by Edith Cody-Rice
On November 7, at the Almonte Legion, the community of Mississippi Mills and an organization with the descriptive name of BuildingIN collaborated to hold information and consultation sessions concerning the future of Mississippi Mills. The consultation was held in two sessions, one at 2 pm and a second at 7 pm. The Millstone attended the 2 pm session.
The consultation was led by Rosaline Hill, the Ottawa architect whose architectural practice RJH Architecture and Planning specializes in more walkable, equitable, green neighbourhoods. She is a principal of BuildingIN which operates out of Rosaline’s Ottawa office. Its focus is consulting with municipalities to
- Simulate future low-rise infill housing
- Help municipal governments plan strategically to get more housing built
- Meet targets and aligning with federal government priorities on housing
- Motivate builders and investors to build multi-unit low-rise infill
Mississippi Mills Senior Planner Drew Brennan also attended the 2 pm session.
The room was set up with several stations and participants were invited to move from station to station, focusing on various aspects of community development, starting with historical photographs of Almonte streets in 1900 beside those of the same scene now. At each station there was seating for discussion and participants were invited to explore what success would look like in future development The input will be used to create measures of success for proposed development. Discussions, including future demographics, meeting the needs of future households and what elements make a neighbourhood better (and what does better mean?) were explored in lively conversations.
The purpose of these consultations is to allow Mississippi Mills to develop in a manner that will
- integrate the expected influx of newcomers to the community without destroying the culture and charm of Mississippi Mills and
- meet the needs of future households while substantially increasing housing availability.
Additional consultations will be held
December 5 at 2 pm or 7 pm. Venue: Almonte Old Town Hall 14 Bridge Street
January 30 at 2 pm or 7 pm Venue: Almonte Old Town Hall 14 Bridge Street
