Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Ottawa’s Built Heritage Committee has recommended imposing some heritage protections relating to a proposed redevelopment of federal lands for housing in the city.
At its meeting on Monday (Oct. 7), the committee recommended that city council issue a Notice of Intention to Designate the Campanile Campus at 1485 and 1495 Heron Rd. under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act.
“The proposed designation includes 12 buildings arranged around three courtyards and a central quadrangle,” the statement says. “The complex was constructed between 1963 and 1966 and was purpose-built as a Catholic educational complex known as ‘Campanile.’ It has design value as a rare and representative example of a campus designed in the Modern style through its visual cohesiveness and its architectural expression including the use of flat roofs, rectilinear forms, rough red brick, smooth concrete, copper details, clerestory windows and limited ornamentation. The complex was also used as a federal training centre and is associated with the growth in the federal public service in the postwar period.”
Most of the property is owned by Canada Lands Company and is listed on the Canada Public Land Bank.
The proposed designation is associated with a Zoning by-law amendment application that will be considered by council concurrently with the designation. The amendment will allow the adaptive reuse of the buildings and construction of new mixed-use development that could accommodate approximately 1,100 new residential units and 7,600 sq. m. of non-residential uses in low to mid-rise buildings while conserving the heritage and attributes of the site. The amendment will be considered by the Planning and Housing Committee on Oct. 23.
In other business, the committee adopted the proposed Heritage Conservation District (HCDs) plans for the ByWard Market and Lowertown West to help conserve cultural heritage resources and manage change within the areas.
A city statement says the original HCD for the ByWard Market was designated in 1991 and included approximately 145 properties. The Lowertown West HCD was designated in 1994 and included approximately 560 properties.
“No changes are proposed to the current boundaries of either HCD,” the statement says. “Given the variety of buildings and structures within the boundaries of the HCDs, the plans provide some specific direction according to building type and how a property contributes to the cultural heritage value of its HCD.”
For the ByWard Market, the plan provides direction to ensure that new development conserves the HCD’s important sense of place by remaining generally low-rise. For the Lowertown West HCD, the plan speaks more broadly about height recognizing the mix of building types and scale and will allow more lower-mid-rise and mid-rise buildings in certain locations where impacts could be mitigated. Both plans place a particular focus on ensuring the conservation of the spires of the former St. Brigid’s Church and Notre Dame Basilica.
The HCD plan for Lowertown West acknowledges the larger institutional buildings are facing a wide variety of challenges, often complex – ranging from diminishing congregation sizes, to providing updated and accessible facilities, or finding appropriate new uses that avoid compromising their cultural heritage value and attributes. The city is looking to find creative solutions to help preserve these buildings.
City Council will consider the Heron Road planned redevelopment on Oct. 30. Other committee recommendations will be reviewed by council on Oct. 16.