The City of Ottawa has named EBC Inc. as the successful bidder to build Lansdowne 2.0, as the project moves toward a final decision at council with a total cost that has barely budged in two years.But the city is also banking on greater revenue to offset those costs, with the sale of air rights for two towers on the site raising about $25 million more than expected.Mayor Mark Sutcliffe held a news conference Monday to discuss the project, just hours before a final report was set to go public in the afternoon. He said the new numbers confirm that Lansdowne is “a terrific investment for the people of Ottawa.””We put it out to the marketplace and we asked people to bid on the construction,” he said. “We got several bids and all of them were very, very close to the projected Class A estimate that we had done at the city.”According to Sutcliffe, the actual construction costs are now $313 million dollars, while the total project cost is now set at $418.8 million. That’s almost precisely the same $419-million estimate revealed in a previous 2023 report. At that time, the construction costs were pegged at $316 million.But Sutcliffe said the welcome surprise on air rights means that, after accounting for all revenues generated by the project, the net cost to taxpayers will be $130.7 million. “That’s a lot of value,” he said. “We get a brand new event centre, brand new north side stands, a much more environmentally friendly facility and millions of dollars toward affordable housing, all at less than one-third of the cost.”Successful bidder namedThe report released Monday afternoon named EBC. Inc. as the successful bidder for construction of the new event centre, north side stadium stands, city parking and public realm enhancements.EBC is based in Quebec and worked on projects such as the expansion of the Percival-Molson Stadium in Montreal and the Brossard Aquatic Complex, as well as the ambulatory centre for the University of Montreal Hospital Centre.Its last major project in Ottawa was work on the Ottawa Art Gallery.The report set to come to a meeting of council’s finance and corporate services committee on Oct. 29, before heading to council for a vote on Nov. 7.It will be the last chance for councillors to decide whether the project goes forward. The project has already cleared several hurdles at city hall, including a 2023 concept plan and financial model that laid out how the city plans to pay for the project.It would rely on a combination of debt, retail earnings, property tax uplift and a ticket surcharge. But one of the big unknowns was the sale of air rights on the towers, which the city planned to sell to a private developer.The previous estimate was $39 million. But on Monday, Sutcliffe said that the city has raised about $65 million through that sale, allowing it to put more money toward Lansdowne 2.0 and an extra $5 million toward affordable housing.”There was significant interest. We had a very conservative number two years ago, and that’s been proven by the outcome,” Sutcliffe said.Monday’s report also revealed the name of the preferred bidder on the air rights: Mirabella Development Corporation, a company based in Toronto.Waiting will cost more, mayor warnsSutcliffe has argued that it would be more expensive to put off the project, as what he casts as obsolete and decrepit facilities at TD Place make holding events there less attractive.”If we wait, we’ll spend more and we’ll get less. If we invest now, we’ll spend less and we’ll get a lot more,” he said on Monday.But the plan has attracted dedicated opposition, with critics arguing that the city is taking on colossal financial risk for a project that will remove green space, reduce seating capacity and increase ticket prices.Lansdowne 2.0 would replace the arena with an event centre with seating capacity for 5,500 people at hockey games and 6,500 at concert events, according to site plan documents, less than the current seating for 9,500 at TD Place Arena.The Ottawa Charge play the Boston Fleet at the TD Place arena on Jan. 11, 2025. (CBC)It would also demolish and rebuild the north side stadium stands, which would reduce seating capacity from 14,000 to 11,200, according to the site plans.One of the leading critics of the project, Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard, attended the mayor’s news conference on Monday. In his view, Sutcliffe is greatly understating the actual cost of the project.”The mayor is not being accurate in communicating that,” he said. “The price tag is $483 million. The mayor did not include the extra costs for the retail podium, which are going up to $44 million, and he did not include the $19-million parking cost that the city is building for the residential towers.”He said the mayor’s argument that the city will only foot one-third of the bill rests on a lot of assumptions.”It assumes that this deal … will produce the results 50 years from now,” Menard said. “No one can predict that, and the risks that have been identified independently here certainly show that it’s not likely to turn out, just as Lansdowne 1.0 didn’t turn out on the revenue side.”Net losses every yearSutcliffe said he wanted to correct misinformation about the project. He said the first Lansdowne redevelopment was a great success, boosting visitor numbers and creating a vibrant attraction that drives employment and tourism.Lansdowne is currently operated through a partnership between the city, which owns the buildings, and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, which owns sports franchises like the Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa 67’s.The partnership has posted net losses every year since it started operations a decade ago, and has never distributed a payment to the city. Under the current arrangement, it’s not expected to ever do so. Sutcliffe has framed the redevelopment plan as a chance to make the partnership financially sustainable.In 2024, the city promised to post the solicitation documents in their entirety when the construction tender was issued. That never happened, with the city’s chief procurement officer telling CBC that the documents were shared exclusively with pre-qualified bidders.That same year, Coun. Wilson Lo also directed staff to release the final report on Lansdowne 2.0 as soon as possible, and ideally 30 days before the council vote.Leiper ‘deeply disappointed’Coun. Jeff Leiper called on Sutcliffe to delay the vote. There are now fewer than 20 days to the council vote, and just eight days until a key committee meeting where delegates can speak out about the project. Leiper said that just isn’t enough time for real scrutiny.He criticized the mayor for holding his news conference before the report was made available to the public or council, and faulted Sutcliffe for calling analysis from concerned citizens “misinformation.””I’m deeply disappointed in how this process has unfolded, and in the disregard shown for Council by revealing staff recommendations early,” he posted on BlueSky. “This isn’t how collaborative government works, and it undermines trust in both City staff and the democratic process. “Ottawa’s auditor general Nathalie Gougeon said she’s also waiting for the documents, and has been unable to finalize the latest instalment of her audit into the project. It is expected early next month.
Lansdowne 2.0 cost stays put at $419M as city reveals builder
