Article content continued

The proposal: The team proposes to house the headquarters of “an international organization,” the NCC said, “accompanied by cultural venues, green spaces and residential and commercial developments.”

The comment: None Wednesday.

NCC chief executive Mark Kristmanson said the agency has asked the teams “not to communicate” further details of their proposals to the public. “We’ll have the public debate about the merits of the proposals after (the proponents) have had a chance to develop them,” he said.

As well, the NCC will not release the Request for Proposals outlining the NCC’s expectations for the LeBreton redevelopment, or the criteria that will be used to pick the winner, until the competition is complete.

Despite that, Kristmanson called the process “very open” and typical of similar Request for Proposals processes that NCC has done in the past. “This is, of course, a larger one. The stakes are higher,” he said.

“I think the proponents need to be given the space and time to develop their proposals,” Kristmanson said, noting that all four proposals will be publicly displayed in early 2016, something he described as a “very open and exceptional step.”

The public will be asked for feedback, which will be considered by the five-member committee that will recommend the winning design.

The NCC explicitly wants the new development to include an attraction of regional, national or international significance to counterbalance the Canadian War Museum.

So far, Kristmanson said, “we’re encouraged by the proposals,” adding that they included “some very imaginative ideas” for the use of the site. “But we’ll have to see how far they can take them through the development period.”

Though there was speculation that several teams were proposing a new Ottawa central library, Kristmanson said the NCC had agreed to leave that to the City of Ottawa to run as s separate procurement process.

A spokesman for the city said Wednesday it has “not been approached about being part of any bid.”

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/ButlerDon