The National Capital Commission will recommend the Tunney’s Pasture site to the Minister of Canadian Heritage for the new Civic Campus of The Ottawa Hospital. This recommendation is supported by extensive public and stakeholder consultations and a rigorous analysis of evidence and documentation by the evaluation committee and NCC professional staff.
The Tunney’s Pasture site emerged as the most suitable location based on the comparative analysis of the 12 potential sites, using 21 criteria grouped under three themes.
Functional and operational hospital interests
- The site’s area of 20 hectares (50 acres) meets the projected land requirements.
- The configuration is well suited to accommodate the anticipated hospital layout.
- The location optimizes the distribution of existing hospitals across the urban community.
- It is located in closest proximity to the region’s urban core.
- The site provides good roadway access for patient and emergency access (e.g. Scott Street, Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway, Holland Avenue).
Regional and local interests
- The site provides the best access to the expanding light rail transit (LRT) system. (Confederation Line, Tunney’s Station in 2018, westward extension projected in 2023).
- The site is well served by existing municipal infrastructure.
- It offers a positive contribution to the population intensification and mixed-use urban development expected along the western LRT corridor.
- The location will support planned developments at LeBreton Flats, the islands and Bayview Station.
- It is well integrated into the urban fabric, and affords opportunities to mitigate impacts on adjacent properties.
- The site features several access points, and offers benefits from an emergency preparedness perspective.
Capital interests
- The site is associated with the least impact on natural, public recreational and agricultural functions, and is occupied by many surface parking areas.
- Any potential impacts to the heritage character of the site could be mitigated through design.
- Selection of this site avoids impacts to the Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site.
- Selection of this site may displace some existing federal facilities; however, the NCC-approved Tunney’s Pasture Master Plan already envisions the divestiture of the western half of the site for non-federal mixed-use development.
- It may offer opportunities for partnerships or adaptive reuse, given the presence of Health Canada’s existing facilities on-site.
Public Consultations
In a letter dated May 20, 2016, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, asked the NCC to conduct a review of the potential sites selected by The Ottawa Hospital and to provide a recommendation, as well as justification for the NCC’s preferred site.
The NCC’s site review was supported by extensive input from public sector partners, key stakeholders and experts, as well as the general public. More than 400 people attended the September 22 open house and presentation at the Canadian War Museum, and 7,695 people responded to the online survey on the potential sites and draft selection criteria, between September 22 and October 6, 2016.
“Extensive analysis of the evidence and the public’s input demonstrated that Tunney’s Pasture is the ideal site among the 12 under consideration for the new Civic Campus of The Ottawa Hospital." said Dr. Mark Kristmanson, Chief Executive Officer of the NCC. "Tunney’s Pasture best meets the 21 criteria, particularly in light of the most recent data concerning the future of urban transportation, demographic growth and federal land use in the Capital.”
Read the NCC's full recommendation report here.
Read the final report on the NCC's public consultation here.
