take up already been removed. This the reins beginning in February looks forward to the fresh per- 2015. Jamie recently moved spective and new ideas that into the Beechwood area, and Jamie will bring to addressing is looking forward to direct- the challenges of the area, and ing her formidable energies to to the “boundless energy and the support and promotion of enthusiasm” she brings to the the businesses along the BIA’s task of increasing the engage- three main streets: Beechwood ment of businesses, adding Avenue, Montreal Road and impetus to the ongoing beau- McArthur Road. Among New QVBIA head Jamie Kwong tification efforts, and actively her top priorities will be to pursuing an economic devel- “improve perceptions of the of Commerce, Jamie looks for- opment strategy for the area. area”, as well as to enhance its ward to narrowing her focus to We welcome Jamie, and wish walkability and overall appeal a specific area where she can her well in taking on this vital as a destination shopping area hone in on the challenges of role at the helm of our business for visitors from throughout promoting economic develop- community at a pivotal point the region. ment and investment, as well as in its evolution. To learn more After three productive years the ongoing campaign of beau- about the legacy of former in the executive director’s tification launched by her pre- executive director Suzanne chair at the Orleans Chamber decessor, Suzanne Valiquet, Valiquet, turn to page 6. Page 2 NEW EDINBURGH NEWS February 2015 Tim Plumptre NECA President New Committee, New Website, New Ideas for a New Year Your board at the New NECA board was left with the Edinburgh Community impression that our ward made Alliance (NECA) took a well- an excellent choice in elect- deserved break over the holi- ing him to represent us at City day season, and we met with Hall, and we look forward to renewed energy on January 20 collaborating with him in the to consider our priorities for months ahead. the New Year. I decided to The board then held an infor- use this column to provide the mal brainstorming session to community with an update on consider what kind of initia- what’s going at the board. tives and themes we wanted A most welcome new devel- to pursue in the coming year. Cartoon by Roslyn Butler opment, to launch our delib- We all bore in mind the results this community; last column, in December, I to the revised Brick Awards erations for 2015, was a visit of the Forum on the Future of • Improving communica- spoke about the evolution of program. We see it as a pro- from our newly elected City New Edinburgh that we orga- tion with residents through the “Brick Awards” issued gram accessible to people any- Councillor, Tobi Nussbaum. nized in April 2014, and we see a redesigned and enhanced from time to time by our asso- where in New Edinburgh, and Tobi shared with us informa- it as our responsibility to deter- website, which should be ciation. who may have contributed to tion regarding his involvement mine what we can do to build online this spring; In the past, these awards it in any number of different in a range of city commit- on the results of that event. • Launching of a new Traffic were generally given at our fall ways. tees, and spoke about the broad We are also all firmly wed- and Safety Committee to annual general meeting to indi- For this award to develop, range of issues that he is seek- ded to the two broad objec- address a range of issues viduals who made a notable we will need to draw upon the ing to deal with as he settles tives that guided our board in this area, including bet- contribution of a built nature imagination and intelligence into his job. over the last year, namely ter bicycle access along to the heritage character of our of you, our community col- These include a study of the our commitment to enhance Beechwood Avenue, and community. Our board deter- leagues. If you know someone Beechwood corridor for traf- NECA’s engagement with the pedestrian safety – particu- mined late last year to widen who you think might qualify fic, other traffic issues such community at large, and sec- larly for elderly members of the award’s scope. Here’s what for recognition of this kind, we as speeding, a new Local ond, to be an association for our community; we decided: hope you will let us know by Commercial Study that the the whole of new Edinburgh, • Continuing to firmly sup- While new edifices that providing us with your nomi- city is launching to encour- from Beechwood Avenue at port the protection of the reflect our heritage values will, nation.