Hospital site raises questions for Dow's Lake business owner

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Restaurant owner Dimitri Aramouni watched the drama around a new Civic hospital site more closely than many people last week: It has a direct bearing on his business.

Aramouni, who owns Mexicali Rosa’s in the Dow’s Lake Pavilion, was thrilled when he learned the former Sir John Carling building site, just down the road, was the likely site of the new $2 billion Civic super hospital, rather than Tunney’s Pasture.

“I was ecstatic,” he said, noting that his business took a hit, especially during slower months, when government employees were moved out of the Carling building, which was demolished in 2014.

But that excitement dimmed when he learned later that the new hospital site includes the parking lot used by customers of Dow’s Lake Pavilion businesses, including his.

How his and other restaurants will function without that parking lot, he says, is “a big question mark for us.”

The parking lot that serves skaters, tulip viewers and restaurant goers at Dow’s Lake became part of the reconfigured Sir John Carling site considered by the National Capital Commission when it reviewed 12 possible hospital sites at the request of Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly.

The hospital had earlier looked at the site, but its version included up to 24 surrounding buildings that would have to be moved or demolished to make room for a hospital. By adding the parking lot at Dow’s Lake, said NCC chief executive Mark Kristmanson last week, the NCC was able to piece together enough land to meet the hospital’s needs and save both heritage buildings and trees.

The parking lot is on land owned by the NCC. One building — the former cafeteria at the Carling site — will have to be either demolished or repurposed to make way for a new hospital. Land for the hospital is owned by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and the NCC and will be leased to The Ottawa Hospital. The recommended site has yet to be approved by Cabinet.

NCC officials, whose initial recommendation of Tunney’s Pasture was rejected by the hospital, say Sir John Carling was its unanimous second choice.

What it means for parking at Dow’s Lake, which include three restaurants and watercraft rentals, is among many questions yet to be answered about the site approved in a dramatic fashion last week as municipal, federal and provincial politicians joined together.

Kyle Simourd of MASK Management Consultants, which manages the parking lot and the Dow’s Lake Pavilion, said by email that it was still too early to say what the transfer of the land to the hospital would mean to Dow’s Lake businesses. “ As time progresses, we will work with the appropriate parties with the goal of ensuring the best outcome for all stakeholders.”

Aramouni said there are no nearby parking options. His restaurant gives customers two hours of free parking at the lot. But he said it is likely that site will be used for hospital parking and he hopes an agreement can be reached so Dow’s Lake customers can still use it. The only worry, he said, is whether the cost of parking at a hospital lot might deter restaurant goers, and whether the restaurant could still offer discounts.

Parking is a key issue in the planning of a new hospital, and something hospital officials say they will hold public consultations on once the site has been approved by Cabinet.

The hospital has said it needs 3,400 spots, the majority on surface parking. The new site’s unusual shape and topography, and its proximity to the Trillium Line, could change its parking plans.

But Ottawa Hospital officials have noted that parking is important, even if the new Civic is near rapid transit. They also note that it is costly to build parking structures either underground or above ground. Provincial health dollars do not fund hospital parking structures.

In 2015-16, parking revenue at the Civic campus, with fewer spots than a new hospital would have, totalled $3.93 million. Hospitals around the province have come to rely on parking revenues to buy equipment, although the province has cut the cost of parking by 50 per cent for frequent visitors to hospitals that charge more than $10 a day. The changes do not affect The Ottawa Hospital, which offers multi-day discount parking

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