The City of Ottawa's Urban Design Review Panel has grave reservations about the location of a new Civic Hospital.

The Experimental Farm is the preferred location for a mega hospital. However, a 2018 document outlines why the Panel is concerned about the project:
---The neighbourhood of Little Italy will be negatively impacted.
---The character of the Experimental Farm, Carling Avenue and Prince of Wales Drive will be affected.
Urban Design Review Panel - March 1, 2018
Ottawa Hospital (930 Carling Avenue and 520 Preston Avenue|Formal Review|Official Plan and Zoning Amendment| The Ottawa Hospital; HDR Architect Associates Inc.

General Comments:

• The Panel is reviewing this proposal from the perspective of its impacts on the urban realm, and with respect to architectural design. The Panel does however acknowledge and appreciate the complexity and degree of  effort that goes into a hospital project of this size including long term operational and maintenance issues.  The Panel understands that the full build of the hospital, projected to be somewhere between 2.73 and 4.5 million  square feet by 2047-2048, is dependant on a future needs assessment, as well as budgets and policy decisions at the provincial level.
• The Panel is concerned with the scale of the proposed development and finds that the project is of a completely different scale than the surrounding neighbourhood. As such,the Panel recommends key moves and further analysis to help preserve some of the existing character along the Prince of Wales edge and to better integrate the hospital with the Experimental Farm context. Another important consideration of the Panel is the impact of the hospital on Carling Road, and the adjacent Carling-Preston neighbourhood to the north.

The views, key distances, and analysis of how the project affects the Capital landscape and surrounding neighbourhood are needed in order for the UDRP to provide fulsome comments on the proposal. It is strongly recommended that the applicant return to the Panel as the project advances, with a submission that includes several renderings showing key views from a variety of perspectives especially those with Capital significance.

Massing and Architectural Concept 

• The Panel has concerns with the scale of the proposal presented; particularly considering the initial presentation eluded to a Scandinavian approach to a hospital complex - at a much more human scale. The size and massing of the proposed building has the potential to create a significant barrier in the form of a large wall that is disconnected and out of scale with the existing fabric nearby.    
• The Panel has some concerns with the interpretation of the 'Town and Crown' approach to this proposal. For example, Parliament Hill opens itself up to the city whereas the current oval, circular building is insular and puts the existing neighbourhood to the north at the periphery, having negative implications for the urban realm. In addition to being highly visible, the entrances to the complex could also be surrounded by plazas, which are welcoming to people.
• The Panel recommends that key site priorities with respect to the urban realm, which reflect a more civic approach, are established and brought into the planning context going forward. The Panel is looking for public spaces around the facility.
• One suggestion is to consider flipping the oval so that it plays off the ridge. With the west oval flipped, the building works better with the topography of the land and improves the relationship between the street edge, articulating a clearer arrival point for the public.

Carling Road and Urban Integration

• The Panel suggests that the massing of the proposed oval structure is broken down to reduce impacts on the character along Carling Avenue. 
• It is the opinion of the Panel that some land along Carling Avenue should be used for buildings facing Carling, ensuring this urban street has two sides, and the hospital complex has a friendlier edge toward the neighbourhood.
• The buildings would form an edge along the street to contribute to the urban fabric, rather than relate directly to the hospital site. these buildings could be as low as two storeys.
• The Panel suggests that buildings along Carling Avenue would allow for an interface with the surrounding city, and could accommodate a variety of services related to the hospital such as chiropractic, practitioners, pharmacies, etc.

Experimental Farm and Prince of Wales Drive Context

• The massing as viewed from Prince of Wales Drive should be broken up to avoid significantly altering the character of this important Ottawa landscape; defined by the federal roadway, the Experimental Farm and Dows Lake,
• The Panel expressed serious concerns with the impacts of the proposed development on Prince of Wales Drive with respect to the entrances and the limited setback. The current proposal results in a strong built form edge along the Drive. The Panel recommends this impact be reduced by significantly increasing the setback and limiting vehicular access from Prince of Wales Drive.
• The Panel admires the attempt to preserve the treed ridge, but finds it likely impossible given the location and scale of the proposal's oval buildings. Consider instead a reinterpretation of this feature elsewhere on the site. 
• The Panel is appreciative of the gesture to include considerable greenspace and park like spaces within the development but is concerned that this approach compromises the public spaces surrounding the development.

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My comments 
1.)  Since 1974, various entities have been trying to destroy the integrity of the Central Experimental Farm---the National Capital Commission; Agriculture and Agri-food Canada; Public Works Canada.
2.)  More than 18 Agriculture Canada Experimental Farms have been decommissioned since 1985, I will provide a list of the farms tomorrow.
3.)  Twelve acres of "hospital" land on the Experimental Farm has been rezoned to facilitate the construction of residential housing, most likely condominiums. A decade ago I heard a City of Ottawa councillor remark that a "wall of condos" would line Carling Avenue.
4.)  Since 1974, a dozen groups (that I am aware of) have been trying to save the Farm.
5.)  City Councillor Riley Brockington confirmed that the Dominion Observatory and the other nearby landmarks may be demolished.
6.)  The new Civic Hospital may take over the Dow's Lake parking lot.
7.)  Queen Juliana Park, 870 Carling Avenue in Ottawa may be rezoned so that condos can be constructed.