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3. APPLICATION
TO ALTER THE OTTAWA SOUTH COMMUNITY CENTRE, 260 SUNNYSIDE AVENUE, A PROPERTY
DESIGNATED UNDER PART IV OF THE ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT DEMANDE EN VUE DE MODIFIER
LE CENTRE COMMUNAUTAIRE D’OTTAWA-SUD, PROPRIETE DESIGNEE EN VERTU DE LA
PARTIE IV DE LA LOI SUR LE PATRIMOINE DE L’ONTARIO |
LACAC AND PLANNING BRANCH RECOMMENDATIONS
That the
Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council:
1. Approve the application
to alter the Ottawa South Community Centre, the Old Firehall, 260 Sunnyside, a
property designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, in accordance
with drawings by CSV Architects, received on August 11, 2008.
2. Delegate approval of
any subsequent design changes of a minor nature to the Director of the Planning
Branch.
RECOMMENDATIONS DU CCCAL ET DE LA
DIRECTION DE L’URBANISME
Que le Comité de
l’urbanisme et de l’environnement recommande au Conseil :
1. d’approuver la demande de
modification, reçue le 11 août 2008, du Centre communautaire d’Ottawa-Sud et
ancienne caserne de pompiers, situé au 260, avenue Sunnyside, propriété
désignée aux termes de la Partie IV de la Loi sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario,
conformément aux dessins de CSV Architects.
2. de déléguer l’approbation
de toute modification ultérieure mineure à la conception au directeur
d’Urbanisme.
Documentation
1.
Deputy
City Manager's report Planning, Transit
and the Environment dated 21 August 2008
(ACS2008-PTE-PLA-0193).
2. LACAC Extract of Draft Minutes of 4
September 2008.
Report to/Rapport au :
Local Architectural Conservation Advisory
Committee
Comité consultatif sur la conservation de l’architecture locale
and / et
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
21 August 2008 / le 21 août 2008
Submitted by/Soumis par : Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice
municipale adjointe,
Planning, Transit and the Environment/Urbanisme,
Transport en commun et Environnement
Contact Person/Personne-ressource : Grant Lindsay,
Manager/Gestionnaire, Development Approvals/Approbation des demandes
d’aménagement, Planning Branch/Direction de l’urbanisme
(613) 580-2424, 13242 Grant.Lindsay@ottawa.ca
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Local
Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee recommend that Planning and
Environment Committee recommend that Council:
1. Approve
the application to alter the Ottawa South Community Centre, the Old Firehall,
260 Sunnyside, a property designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, in accordance with drawings by CSV
Architects, received on August 11, 2008.
2. Delegate
approval of any subsequent design changes of a minor nature to the Director of
the Planning Branch.
(The 90-day period for this
application will expire on November 9, 2008.)
(Note: Approval to Alter this
property under the Ontario Heritage Act
must not be construed to meet the requirements for the issuance of a building
permit.)
RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité
consultatif sur la conservation de l’architecture locale recommande au Comité
de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement de recommander à son tour au
Conseil :
1. d’approuver
la demande de modification, reçue le 11 août 2008, du Centre communautaire
d’Ottawa-Sud et ancienne caserne de pompiers, situé au 260, avenue Sunnyside,
propriété désignée aux termes de la Partie IV de la Loi sur le
patrimoine de l’Ontario, conformément aux dessins de CSV Architects.
2. de
déléguer l’approbation de toute modification ultérieure mineure à la conception
au directeur d’Urbanisme.
(La période de 90 jours
visant cette demande viendra à échéance le 9 novembre 2008.)
(Nota : L’approbation de
la demande de modification aux termes de la Loi
sur le patrimoine de l’Ontario ne signifie pas pour autant qu’elle
satisfait aux conditions de délivrance d’un permis de construire.)
BACKGROUND
The Ottawa South Community Centre, the Old Firehall, was designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 1996. A former fire hall, designed by well-known 20th century Ottawa architect W.E. Noffke in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, it was completed in 1921. In 1977, the City of Ottawa converted the fire hall in to a community centre for the use of the inhabitants of the adjacent Ottawa South neighbourhood. The fire hall has been a successful community centre and has outgrown its current quarters. The local community association, the Ottawa South Community Association, began to lobby and fund raise for a new community centre in the late 1990s. In 2008, a Request for Proposals for architectural services to complete plans for an addition to the building was issued by the City. This report has been prepared in response to an application to alter submitted by the firm that was awarded the contract. Minor variances are required for the project.
DISCUSSION
Three facades of the Old Firehall will remain intact after the proposed intervention is complete. Its distinctive cornice and front veranda and the former fire truck doors play an iconic role in the community and form part of community association’s logo. These features will remain unchanged. The proposed addition to the Old Firehall will add approximately 300 square metres to the west side of the building (200 square metres on the ground floor and 100 square metres in the basement) and allow for the efficient use of the programmable space for the community centre. The new addition is a flat-roofed, red brick and glass structure. It will be one storey facing Sunnyside Avenue, stepping down to a two-storey structure to the rear. The addition will be separated from the original structure by a vertical band of windows that will clearly delineate the old and new sections of the building. The large windows on the north side will permit pedestrians to see the original windows on the east side of the firehall. The brick walls will also feature panels along the west and south roofline to visually break up those walls. Elevations are included as Document 5.
A landscaped forecourt, approximately six metres in depth, will separate the addition from the adjacent road and sidewalk. The main entrance to the building will be through an existing opening that will be enlarged. There will also be double doors that open into the forecourt from the main hall. A canopy/ pergola will shelter the entrances.
The proposed addition was developed in consultation with a group of stakeholders, including staff from Real Property and Asset Management Branch, Parks and Recreation Branch, Heritage Section, Planning Branch, the Ward Councillor, and the Ottawa South Community Association. The group supports the proposed design.
An Open House was held in June 2008 to present initial design concepts to the community. Some concerns with the contemporary design of the addition were raised by community members.
Parks Canada’s “Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada,” addresses the issue of additions to historic buildings in its guideline “New additions to Historic Places.” The “Standards and Guidelines” state:
Design for the new work may be contemporary or may reference design motifs from the historic place. In either case, it should be compatible in terms of mass, materials, relationship of solids to voids, and colour, yet be distinguishable from the historic place.
Designing a new addition in a manner that draws a clear distinction between what is historic and what is new.
Considering the design for an attached exterior addition in terms of its relationship to the historic place as well as the historic district or neighbourhood. Design for the new work may be contemporary or may reference design motifs from the historic place. In either case, it should be compatible in terms of mass, materials, relationship of solids to voids, and colour, yet be distinguishable from the historic place.
Placing a new addition on a
non-character-defining portion and limiting its size and scale in relationship
to the historic place.
The proposed addition reflects these Guidelines. The addition, with its flat-roofed profile, use of red brick, large multi-paned windows complements the former fire hall. A band of windows clearly delineates the old and new parts of the building and the addition is set back from the front façade of the historic building and its low, flat roof and unembellished front façade make it clearly subservient to the historic building to which it is attached.
The Department supports this project as it preserves and brings new life to a building designated for its cultural heritage value in a manner that respects the building’s heritage attributes and character while serving the needs of the community.
CONSULTATION
The renovation of the Old Firehall has been the subject of much public consultation. The community initiated its own work on an expansion in the late 1990s and there has been sustained interest in possible alternatives for the building. Since the current applicant was selected as a result of a response to a City-issued “Request for Proposals” there has been one public meeting and another is scheduled for early September.
A group consisting of City staff from Parks and Recreation Branch, Planning Branch, Transit and Real Property and Asset Management Branch, and members of the Ottawa South Community Association has been meeting since June to discuss the project and review the project as it developed.
Adjacent property owners as well as area community associations were notified by letter of the date of Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee and Planning and Environment Committee meetings and were provided with comment sheets to be returned to LACAC. This is in accordance with the municipal public participation policy regarding heritage alterations, demolitions and infill in a heritage district.
LACAC reviewed the project on an informal basis at its meeting of July 16, 2008 and supported the project as well as the application to the Committee of Adjustment.
The Ward Councillor, Clive Doucet, is aware of this project and supports the application.
Heritage Ottawa is aware of this application.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The current budget for the project is intended to fund the architectural design of the project from conception to the completion of working drawings and Class A cost estimate. Construction costs will be funded contingent on future budget allocations by the City of Ottawa.
APPLICATION PROCESS TIMELINE STATUS
This application was completed within the 90-day time period
prescribed by the Ontario Heritage Act. Period expires on November 9, 2008.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Document 1 Location Map
Document 2 Statement of Reason for Designation
Document 3 Photographs of Existing Building
Document 4 Heritage Planning Rationale, submitted by applicant
Document 5 Proposed Site Plan
Document 6 Proposed elevations
Document 7 Floor Plans
DISPOSITION
City Clerk’s Branch, to notify the property owner (City of Ottawa, Real Property and Asset Management, 100 Constellation Crescent, Ottawa, K2G 6J8) and the Ontario Heritage Trust (10 Adelaide Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 1J3) of Council’s decision supporting the alteration of the Old Firehall.
OLD
OTTAWA SOUTH COMMUNITY CENTRE EXPANSION AND RENOVATION
THE OLD FIREHALL, 260 SUNNYSIDE AVENUE
HERITAGE PLANNING RATIONALE
BACKGROUND
The proposed expansion to the existing Old Fire Hall Community Centre will add approximately 200 square metres of space on the ground floor for a new and enlarged Community Hall, and approximately 100 square metres of basement space for a new multi-purpose Room. Along with this expansion the interior of the existing building will be partly renovated for new lobby, reception, offices, program rooms and washrooms.
During the months of May to July of this year, the design was developed in consultation with the project team that included representatives from the City RPAM, Parks and Recreation, Heritage, the Councillor, building staff, and from the Ottawa South Community Association. A public open house was held in June at which a number of design approaches were discussed and feedback received. The final design was the preferred choice of most parties. It is also the scheme which has the best chance of achieving all of the program objectives and proceeding within the allocated budget.
LOCATION AND LAYOUT OF THE ADDITION
The proposed addition will occupy vacant land on the west side of the existing Old Fire Hall that is currently a sloped grass hill and a small parking lot accessed from a rear lane. The proposal will not affect the main elevations of the existing building facing Sunnyside on the north and Fairbairn on the east. The addition will be located at the rear of the property so that it is set back 6.18 metres from the Sunnyside lot line, and 4.93 metres from the existing front wall. This will result in a landscaped forecourt adjacent to the original building and open to Sunnyside.
The new building layout will relocate the main entrance from the Fairbairn side (this was not an original building entrance) to a new entrance off the new front forecourt. The new entrance door is proposed in the existing side wall facing the forecourt. A small canopy for weather protection over this new entrance will be suspended below the existing eaves to leave these visually and architecturally intact.
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND HERITAGE IMPACT
The new Community Hall that is to be accommodated in the addition requires a ceiling height of 4.4 metres to suit the variety of programs that will be accommodated. While this is higher than the existing ceiling in the Fire Hall, the total height of the addition will not be higher than the existing roof. This large volume will be visually softened and scaled down using a variety of architectural techniques.
The proportions and materials used in the addition are intended to provide a sympathetic and low key backdrop to the Old Fire Hall façade, and pick up on the character of the residential neighbourhood, by breaking down the scale of the Hall into smaller volumes. Although the new elevations facing west and south will be almost invisible from the street, the scale of the walls will be broken down with windows and by using a range of cladding materials.
Two cladding materials have been chosen for the design: a brick that will be similar in colour to the predominant red/brown brick on Ottawa South. This brick will be used in surfaces that reflect the scale and proportion of the neighbouring houses. The second material will be a smooth cementitious panel (such as “Super Panel”) which will provide a lighter field that visually flows over the whole addition and links the brick panels together. The joint pattern in this panel system will provide a visual texture at a larger more institutional scale. The precedent for this approach can be found in the Hopewell School addition. The third material will be light weight screens and lattices used as solar shades on the major front and rear windows, and as a vine lattice on the west elevation. Although the final material has not been selected these could be wood that is allowed to weather to a grey, or a visually and functionally equivalent material. The lattice is chosen for the west elevation to soften and break down the scale of the wall in a compatible way for the neighbouring residents, while encouraging a vegetative buffer against the addition.
The proposed addition will feature large vertical windows at the junction of new and old so that the existing heritage façade is still visible from the inside - especially at night when lights are on. These same walls will be left as exposed brick to enhance the interior spaces.
A key consideration in the design was to integrate the new spaces with the existing without triggering expensive structural upgrades to the existing building to meet the current building code. The proposed design keeps the addition as a separate intact structure. There will be some reinforcing of the parts of the existing roof which connect with the addition to support additional snow loads.
The proposed design will have impact only on the west side of the heritage building. There will be minor connecting openings made between the existing and new buildings to facilitate access, and a sloped connecting roof using matching slope and roof shingles will be added at the junction.
The new forecourt will be carefully landscaped to provide a versatile and attractive outside social space, while providing tree shade to both the forecourt and to the building. As well, landscaping will be used to soften the building elevation.
Care will be taken to protect the existing heritage structure both during construction and in the completed building. Humidification is not planned. While there will be a range of energy efficiency measures taken in the addition, upgrades to the existing building (if any) will only be considered with the input of a building envelope consulting firm (Brook Van Dalen Associates) that has considerable experience with this type of work. For example, no additional insulation will be added without ensuring that there is no increased risk of moisture migration into the wall system where it may condense or freeze and cause damage.
